New Carshalton Athletic boss Stuart Massey is looking forward to the challenges ahead after taking charge of his first match this week.

Massey, himself a former Carshalton player, saw his team lose 2-1 at Harrow Borough in the Ryman Premier League on Tuesday night but was full of praise for his threadbare squad, which contained only three substitutes.

“A negative result is not an ideal start but those that saw the game will know how well we did over the 90 minutes,” he said.

“We had some important players missing but the lads out there did perform and I was proud of them.”

The Robins took the lead through Jason Henry’s early strike but the home side equalised before the break, before 18-year-old defender David Bonsu ultimately decided the game when his attempted clearance put a low Harrow cross beyond his own goalkeeper.

“Nobody is blaming David, he gave a good account of himself,” Massey said.

“I have inherited a squad from [departing manager] Ian Hazel which is all pulling in the same direction, and that’s a good base to build from.”

The Robins, currently 23rd in the table, play host to Cray Wanderers, the only club below them in the division, on Saturday.