Carshalton Athletic boss Matt Howard reckons the dramatic win at East Grinstead Town could be the spark that leads to the play-offs.

It was “The Late Show starring Tommy Bradford” on Tuesday night as the striker earned the Robins an unlikely 3-2 win at the GAC stadium.

Bradford showed great composure to score two goals in added-on time as Howard’s men recorded a second consecutive Ryman League Division One South win.

And Bradford  is on fire with five goals in the past two games.

The win over East Grinstead lifted the Robins to three points outside the play-offs, and Howard revealed it was a rollercoaster evening of emotions.

“Our performance was not great, but football is a results business,” he said.

“Town will feel disappointed, but we went there with a patched-up squad and came away with three points.

“I thought, despite controlling the opening half hour, we lost our way and conceded two sloppy goals, but this result could provide a pivotal spark for our season.”

Carshalton trailed their hosts at the break, but striker Dan Summers restored parity shortly after the restart with his ninth goal of the season.

Town restored their lead in the 67th minute and seemed odds-on to secure a rare home victory before Bradford, who even hit a post in the 88th minute, stole the show.

“I’d have been satisfied with a point after Tommy’s equaliser, but he was flying after his hat-trick last week and took his second excellently,” Howard added.

The Robins host struggling Whitstable Town on Saturday (kick-off 3pm) and Howard is challenging his charges to improve upon their stuttering Tuesday performance.

“We need to keep this momentum of adding points on the board, but I’d like to see an improvement in our performance level against Whitstable,” he added.

“We’ve yo-yoed between excellent and poor recently, and that scenario is frustrating for all concerned, particularly the fans.

“They’ve been excellent recently, particularly at home, but we need their support even more when things aren’t quite going our way.”