Keeper Sheikh Ceesay was Whyteleafe’s penalty shoot-out hero as his two saves edged Leafe past Carshalton Athletic into round two of the Robert Dyas League Cup.

Each side had had golden opportunities to break the deadlock in injury time at the end of 90 minutes, but both went begging and it finished 1-1, to go straight to spot kicks.

Greg Andrews, Shawn Lyle, Tom Pratt and Jensen Grant all kept their nerve to convert confidently, and that was good enough, as Ceesay’s athleticism kept Carshalton’s third and fourth efforts at bay to send the visitors through 4-2.

An uneventful first half had ended with Whyteleafe one goal to the good.

On 24 minutes, Andrews’ back-heel put Nathan Simpson in behind the defence on the left, and his deflected cross looped to Henry, who stabbed home from close range against his old club.

It was just reward for Henry, who has impressed in a Leafe shirt since his recent arrival and gave notice all evening of his ability to get to the line and deliver good crosses.

Carshalton were restricted in the first half to harmless efforts from long range, while Leafe struggled to execute their usual style of playing the ball out from the back and resorted more often to long-ball tactics.

Leafe started the brighter in the second half, but were restricted to half-chances – an Andrews free kick that never threatened to bend enough round the wall to trouble the keeper, and a smothered effort from substitute Lyle after more good work on the right from Henry.

From around the hour mark, however, Carshalton upped their game, and their attacks carried a more potent threat.

On 74 minutes, Ceesay was called into action when brilliantly clawing away a goalbound Michael Campbell header.

Seconds later though, Robert Carrick picked up the ball on the edge of the Leafe area, and his excellent curling right-foot effort eluded Ceesay’s outstretched glove and found the back of the net to level the scores.

Leafe regrouped and should have regained the lead just two minutes later.

Andrews was the architect once again, putting Sam Clayton in on goal with a slide-rule pass, but his shot under the advancing keeper was nudged on to the post by a backtracking defender.

The ball fell to Lyle who, with his back to goal, back-heeled it on to the same defender lying prone on the line, and somehow the danger was scrambled away.

Two minutes later it was Carshalton’s turn to almost take the lead. A swift counter-attacking move ended with the ball reaching Campbell in space on the right-side side of the box, but his rocket shot fizzed inches over Ceesay’s bar.

With the 90 minutes up, Leafe earned a corner on the left, and almost scrambled the ball into the net in a close-range melee, but somehow it ended up in keeper Jack Eden’s hands.

Then, in the second minute of stoppage time, another Carshalton breakaway saw the ball driven low across the six-yard box from the right, but despite the presence of two or three red shirts, no-one was able to apply the finishing touch.

Defender Tommy Smith limped off at the end of the match after suffering a late injury, and with this weekend’s trip to Corinthian Casuals having been brought forward to Friday evening, Leafe will be hoping he recovers in time for that important league clash.

Leafe will host Leatherhead of the Ryman Premier in the next round a date to be confirmed.

Whyteleafe: Ceesay, Pratt, Simpson, Smith, Patterson-Bohner, Grant, Clayton, Graham, Harper (Lyle 61), Andrews, Henry (Basker 66 [Fowler 80]).