Carshalton Athletic came from behind to pick up three valuable points with a 2-1 against a determined Harrow Borough, writes James Barrett.

Laurent Hamici got both the goals and a solid second half performance by the defence ensured some daylight between Carshalton and the sides threatening to catch them up.

The Robins have now only lost two of their last 10 games in all competitions.

“Harrow is a tough place to visit as they work very hard and are physically strong. They are a hard team to beat,” said Robins manager Paul Dipre.

“We got off to a positive start but, as the game progressed, we didn’t stick to our game plan and lost a bit of our shape and purpose.

"We defended too deep and it wasn’t until I changed the system in the second half that we restored some shape to our play.

"It wasn’t very pretty but it was important to grind out a result and bring three points home to Colston Avenue.”

Dipre preferred Hamici to Dean McDonald in attack for this encounter and he also re-instated Michael Kamara at right back as Luke Nolan wasn’t 100 per cent fit. Borough drew away at Bury Town midweek and looked to join Carshalton on 34 points with a win.

The Robins shot out of the blocks from the first whistle and looked to move the ball around on the floor.

Hamici showed his attacking intent on three minutes but, as he latched onto Kennedy Adjei’s cross, the lineman’s flag halted his forward surge.

Hamici also hit a soft shot into the arms of Borough keeper Jack Bonham on 16 minutes but, a minute later, Carshalton found themselves one goal behind.

A long cross field ball found Borough midfielder Rob Wooleaston unmarked at the back post and he side-footed past an oncoming Nick Hamann inside the post.

Carshalton equalised on 39 minutes through a Hamici header following fine passage of passing play. The goalscorer held up a forward ball and played it to Billy Crook, who then found Paul Vines down the right hand channel. The striker cut onto his left foot and delivered a cross that Hamici, who had carried on his run, met at the back post to guide it back across a static Bonham and inside the far post.

Tony Finn came on for Luke Pigden at the break, but it was Borough that started the second half brighter.

Adjei blocked two dangerous shots on the edge of his own area in the first five minutes. However he almost turned villain when his poor pass, intended for Michael Kamara, was snapped up by Wooleaston 20 yards out. The midfielder almost hit his second of the game, but he struck the bottom of Hamann’s right-hand post instead.

Carshalton found some the spark that saw them finish the first half so well and the game began to swing from end-to-end.

The Robins switched to a 4-4-2 formation when Dean McDonald came on for Adjei and The Robins took the lead five minutes later.

Kamara and McDonald worked the ball to Tom Davis who sprung Hamici down the left. The striker cut back onto his right foot and got a shot off, which Bonham seemed to have covered. However, his weak save only succeeded in helping the ball squirm over the line and Carshalton had the lead for the first time in the match.

That goal settled The Robins down again and they worked the ball through midfield at every possible opportunity.

Whenever Borough tried to work an attack, they found a resolute Carshalton defence in their way and the home side fast ran out of ideas as Justyn Roberts and David Ray mopped up hopeful long balls time after time.

Borough substitute Simeon Akinola did threaten to penetrate The Robins back line on 80 minutes, but a covering Craig Tanner executed a perfectly timed sliding challenge to halt his progress. Akinola landed awkwardly on his ankle and eventually had to be taken off.

Next up, the Robins travel to Leatherhead on Tuesday before hosting another local derby when Kingstonian visit Colston Avenue on Saturday. The Surrey Senior Cup semi-final at Conference South league leaders Woking then takes place on Tuesday, March 6.

Carshalton Athletic: Hamann; Kamara, Ray (c), Roberts, Tanner; Adjei (McDonald), Davis, Pigden (Finn), Crook; Hamici, Vines.

Unused subs: Nolan, Dudzinski, R Joseph.