A WIN AWAY, A WIN AWAY

Eversley & California 0-1 Corinthian-Casuals
Combined Counties League Premier South
Tuesday 3rd March 2026
Report: Dominic Bliss
Photos: Harvey Abbott
 
As a car full of Corinthian-Casuals supporters pulled away from Fox Lane into the clear early spring night, faint strains of ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’ escaped from the car stereo amid jubilant chants from the passengers.

“A win away, a win away, a win away, a win away…!”

This was much more like it. Mu Maan’s side emerged from Eversley & California with three points after a performance of character, discipline and no little determination to get things done after a disappointing run of results in February.

This was a game they had to motivate themselves for, because the humble surroundings were not likely to make them feel like gladiators entering a colosseum.

Prior to the match, the Eversley chairman cheerfully welcomed us, before explaining the challenge his newly promoted club faces as they prepare to foot the bill for the improvements required to remain in Step 5. More seats, more cover, more toilets… the list goes on. What’s more, Eversley’s place at this level is far from guaranteed next season as they currently occupy the second relegation spot in the Combined Counties Premier Division South.

A third of the 34 people in attendance (by some distance the smallest we have seen this season) were Casuals fans making the three-hour round trip from Tolworth to the borderlands of Hampshire and Berkshire in the hope of witnessing our first midweek away win since September 2024.

But there wasn’t much for anyone to cheer about in the opening exchanges, as two teams low on confidence struggled to settle into anything approaching a rhythm. Eversley forced a few corners and delivered a few dangerous balls into the box, but Murillo Bernardes looked sharp and assured in the Casuals goal, dealing with them with minimum fuss.

As the half wore on, the visitors began to grow into the game, putting together the move of the match shortly before the break. Shea Cascoe-Rogers played a wonderful cross-field pass to his opposite wing-back, Zack Ejeta, who killed it with his first touch before beating his man and firing a low ball across the goalmouth. Rafael Barbosa threw himself at it but could only steer the ball wide of the far post.

Casuals were warming to the task, though, and after a couple of half-chances before half-time, they emerged for the second half the hungrier of the two teams.

There was a bite to our play after the interval. We fought to win our battles in the middle of the pitch and broke well in wide areas, with Azeez Elegushi particularly bright on the counter-attack, alleviating pressure and carving out chances with his positive running. Meanwhile, Cameron Baptiste looked to bring the ball out from the back as often as possible as the deployment of a back three offered us a spare man in possession.

Perhaps our biggest threat of late has been from dead balls, with player-manager. We scored two goals from wide free kicks in last Wednesday’s defeat at Guildford, and another set-piece proved to be decisive this week.
Marcos dos Santos had already had a header from a corner cleared off the line when, on 65 minutes, player-manager Mu Maan whipped in an inviting free kick from the right, which Clayton Afonso met at the back post, overpowering his marker to thump home a header.

As the celebration died down and the players made their way back to their own half for kick-off, Maan could be heard urging them to keep their focus and not to let this lead get away from them. The message was clearly received, as his players continued to battle for the remainder of the game, winning 50-50s, and breaking whenever they could, without losing their shape.

Only as the game entered stoppage time did the hosts really threaten, after substitute Scott Day’s sin-binning left us a man short. A desperate late long throw led to wild appeals for a penalty when an Eversley man hit the deck as Casuals cleared their lines. The bitter cries from the home dugout mingled with the final whistle, before being drowned out by the cheers of the visiting players and fans. After six games without a win, this one felt good, and the three points moved us back into the top half of the table.

“We’re the Casuals, the mighty Casuals, we’re gonna win away!” was the chorus from the far end of the ground as the players came to thank those who had made the long journey on a Tuesday night. For those hardy few, it had been well worth the effort.