Horsham 5 - 0 Corinthian-Casuals
Isthmian League Premier Division
Tuesday 16th August 2022
Report and Photos: Stuart Tree (pics here).

Horsham’s Camping World Community Stadium once again proved an unhappy hunting ground for Corinthian-Casuals as a dominant second half performance from the hosts saw them climb to the top of the table courtesy of a 5-0 drubbing.

It’s the second game in succession at Hop Oast that Casuals have lost 5-0 and thus has proven to be an incredibly hard place to earn anything from. In fact, Corinth have only gained one point in their four visits to the new stadium.

Horsham have made their intentions clear about title ambitions with a wealth of marque signings over the summer and it was one of their most prominent – Jack Mazzone who was the major cause of Casuals’ headaches on this evening, claiming a hat-trick in the process. Another of their new faces – Shamir Fenelon was also on the scoresheet, but it was an old face, Lee Harding, who opened the scoring, out-muscling Saidou Sanogo and firing into the opposite corner on 13 minutes.

Five-nil was never on the cards at half time as Casuals had been in the game for the whole of the first period. Reid’s side looked impressive on the counter and stretched Horsham’s full backs continually. Tayo Oyebola tested Mitchell Beeney with a curling shot, destined for the top corner and a threaded pass from Luke Stokoe saw Jack Knight through on goal with Beeney working hard to prevent the striker scoring. Fine margins. Had Casuals taken that chance…?

But the second half was a mess. Early cracks appeared in the very first minute when Sami Nabbad’s excellent reflex save was the only thing that prevented Horsham doubling their lead. But those cracks became chasms just minutes later when a free kick to the right of the penalty area was fizzed in low and hard, with Mazzone beating Knight to the punch and grabbing his first of the night. 2-0 down in front of a partisan crowd away from home is tough to recover from.

The game was put to bed six minutes later when Hakeem Adelakun sold a back pass short and Nabbad was unable to beat Mazzone to the ball, allowing the striker to tap in from a neat angle. Casuals contained for a while with Ben Cheklit, Erald Desa and Nat Pinney providing a few half chances until Fenelon got in on the act in the 83rd minute and Mazzone scoring his best of the evening in stoppage time.

It was a real comedown from the 4-1 win over Bowers and Pitsea at the weekend and a stark reminder that not all games will come as easy as that opener. Casuals will now travel to another away game, this time at Haringey with just one training session in between to lick their wounds.
 
“When you see things unravelling like that, it’s hard to swallow,” admitted Reid after the match.

“I’m embarrassed and shocked. Everything we worked on in pre-season went out of the window.

“We have to get your own house in order. We ran around like headless chickens. Yes, we started well enough and the first half hour we saw some good play, but the game is 90 minutes. I thought we made Horsham look good. 100% we could’ve had a different game if we had equalised when we had the opportunity.

“We have to take it on the chin. We will make changes, that’s for sure. I’m more disappointed that we didn’t put a shift.

“There’s areas that we need to be more savvy. They’ll need to learn how to play the game.

“I know we’ve got a good team. There’s some very good individuals. I know what I’ve got to do. Screaming and shouting at players won’t change anything and I'm calm about it. We have to be level-headed. Come Thursday in training, we know what we need to work on.”

Corinthian-Casuals 2 - 0 Horsham
Bostik League South
Saturday 10th February 2018
Match report & photos: Stuart Tree (full set of pics here)​

Corinthian-Casuals continued to heap pressure on their promotion rivals with a solid 2-0 win over mid-table Horsham on a heavy pitch at King George’s.
 
First half goals from Jordan Clarke and Gabriel Odunaike were enough to seal three points in a performance that never saw them under any real threat from their opponents.
 
In fact, the biggest threat to James Bracken’s side picking up three points was the weather; volunteers worked hard all morning to ensure Casuals didn’t suffer their first postponement of the season and an early inspection was passed. However, persistent rain meant that by kickoff, some wondered if the game would last the full ninety minutes.
 
Horsham and Corinth had equally traded wins over the last six contests between the two sides and if the trend was to be maintained, this would be a victory for Dom Di Paola’s Hornets. It had the potential to be one of those days where the playing surface would negate any gap in the league standings and act as a 'leveller' between the teams.
 
As expected, conditions weren't easy for any of the players but despite this, both teams looked to take the initiative. Horsham, with the strong wind on their backs pressed hard to gain an early foothold. Casuals threatened too and Jordan Clarke was only thwarted by Joe Shelley who got a vital touch to put the striker’s chance out for a corner.
 
