Carshalton Athletic 0 Canvey Island 0

After three Ryman League Premier Division defeats on the spin, a point in any circumstances would have been welcome, but this one was the cause for some modest congratulations being achieved with only 10 men for almost an hour of the game and the loss of Charlie Ide with what looked like a bad thigh strain.

The prematch news was positive, with Adrian Toppin being the latest of last season’s successful team to rejoin the ranks and the recruitment of the highly regarded former Ashford Town manager Mark Butler to work with Ian Hazel for the remainder of the season.

But the greatest need for the Robins as the final two months of the season arrive is to get points on the board and quickly.

With the appalling weather continuing, it was clear from the early stages that conditions underfoot were likely to play a big part and chances were few and far between in the first half-hour.

Richard Jolly managed to find space on the right five minutes into the game, but his effort went wide, and an attempted clearance that hit the Islander’s James Rowe fortunately passed outside the Robins goal post.

A run into the Canvey area by captain David Ray was halted with a firm tackle that left him in need of treatment and, at the opposite end, a ridiculous dive by John Curran earned a talking to from Mr Scott but not a booking.

The moment that defined the rest of the game occurred in the 33rd minute, when Justyn Roberts challenged Rowe just inside the Carshalton half.

Both players went down but, when Roberts got back on his feet, it was only to see the referee’s yellow card for the second time in the game for a high challenge and the Robins central defender took no further part in the game.

If the Carshalton supporters believed things couldn’t get worse, they almost immediately did when Ide limped off to join his team-mate in the changing room.

On came defender Dave Woozley as replacement for striker Ide, with Jolly left up front as the lone striker and the Robins facing almost an hour’s football with a one-man deficit.

The Robins survived without difficulty for the remainder of the first half but Canvey came at them down the slope after the break, and it really did look that the game was up when Lewis Gonsalves was judged to have brought down Curran in the area.

Mr Scott pointed to the spot and Rowe lost no time in placing the ball before turning away in preparation for his run-up.

The shot was low and to Nick Hamann’s left, but the keeper guessed right and managed to push the ball wide of the goal to the delight of his colleagues.

A little bit of belief seemed to permeate the home side and, despite being left without the ball for long periods, they put up a solid enough barrier to deny Canvey the chance to convert possession into chances.

Canvey’s Chris Moore should have done better when he cleared the bar with a free header from a corner, but the Robins managed the occasional breakaway, with Barry Stevens shooting wide after a good run and a shot from distance by Rashid Kamara forcing Canvey keeper James Russell into a smart save.

Canvey’s ability to move the ball around and to take advantage of their extra man resulted in the Robins players tiring visibly as the game went on but, for the most part, the visitors failed to seriously threaten, apart from when the impressive Greg Cohen went on a long run that took him into the Carshalton area.

A short pass at the end of the run presented Rowe with a shooting chance from close range, but the shot was tame one straight at Hamann.

Despite his clear lack of match fitness, Toppin on his return to the side proved a fine example to his colleagues as he dug deep to ensure that Canvey would not pass, just the sort of attitude that Carshalton will need in the weeks ahead.

Carshalton came closest to snatching the points in the final minutes, when Ray’s pass gave Jolly the chance for a run on goal, but his attempt to chip the ball over Russell lacked power.

A win would have been wonderful, but few thought that Carshalton would have been able to hang on for the point they thoroughly deserved.

Robins: Nick Hamann, David Ray, Rob Watkins, Justyn Roberts, Lewis Gonsalves, Adrian Toppin, Barry Stevens, Kenny Beaney, Charlie Ide (Dave Woozley) Richard Jolly, Rashid Kamara (Stefan Cox)

Subs not used: Craig Faulconbridge, Luke Badiali, Gerry Gonella.

Forthcoming games

Tuesday, March 2 (7.45pm): Carshalton Athletic v Tooting & Mitcham, Ryman League Premier Division

Saturday, March 6 (3pm): Hastings United v Carshalton Athletic, Ryman League Premier Division

Tuesday, March 9 (7.45pm): Bognor Regis Town v Carshalton Athletic, Ryman League Premier Division