Corinthian-Casuals 4 - 1 Bowers & Pitsea
Isthmian League Premier Division
Saturday 13th August 2022
Report and Photos: Stuart Tree (full set of pics here).
More photos from Andy Nunn here.
You’ll have to trawl through the history books to find out if and when Corinthian-Casuals last scored two goals in the opening four minutes. You’ll also have to go back to 2016 for Casuals last opening day win.
Both were achieved in a stellar 4-1 win over Bowers and Pitsea in which we heard the chants of ‘we are top of the league’ sang somewhat in jest, yet truthful, even if it is after just one game.
Both Corinth and Bowers have had major changes over the Summer. Both saw their long-standing managers depart along with a wealth of players. Many new faces have appeared. Just four of the twenty-two players starting were involved in the previous fixture six months ago – all Casuals.
Manager Tony Reid had stated that his side will play with a high-intensity, attacking ethos and it paid off after just two minutes. An early corner was headed home by Saidou Sanogo – with Kie Plumley unable to keep the ball from spilling over the line.
Before the first goal was even registered on social media, Casuals had struck again. Tayo Oyebola latched onto a cutting pass and slotted under Plumley to make it two-nil – extravagant and acrobatic celebrations ensued.
Casuals pressed on and kept up the intensity regardless of the searing heat. Bowers defence was run ragged and Ben Cheklit broke the lines only to see his shot smack off the bottom of the post. He soon made amends when making no mistake in a similar move to put the hosts a dizzy 3-0 up.
The dampener was a sloppy goal conceded at the other end. Complacency had perhaps kicked in seeing as Casuals were three goals to the good. A corner was conceded and the resulting clearance fell to Ola Bello who’s unsighted shot squirmed under Sami Nabaad to give Bowers hope.
It was the only blemish on an otherwise impressive afternoon and Casuals put the game to bed in the 73rd minute when Plumley, on attempting to prevent a corner, scuffed his clearance straight to Cheklit on the edge of the box and the Captain calmly stroked the ball into an unguarded net. Job done.
It was a real statement from Reid and his side to usher in his reign. He’d hoped to win the fans over with his style of football and on this evidence, he might have already done so. Including pre-season, Casuals have scored four goals in three of their last four matches. That's got to be encouraging. However, Casuals face an arguably tougher test at Horsham, one of the potential favourites and second in the league, on Tuesday. First vs second? Why not?
“What we’ve been working on in pre-season showed today,” said Manager Tony Reid after the match. “Though the fast start took me by surprise.
“I gave them a little pep-talk before as I’d heard from their changing room ‘stay in the game’. For me, that gave me the initiative and we’ll have them on the ropes right from the start.
“We took our chances well.
“I’m not going to get carried away. Let’s have this conversation after ten games. But what we’ve achieved today is a real positive. Credit to the boys, they’ve taken the information on board.
“We’ve gone three-nil up, but an error saw us concede. We should’ve cleared our lines. But they’ve scored from a set piece. I warned the boys that this will happen throughout the season so they need to be aware as to when to just get the ball clear. I want the ball eighty yards up the other end in those situations.
“We learnt from it after speaking at half time. We ensured that we wouldn’t concede again and we managed the game well. It was a little scrappy at times and they tried to nullify us from playing. Credit to the boys in the middle, who worked tirelessly and moved the ball quickly.
Commenting on the trip to Horsham on Tuesday, Reid said, “It’s eleven vs eleven at the end of the day. I know a bit about them. I know Dom (Di Paola) from old and it’ll certainly be a good test but it’s about who turns up on the day. We’ll try to keep this momentum going.”
Isthmian League Premier Division
Saturday 13th August 2022
Report and Photos: Stuart Tree (full set of pics here).
More photos from Andy Nunn here.
You’ll have to trawl through the history books to find out if and when Corinthian-Casuals last scored two goals in the opening four minutes. You’ll also have to go back to 2016 for Casuals last opening day win.
Both were achieved in a stellar 4-1 win over Bowers and Pitsea in which we heard the chants of ‘we are top of the league’ sang somewhat in jest, yet truthful, even if it is after just one game.
Both Corinth and Bowers have had major changes over the Summer. Both saw their long-standing managers depart along with a wealth of players. Many new faces have appeared. Just four of the twenty-two players starting were involved in the previous fixture six months ago – all Casuals.
Manager Tony Reid had stated that his side will play with a high-intensity, attacking ethos and it paid off after just two minutes. An early corner was headed home by Saidou Sanogo – with Kie Plumley unable to keep the ball from spilling over the line.
Before the first goal was even registered on social media, Casuals had struck again. Tayo Oyebola latched onto a cutting pass and slotted under Plumley to make it two-nil – extravagant and acrobatic celebrations ensued.
Casuals pressed on and kept up the intensity regardless of the searing heat. Bowers defence was run ragged and Ben Cheklit broke the lines only to see his shot smack off the bottom of the post. He soon made amends when making no mistake in a similar move to put the hosts a dizzy 3-0 up.
The dampener was a sloppy goal conceded at the other end. Complacency had perhaps kicked in seeing as Casuals were three goals to the good. A corner was conceded and the resulting clearance fell to Ola Bello who’s unsighted shot squirmed under Sami Nabaad to give Bowers hope.
It was the only blemish on an otherwise impressive afternoon and Casuals put the game to bed in the 73rd minute when Plumley, on attempting to prevent a corner, scuffed his clearance straight to Cheklit on the edge of the box and the Captain calmly stroked the ball into an unguarded net. Job done.
It was a real statement from Reid and his side to usher in his reign. He’d hoped to win the fans over with his style of football and on this evidence, he might have already done so. Including pre-season, Casuals have scored four goals in three of their last four matches. That's got to be encouraging. However, Casuals face an arguably tougher test at Horsham, one of the potential favourites and second in the league, on Tuesday. First vs second? Why not?
“What we’ve been working on in pre-season showed today,” said Manager Tony Reid after the match. “Though the fast start took me by surprise.
“I gave them a little pep-talk before as I’d heard from their changing room ‘stay in the game’. For me, that gave me the initiative and we’ll have them on the ropes right from the start.
“We took our chances well.
“I’m not going to get carried away. Let’s have this conversation after ten games. But what we’ve achieved today is a real positive. Credit to the boys, they’ve taken the information on board.
“We’ve gone three-nil up, but an error saw us concede. We should’ve cleared our lines. But they’ve scored from a set piece. I warned the boys that this will happen throughout the season so they need to be aware as to when to just get the ball clear. I want the ball eighty yards up the other end in those situations.
“We learnt from it after speaking at half time. We ensured that we wouldn’t concede again and we managed the game well. It was a little scrappy at times and they tried to nullify us from playing. Credit to the boys in the middle, who worked tirelessly and moved the ball quickly.
Commenting on the trip to Horsham on Tuesday, Reid said, “It’s eleven vs eleven at the end of the day. I know a bit about them. I know Dom (Di Paola) from old and it’ll certainly be a good test but it’s about who turns up on the day. We’ll try to keep this momentum going.”
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