The breakthrough came in the 24th minute when Odunaike sent a cross field pass to Clarke who cut inside and unleased a 20 yard curling shot that left Josh Pelling in goal no chance. With the cameras of FIFA’s weekly TV show set behind the goal, there’s every chance that Clarke’s effort could be broadcast to 150 countries across the globe.
 
Ten minutes later, Odunaike added his name to the scoresheet. Max Oldham raced through and although his shot was partially-blocked by Steve Metcalf, the resulting deflection wrong-footed Pelling and Odunaike pounced to put the ball into an empty net. Horsham players protested for offside though Odunaike had been behind play after Oldham had struck his shot.
 
Casuals had the bit between their teeth and Jack Strange could’ve made it 3-0 but steered his header wide. Ben Cheklit’s seering run into the box was only ended by a last ditch interception at the far post. Horsham had their chances too, with Joe Shelley’s header only thwarted by the upright.
 
By the second half, the playing surface was cutting up badly and the rain continued to fall. Casuals, now with the wind in their favour never truly looked in trouble, despite a couple of scares. Danny Bracken saved well from substitute Alfie Rogers who struck his shot straight at the keeper.
 
Chances fizzled out for both Casuals and Horsham as legs clearly became as heavy as the pitch. Callum McAllister’s improvised overhead kick would’ve been spectacular had he kept it down, instead coming closer to the car park than Pelling’s goal. Cheklit probably deserved a goal of his own but Horsham’s stopper scuppered that expertly saving from a vicious drive by the midfielder from 20 yards.
 
Caked in mud, soaked in rain but delighted with the win, Casuals march up to 3rd in the table. Keeping another clean sheet, James Bracken’s side have now only conceded 3 goals in the last nine league matches – a feat that could help them win promotion yet.
 
“We’re pleased with the three points even if the state of the pitch now is not great,” said Manager Bracken after the match.

“It was always going to be the case with the weather we’ve had and it was a bit of a leveller, especially for the first 25 minutes. It took us a while to get to grips with just how slippery it was. That was beyond wet!
 
“Boys were sliding around everywhere and Horsham were putting the ball forward quickly which caused us a few problems in the first period. Though we haven’t been threatened too much, we took that time to get going ourselves. We settled down, scored a couple of decent goals and perhaps could’ve added to that. Second half, we pretty much controlled the game. We need to turn some of that possession into goals.
 
“Another clean sheet. I’m watching these games and I’m not sure where our opponents are going to score from. We look so solid that I think teams will have to do well to score and very well to score twice. If we can get a couple of goals a game then we’re going to be very hard to beat.
 
“The result puts a bit of pressure on the others around us. Hopefully one or two will slip up as Greenwich did today, with a shock result. But that will happen. The teams through the mid-table can beat those at the top. What’s more, the top sides have all got to play each other.
 
“Billericay in the semi-final of the trophy will be a good test. It’s a fantastic achievement to get to the last four of a competition that had 70-odd entrants in, without a budget is good. We didn’t enter it to just get this far though. I want to win it.
 
“Some of my team selections in the Trophy have been opposed from some of my management team who’s questioned as to why we are risking players when the league is the priority. Why? Because we can win this. We could’ve made more changes but chose to select a side that could win every time. We’ll do that again and hopefully put ourselves in a cup final.
 
“Here, we can win this league, achieve automatic promotion and make history for this club. We could win a double and who doesn’t want to be involved in that? If anyone doesn’t, then they’re in the wrong sport. It’s going to be an exciting few weeks.”

Horsham 2-1 Corinthian-Casuals
Ryman League Division One South
Monday 6th April 
Report by Darren Pasley
Pics: Stuart Tree 
Att: 208
Pics can be viewed here

Casuals compounded a miserable Easter period  as they went down 2-1 to bottom placed Horsham at Gorings Mead on Bank Holiday Monday.

After the 2-1 reversal at home to East Grinstead 48 hours earlier Carl Wilson-Denis returned to the attacked whilst captain Joe Hicks returned after his two-game suspension.

The home started brightly on what appeared to be a firm but bouncy surface with a lot of extra touches needed to bring the ball under control.

The first real threat on goal came in the 10th minute when Gregg Betty latched onto a good cross-field pass by Richie Welch but despite getting inside Jake Gill the returning skipper Hicks was on hand  to intercept the danger.

