Carshalton recorded their first away league win of the season on Saturday against lowly Barking & East Ham, but it was arguably their poorest performance of the campaign.

After a quiet opening, Carshalton created a few half chances and Nick Hegley always threatened to cause problems for Barking.

The Robins opened the scoring after 21 minutes when Neil Robson headed back to Matt York.

After bringing the ball down, York who was five yards outside the box spotted the visiting keeper off his line and expertly floated the ball over the stranded stopper.

Barking's Steve Shaw then saw his shot fly just wide of the target before Mark Cosgrove came to the home side's rescue by bravely heading clear a low cross. But the hero quickly turned to villain on 44 minutes when the referee adjudged Cosgrove had fouled Shaw in the penalty area.

After the match official waved away the Robins protests, Simon Vickers slammed the spot kick home to level the scores.

In the second half it was Barking who created the more clear-cut chances.

Thankfully for Carshalton, Stuart Searle was in fine form in goal and he made two breathtaking saves to keep the Robins in the game.

As the hosts finally began to get their act together, Hegley fired over the bar and Stuart Massey went close with a 20-yard free-kick.

The Robins continued to surge forward but Mark Hynes wasted a golden opportunity when he sliced wide after a goal-mouth scramble.

Carshalton's performance only deserved a point but in the sixth minute of injury time, Cosgrove bundled home from a free-kick to snatch victory for the Robins.

Team: Searle, York, Elliott, Cosgrove, Hollingsworth, May, Robson, Massey, Hynes, Mckenzie, Hegley. Subs: Lock, Falana, Ferguson

December 14, 2001 15:30