With the busy month of September now well and truly behind us we entered October with only four fixtures to play. This allowed our players to receive some respite from the very heavy schedule that we have had to endure and also allowed some of the players that have been carrying knocks to get some recovery time.

Carlton Town 2-1 Coleshill Town
Our first game at home this month would see us pit our wits against a club that are one of the oldest in Non-League football and against a team that were sitting in the top two having been undefeated away from home. As expected this game was to be a good test for ‘The Millers’ as we were coming off the back of two draws and an away win from our previous three fixtures. Having had a lot of the week later and we were play for the most of the first period we would break the deadlock when new signing Kieran Knight would open his account for the club and take us into half-time with the lead. The second period started pretty much the same as the first half did with Carlton constantly pressing for the second goal to ease the pressure in a game that could still turn at any stage. With sixty minutes into the game we were rewarded with a penalty which skipper Tom Maddison as he usually does converted well.
The visitors would then pull a goal back five minutes later and this was how the score would stand until the final whistle.

Carlton Town 1-1 Bedworth United (5-4 pens)
A week later and we were back at it again with a fixture in the F.A. Trophy and up against opposition that we had already encountered in our first home league fixture this season. Bedworth started brightly and brought the game to us and after only five minutes opened the scoring to stun ‘The Millers’ faithful. After this early shock Carlton would continually plug away at the opposition with very little reward against a very robust side that had learnt from our previous encounter and it would take another seventy minutes before there was another goal to be seen. Carlton gained a free-kick just outside the penalty box and with a bend and a whip Niall Davie struck the inside of the woodwork to level the scores. The game would finish level and to penalties it would go. One after the other the ball would hit the net before goalkeeper Jack Steggles made a fantastic save to became the hero on the day to see us through.

Carlton Town 4-1 Loughborough Dynamo
Back to league action and a visit from Loughborough Dynamo was next on the cards. Another fixture that always produces close fought games was predicted for this one. However as usual ‘The Millers’ took the game by the scruff of the neck early on but would find it difficult to break through the Dynamo rearguard. Two goals in three minutes around the half-hour mark from Kieran Knight gave us the foothold on the game before the opposition would pull one back five minutes before the break. Immediately ‘The Millers’ responded and with an outrageous Rabona from Nat Watson we would score again when Toby Moore rose like a salmon at the far post to nod home. With the game now pretty much a forgone conclusion the opposition still tried to peg us back but to little avail and with three minute to go Kieran Knight was scoring his third to take the ball home.

Soham Town Rangers 0-6 Carlton Town
An away day next and to possibly the furthest trip in our fixture calendar. Soham were no match for us on the day as they were routed and given a lesson on how to play the game. A brace from Tom Maddison including a penalty, a pair from substitute Aaron Opoku within fifteen minutes and goals in-between from Knight and Blake would send us home with the points well and truly in the bag.

Carlton Town 2-2 Kidsgrove Athletic (4-3 penalties)
So it was back to the Trophy and again opposition that were well known to us over the years. Kidsgrove now in the West Division of our code have always produced entertaining fixtures when we have competed with them and this one was no exception. With twenty minutes gone ‘The Millers really should have been two-up and coasting but some stout defending determined otherwise. It took until the stroke of half-time before the scoring commenced when Tyler Blake slotted home only for the visitors to immediately strike back before the whistle.

No sooner had the second half begun and Nat Watson with a nice bit of trickery put ‘The Millers’ ahead again. The lead lasted only fifteen minutes before a controversial goal was given to the visitors who even stated themselves that the ball hadn’t crossed the line. The opposition were now back in it and appealing for everything they could get from a game they really shouldn’t have been close to score wise. The fixture would again end in a tie and into penalties it went .Carlton would score four well executed penalties and cometh the man cometh the hour had Jack Steggles again as in the previous round to save the day with two consecutive saves and ensured that ‘The Millers’ were in the hat for the next round of the draw.

With another positive month behind us and a potential lucrative draw in what will be the First Round proper of the F.A. trophy the club are maintaining our momentum at present. As we all know we can take nothing for granted and that you only get out of it what you put into it. So again we face a difficult month fixture wise and again we will not be taking our foot off the gas in our pursuit of glory.

Forthcoming Fixtures:
6th Nov Histon F.C. (h)
13th Nov T.B.C. (F.A.Trophy – 1st Round)
20th Nov Chasetown (a)
27th Nov Corby Town (h)