Casuals first effort arrived from the boot of Lee Hall in the 25th minute as a corner fell invitingly his way but  his fierce effort was just over the bar.

Despite their good start the home side never threatened to test Danny Bracken in the Casuals goal and it was soon the visitors who took a foot hold of the game.

In the 37th minute the best chance of the half so far arrived when Dave Hodges latching onto Bettache’s pass side-footed over with just keeper Gareth Williams to beat following a flowing move.

Casuals were now pouring forward as they sensed the vulnerability of the home backline but despite seeing plenty of the ball in wide areas far often too not the crosses lacked the quality required.

In a similar position to his effort earlier in the half Lee Hall was inches away with his angled drive and Andy Mills went close with a  volley as the visitors firmly applied the pressure. Williams in the home goal had to be alert to tip over a Bettache free-kick that seemed intended for a cross.

The final action of the half saw Dave Hodges find Wilson-Denis but his shot was charged down by Tom Gilbert as the Hornets clung onto level terms going into the break.

Casuals looked to continue on top during the second period but 9 minutes after the break the home side were awarded a penalty. Tony Nwachukwu doing brilliantly down the wing from George Bramford’s pass and after turning Gill his low cross inside the area was met by the hand of the sliding Andy Mills. Nwachukwu stepped up himself to smash the kick off the underside of the bar to open the scoring.

Mason Welch-Turner was next to foray into the box on the hour after Byatt seized on a loose ball but off-balance his effort failed to trouble Gareth Williams.

The goal boosted the confidence of the home side who were now seemingly more eager to get on the ball, in turn this left more gaps however for the visitors to try and find a way back into the match.  Following a Juevan Spencer cross Byatt flashed a shot just wide from the edge of the box. 

In the 78th minute following Brackens quick release Hodges and Byatt combined to tee up sub Max Austin in the area but his left footed shot was wide despite being well positioned. Within moments an incident occurred with two players attempting to retrieve the same ball.Jamie Byatt and Anthony Story clashed which saw the player manager staggering away clutching his face.Acting on the advice of his assistant Mr Pike dismissed Byatt who seemed bewildered with the decision.

With 6 minutes remaining McCreadie should have sealed the points when somehow he failed to connect with Ehis Izokun’s cross when inside the 6 yard box.It mattered little however as within 60 seconds he had shrugged Joe Hicks off the ball before driving into the box and slotting over Bracken to seal the points for the strugglers.

Into injury time and 7 minutes were announced. Dave Hodges was inches away from reducing arrears with a lob that dropped just the wrong side of the post. Shortly afterwards however Casuals were given a slim route back into the match when Carl Wilson-Denis finished at the far post following Lee Hall’s pass.

Following a poor Hicks clearance, McCreadie attempted a Charlie Adam esq shot from the halfway line but his effort rebounded off the crossbar and into the path of a grateful Danny Bracken.

With a minute remaining Joe Hicks from a corner smashed a volley just wide of the right hand post and despite a final flurry of corners ex-Casuals keeper Williams who was superb throughout and faultless with his handling came to his sides rescue and Horsham had their first home win since January.

After the match Manager Matt Howard was quick to defend his 26-goal striker.

“I’m not going to have a go at Jamie (Byatt) for getting sent off. I think it was just frustration that he wanted to get the game going and get the ball back. The referee wasn’t doing his job, so Jamie tried to do it for him.

“He shouldn’t have tried to grab the ball but he certainly didn’t throw a punch or anything.

“Don’t get me wrong, if we were in Horsham’s shoes, we would probably try to slow the game down and kill the game off, but the referee has let them get away with time-wasting.

“In terms of the season, Luke (Garrard - assistant manager) and I were speaking before the match. We started with the thought that we’ve underachieved. But actually, if we sit back and take stock of the whole season, we’ve massively overachieved.

“We’re a club that doesn’t pay any of its players, usually fighting off relegation from the league and have even had reprieves to save us. So for us to be safe with nine games to play, we’ve definitely overachieved.  

“Why do I look at this season as a success? For a start, we don’t pay money. Anyone that finishes below Corinthian-Casuals that has a playing budget should ask themselves “hold on a minute… what are we doing here?” You do have to ask the question of how is that possible?

“We’re also a small squad. When you’re at a club that doesn’t pay its players like us, you can’t carry a big squad because they can easily go elsewhere and sit on the bench but be paid. For that reason, it’s hard to keep players here.

