Molesey 2-1 Carshalton Athletic

Reis Stanislaus’ header five minutes after the re-start turned out to be the winning goal, after Staforde Palmer’s free –kick had cancelled out Dan Summers’ earlier strike for the visitors.

There were similarities to the reverse fixture 15 days previously in that the losing side were reduced to ten men early in the second half and might have felt that they deserved something from the game.

Despite the defeat it was an impressive performance from the Robins, and despite not being at their fluent best showed a lot of character from the Moles to grind out another three points.

Ollie Robinson was serving the suspension that resulted from his dismissal at Colston Avenue, and Stanislaus returned to the starting line up at the expense of James Cottee.

The opening stage were busy, as Dre Grobler climbed to meet a Craig Lewington corner and saw his header blocked by Lee Hall on the line, with the Moles appealing for a combination of goal and handball, but the ref allowed the play to go on.

A well-worked corner routine resulted in Summers being denied by Liam Allen, whilst at the other end James McShane hit the side netting from Stanislaus’ cross, and was then denied from long range by Luke Colquhoun.

Sean O’Toole put a header straight at Allen, but the Robins weren’t to be denied moments later when Summers hit a fizzing 25 yard effort into the far corner.

He came close to adding to the lead with a free kick from a similar distance soon afterwards but Allen smothered at the second attempt.

It was against the run of play that the Moles equalised, but there was a touch of class about it as Palmer caught Colquhoun out at his near post with a free kick from an unfavourable angle.

They nearly took the lead moments later when another free kick picked out Stanislaus, and his glancing volley came back off the inside of the post.

He wasn’t to be denied though, with McShane and Palmer combining to pick out Stanislaus, whose clever header sent Colquhoun the wrong way.

Palmer was inches away from finding the opposite top corner from another free kick as the Moles pressed, and their position improved further when Paris Hamilton-Downes was dismissed for a combination of a foul and dissent.

The decision seemed harsh, as did the four innocuous looking fouls in the space of little over five first half minutes that resulted in four Molesey bookings, but the numerical disadvantage seemed to galvanise the visitors.

Billy Marshall regularly found pockets of space either side of Molesey’s midfield, and Bobby Price came within millimetres of equalising but his effort from a set piece came back off the underside of the bar.

Summers was denied with a header, whilst Molesey centre halves Grobler and Robb Sheridan both placed headers just wide.

Palmer’s ruthlessness in front of goal has led to a Messi-like scoring record for the Moles, but he should have played in substitute Cottee for a tap in in the closing stages to make the game safe. Instead he went for goal and was denied by Colquhoun.

It mattered little in the end, as the Moles moved up to third ahead of an intriguing looking fixture at Dorking wanderers on Saturday.