Carshalton Athletic wrote a vibrant new page in their history book last weekend as the club reached the first round proper of the FA Cup, writes James Barrett-Sterling.


The Robins were underdogs as they hosted National League outfit Dagenham and Redbridge in the fourth qualifying round, but they upset the odds as a late strike by Ricky Korboa sealed a famous 2-1 victory.

All the goals came in the second-half as Dagenham struggled to breakdown their heroic hosts and the win has rewarded Carshalton with a home tie against another higher league opponent, namely Boston United.

And Carshalton player/boss Peter Adeniyi, whom assisted with Korboa's late strike last Saturday, is relishing this fresh new challenge.

"We are happy with a home draw and it'll give us another chance to test ourselves again against a club from a higher division," Adeniyi said.

"We will obviously be underdogs but we will go into the match full of confidence. The boys have been brilliant on this cup run and we look forward to it continuing next month."

Chances were at a premium last Saturday as Carshalton lined-up to frustrate their visitors early on.

Dagenham could only force Robins keeper Kleton Perntreou into one decent save, when he tipped over a James Dobson free kick, before half-time.

But the blue touch paper was lit on 51 minutes as a low Christie Pattisson cross was only half-cleared by the Daggers defence and Bobby Price pounced to turn the loose ball home.

The home fans erupted but their bubble was burst just after the hour mark as Dagenham sub Reece Grant nodded in a left-wing cross to level things up.

But the in-form Korboa, who now has seven goals for the season, sent Colston Avenue into pandemonium as he watched his low 85th minute shot go beyond keeper Elliot Justman and sneak inside the far post.

"The players deserve credit for the result against Dagenham. We had a game plan, which was executed perfectly, and everyone played their part," added Adeniyi.

"We'll enjoy this moment, but we have important games in other competitions coming up and so need to remain focused on tasks at hand."

It's been 22 years since Carshalton have reached this round of the world's most famous cup competition, when they lost to Stevenage Borough in a replay.

Boston United, whom will visit Surrey on the second weekend of November, play in the National League North where they currently sit mid-table with five wins to date.

This will be Carshalton's fifth game in the competition, while the Pilgrims beat Hednesford Town 1-0 to progress from the last round.

But next up for Carshalton is a first qualifying round home tie against Merstham in the FA Trophy. The game kicks-off on Saturday 26th October at 3pm.