“The goal for the remainder of the season now is to make sure we get another three points from our last four games to break the club record.”

Corinthian-Casuals 4-0 Horsham
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 27th December 2014
Attendance: 160
Match report and pics: Stuart Tree

Corinthian-Casuals star striker Jamie Byatt notched his 100th goal for the club in style after bagging a hat-trick in Casual’s impressive 4-0 win over Horsham.

And boss Matt Howard labelled the achievement as ‘amazing’ and ‘one heck of a record’ in a performance that saw Casuals win only their third league game in fourteen to ease any pressure of being dragged into a relegation scrap.

Howard had almost a full squad to choose from for the first time in months and welcomed back captain Joe Hicks after his four game suspension. It was probably no coincidence that Corinth kept a clean sheet having their first choice centre-backs playing together once again.

Horsham came to King George’s as the bottom club in the Ryman League after only picking up five points in their last eight league games… a record worse than Casuals.

In the first half bereft of any goals, most of the chances fell to the home side. Maz Bettache and Juevan Spencer linking well which saw the former miss a couple of decent half-chances. Horsham’s only notable effort came from Tony Nwachukwu’s well hit shot which was expertly matched by Danny Bracken in goal.

On 30 minutes, Horsham’s Ryan Woodford was shown a red card by referee Mr G Read for a dangerous challenge. It was Woodford’s second dismissal in as many matches.

However, though Casuals looked dangerous, especially with the extra man, the teams went into the break on level terms.

The second half saw more of the same until Matt Howard decided to change things around, including the introduction of debutant Olly Taylor. On 72 minutes, Taylor found himself in the Horsham box and a neat cross pass to Byatt saw the diminutive striker lose his footing but still managing to control the ball and poke it into the back of the net. Under strong protestations from the Horsham players for handball, the goal stood and Casuals had the all-important breakthrough.

It was to be the goal that opened the Horsham floodgates; deserved of a goal, Maz Bettache struck just two minutes later when a Dave Hodges cross found the attacking midfielder who blasted home from 20 yards.

A second yellow card for Horsham’s Anthony Storey saw the Hornet’s afternoon get worse and now down to nine men, Casuals sensed more goals and they duly came. In the 86th minute, Billy Joe King fouled the impressive Taylor in the box and Jamie Byatt had no hesitation in taking the penalty, knowing it was for his century of Casuals goals.

And the afternoon was topped off in style for Byatt and the Casuals in time added on as Taylor’s shot from distance was spilled by Lewis Blaney in goal only for Byatt to pounce and prod home for his hat-trick.

With this result, Casuals move up a place to 14th and leave Horsham five points adrift at the foot of the table.

After the game, Manager Matt Howard commented,

“It’s been hard recently. Looking on current form, we’re almost certainties to get relegated. The last thirteen games, we’d won just two and conceded 41 goals. We’ve only conceded 48 all season! It’s been a stark contrast to the first twelve games of the season which saw us go top of the league.

“We’ve struggled with injuries but everyone is coming back to full fitness now. In fairness, it was a hard decision today to pick the first eleven and the substitutes because I have so many now available to me.

“The first 15 minutes, I felt confident we’d get a result today. We moved the ball around well and it was a case of biding our time. As time ticked on and we hadn’t scored, we knew we had a couple of options on the bench which we utilised.

“I said to the lads at half time, once we score the first, we’ll probably go on and get three or four… and we did.

“We can’t just rest on this one result. We need to put a run together now.

“Jamie Byatt’s achievement is amazing… just amazing. That’s one heck of a record. All credit to him. His first goal was an unbelievable finish but he really should’ve laid it off… but you can’t knock it really. Another hat-trick… brilliant!”

More pics can be seen here.

Horsham 1-0 Corinthian-Casuals
FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round
Saturday 30th August 2014
Attendance 224

By Darren Pasley

Pictures: Steve Wigg

Corinthian-Casuals recent poor record in the FA cup continued as they went out to a highly contested last minute penalty at Horsham.

It was a decision with rightly left manager Matt Howard raging after the match and denied Casuals a more than deserved replay on the balance of play.

With both left sided regular starters Jordan Vidal and Dave Hodges unavailable there was a first call up for reserve team left back Mason Welch-Turner whilst Juevean Spencer made a return after missing Mondays crushing victory over Walton Casuals.

