Carshalton Athletic secured a dramatic 3-2 comeback victory over Maldon & Tiptree on Saturday, with substitute William Bratvedt scoring twice on his debut to overturn an early two-goal deficit. The match, held at Maldon & Tiptree’s ground, marked the final game in charge for the home side’s manager, Mark Hawkes.

Maldon & Tiptree took a commanding lead within the first five minutes, both goals originating from corner kicks. Eze Ebuzoeme opened the scoring by converting a direct corner, and shortly after, his second delivery deflected off Carshalton captain Nathan Young-Coombes into the net.

Despite the early setback, Carshalton regrouped during halftime and emerged with renewed determination. Rob Howard sparked the revival with a powerful strike, narrowing the deficit. Bratvedt then claimed the spotlight, netting two goals that completed the turnaround and secured three valuable points for the visitors.

Carshalton manager Steve Bates praised his team's resilience and Bratvedt’s impact. “I’m over the moon with the performance,” Bates said. “In the last couple of weeks, we haven’t been the team that we know we are. The boys showed real character and quality to turn it around. We challenged them at half-time to be better, and they went on the front foot and trusted themselves. William has been excellent in training. He’s going to be a good player at this level as he gets sharper. He makes runs in behind and is a great finisher.”

The victory provides a boost for Carshalton Athletic, who had been struggling recently and needed the three points to build momentum. Meanwhile, Maldon & Tiptree faced the challenge of moving forward under new managerial leadership following Hawkes’ departure.