My own personal Everest - Hastings Utd 0 - 2 Carshalton Athletic

I'd been thinking about this game for months. A couple of seasons ago the game at Hastings had been a fairly dispiriting 3-1 loss but it also marked the low point of my cycling / football career; I was beaten, beaten by the hill up to the Pilot Field and, for shame, had to get off my bike and push. I blush with shame at the memory but today was my chance to exorcise that ghost.

Bexhill was our choice for lunch and the peloton descended on the fantastic De La Warr Pavilion on the seafront in the hope of another art deco-inspired cafe. The building looked  fantastic in the sun and when the refurbishment of the terrace area is complete it will be an amazing place to visit. However, it couldn't offer us much in the way of food so we adjourned over the road to one of the many cafes lining the seafront.

Lunch mark: 7/10 - food pretty good but it lost marks for the ordinariness of the surroundings and suffered from not being in the Pavilion.

Refuelled, we cycled along the coast road to Hastings until I came face to face with the beast that defeated me two years earlier. I got my head down, stood up in the pedals and attacked it. Halfway up the hill, the road bends round to the left and until then you can't see the top of the hill. That's what did for me previously; the sight of another two hundred yards of hill was too much but this time I was ready for it. Rounding it now I felt good. A glance at my rear gears told me I still had three cogs to click down on if needed but every push got me closer to the top. My lungs were screaming and my thighs knew they were in a fight but suddenly I was there; the road flattened out and the burning in my legs stopped. True, I had to lean on a handy lamp-post for a second and I'm pretty sure that if I'd had to go for a few more yards I would've blacked out, but I had made it. I had beaten that hill.

Moments later the peloton, all older than me, pedalled past waving cheerily. Curses.

Having gained the polka dot jersey in the Tour de Hastings, I scored another notable victory in the club shop - a pen! Only 50p and tastefully embossed with not only the club name but the web address as well, it even wrote beautifully first time out. Pen mark 8/10 - loses marks for not being in club colours but a fantastic effort all the same.

On arrival at the ground our match reporter, Peter Randall, had realised that his bag wasn't on the back of his bike so he retraced his steps eventually finding it on the wall of the De La Warr Pavilion where it had been left an hour or so previously, a fine testament to the honest folk of Bexhill. The following report is therefore by me rather than Peter, I'm afraid refunds are not available.

Saturday 3rd September
Hastings United (0) 0 - 2 (1) Carshalton Athletic
                                                  McDonald (16, 49)
Att 431

The sides went into this game with identical records; won one, drew one and lost two but the clubs expectations for the season are very different. Carshalton have spent heavily and attracted big names to their promotion-seeking squad whereas Hastings, alledgedly, are not paying players this season and are relying heavily on young players. I would imagine their target is to stay in the division.

On non-league day, a decent crowd gathered at a sunny Pilot Field and Hastings' youngsters started the game strongly with some slick passing but little penetration. On 16 minutes in pretty much Carshalton's first attacking foray, Dean McDonald was fouled as he ran at the defence and he picked himself up to take the free kick himself, some twenty yards from goal. His strong shot hit the defensive wall and Lloyd Anderson in the Hastings goal was wrongfooted and could only paw the ball in the net.  0-1 Carshalton.

There were some tasty challenges in the midfield and on 20 minutes Tom Davis was booked, an important moment in the game as minutes later the same player went down under a challenge in the penalty area and the referee (who, of course, was being assessed) produced a second yellow for simulation and sent Davis off. Bugger.

However, Carshalton supporters' worries proved unfounded as Hastings couldn't rouse themselves and in fact the Robins ended the half strongly as Craig Tanner drove forward and supplied Vines whose shot was blocked for a corner.

At the start of the second half Ricardo Joseph replaced Dean Lodge as Carshalton reorganised their ten men but they continued to move the ball well. On 49 minutes Billy Crook jinked down the right and pulled the ball back to McDonald who turned smartly and beat the defenders and keeper with a low shot. Hastings 0 - 2 Carshalton.

Robins keeper Nick Hamann was forced into rare action minutes later when Kenny Pogue connected with a volley from distance but the shot was turned over for a corner. Hastings' Dan Bowell suffered a nasty looking leg injury and was stretchered off, one of a number of late substitutuions but the pattern of the game was unchanged with Carshalton comfortable in possession. McDonald had a late chance for his hat trick as Anthony Joseph set him up but the striker's stabbed shot was held by Anderson.

Carshalton team: Hamann, Murphy, Tanner (Kamara), Ray, Roberts, Quarm, Crook, Davis, Vines (Joseph A), Lodge (Joseph R), McDonald
Subs. Ledgister, Chalmers-Stevens

Match experience score: 8/10. Managed to get to the ground without getting off my bike, excellent atmosphere from the travelling Robins and good views from the big grandstand.

Total - 23 out of 30 and we have a target for other trips this season.