Right from the start the home side with a fine FA pedigree made a bright opening with Harry Smith in particular down the left causing Nial Wright problems. It was his trickery, which created the opening chance of the match, but Jamie Ampleford swept a near post effort into the side netting

The game had a lovely tempo and in the 5th minute following a Hornets attack which saw Cade just failing to connect with Millers cushioned knockdown the visitors broke and Byatt beat keeper Williams to the ball but was forced wide with his cross cleared to safety.

Max Miller on the opposite wing to Smith was also offering an attacking threat and after teasing Welch-Turner his cross was kept out by Bracken, with the ball not fully cleared Smith was allowed an effort from the edge of the area which curled just wide.

The chances continued at both ends with wingers on both sides having joy down the flanks and this time Juevan Spencer cut inside Hills but his low cross saw Byatt failing to connect.

Home keeper Gareth Williams was called into action for the first time on the afternoon when Byatt worked his was past two defenders before sending in a low cross which Carl Wilson-Denis saw his sliding effort brilliantly saved. Unknown to the keeper the offside flag had been raised.

His opposite number Danny Bracken excelled himself on 21 minutes when after yet more good work from Smith the ball broke to skipper Jamie Cadey but his effort was deflected clear by the outstretched leg of the Casuals number one.

After such a lively start it was no surprise the game settled down but there was still a golden chance for the home side 7 minutes before the break, Welch-Turner’s backpass from the halfway line lacked the pace to reach Bracken and Ampleford capitalising rounded the keeper and showed good composure on the byiine to cut the ball back. It seemed as if Cade had arrived on time to open the scoring but his effort was blocked on the line and cleared at the second time of asking by Danny Dudley.

The second half saw Casuals step up a gear and take the game to their opponents.

Lee Hall was first to test Williams 8 minutes into the second half when he hit a stinging first time effort from the edge of the box, which was superbly palmed away.

The chances continued and a couple of minutes later Welch-Turner saw a long ball from the full back position send in Jamie Byatt between the two defenders however with Kaffo in full chase the striker failed to get his shot away until it was too late and Williams was relived to see the effort fired wide. It was all Casuals and Fahm was next to have an effort from the edge of the box, which the ever-increasing desperate defence superbly blocked this time.

Perhaps the best chance arrive half way through the second period when after defending a corner Casuals broke and Bettache did well to find Spencer who in-turn played the ball into the path of Byatt. However not for the first time in the afternoon Williams was on hand to block expertly and keep the scores intact.

Carl Wilson-Denis, ever improving in a Casuals shirt was keeping the Hornets back-line on their toes with his intelligent positioning and in the 74th minute was inches away from connecting with sub Michael Salako’s low right wing cross. Williams and Byatt continued their dual with the keeper again making a brilliant one handed stop from Casuals number 9 with 5 minutes remaining.

The home side threw on player manager Gary Charman for the final 5 minutes and it was a substitution that was to have a dramatic impact. With 3 minutes remaining the seasoned striker headed just over from a corner and it was a warning Casuals failed to heed.

As the game entered injury time Charman showed a neat piece of skill to lift the ball over his marker and drive into the box before being tackled by the one of the trio of covering visiting defenders. As the game continued the far side assistant raised his flag and after consulting with the referee a penalty was awarded. It was a staggering decision considering that any alleged tug of the shirt would have taken place yards outside the box. To compound matters Danny Dudley the offender was dismissed. Skipper Jamie Cade stepped up to smash the kick past the outstretched Danny Bracken into the left hand corner.

The ten men threw everything forward in the 5 minutes of injury time that were played but found Williams who was justly awarded the man of the match commanding his box and combined with solid defending Horsham booked their place at home to Kingstonian in the second qualifying round.

An understandably frustrated Matt Howard spoke after the game

“"I’m gutted if I’m honest, absolutely gutted. We can’t blame the referee for not taking our chances when we created them but the penalty decision was absolutely appalling.

He hasn’t stopped us winning the game but he certainly affected us losing it.

"We had a lot of chances, we should have scored when we were on top but we didn’t and as I said, we can’t blame the referee for that. But I’m gutted and I feel cheated. I have to choose my words very carefully and I’m not calling the referee a cheat, but I do feel cheated.

"We’ve got to bounce back. We had one or two missing today. If I’m honest, we’re never going to win the FA Cup but to go out like this, I feel for the lads because they didn’t deserve that. A draw perhaps… take them back to our place for the replay, then maybe." 


Steve Wiggs photos can be viewed by clicking here
Match highlights from a Horsham fan can be viewed here