Corinthian-Casuals 0 - 1 Cray Wanderers
Bostik League South
Saturday 24th March 2018
Report and Photos: Stuart Tree (full set of pics here)

​Corinthian-Casuals suffered a set-back in their promotion bid from the Bostik League South succumbing to a 1-0 defeat against fellow contenders Cray Wanderers.

A 10th minute Junior Dadson goal was enough to separate the sides condemning Casuals to their first defeat in nine games. Their cause wasn’t helped when striker Gabriel Odunaike was dismissed following an off-the-ball incident.

Though winning each of their last eight matches, Bracken’s side looked lethargic to begin with. Cray pounced on 10 minutes. A defensive mistake from the visitors drew Casuals in to attack but a quick break down the channel saw Charlie Macdonald cross into the box where Dadson was on hand to volley home.

Casuals rarely troubled Nick Blue in the Cray goal though Harry Ottaway had a claim for a penalty turned down following what appeared to be a push in the box. Wanderers could certainly feel aggrieved that they also weren’t awarded a spot kick when Dadson was felled by Jack Strange.

Corinth’s approach to the second half was in stark contrast to the insipid display in the first. Though it took a controversial catalyst to get them going. With play up the other end of the field, Gabriel Odunaike and Jay Leader were involved in an off the ball altercation. With other players intervening, Leader fell to the floor dramatically clutching his face. After lengthy discussions, the match officials concluded that Odunaike must’ve struck Leader and dismissed the striker from the field of play. Whilst Odunaike’s reaction to being sent off cannot be condoned, it was telling in its ferocity of injustice at the decision.

The altercation sparked Casuals into life and despite being down to ten-men, took the game to the Wands. Jordan Clarke forced a fine save from Blue to prevent the equaliser. Harry Ottaway’s inventive looping header clipped the top of the net and Terry Murray volleyed just over. Though wave after wave of Casuals attacks came, the Cray defence stood steadfast and looked to counter. Charlie Macdonald was expertly thwarted by Danny Bracken at the other end.

Despite the intensity of the first half, the failure to get out of the blocks in the first 45 minutes ultimately cost Casuals a ninth win on the spin. The Wands are the only side to have done the double over Corinthian-Casuals this season and on both occasions, were worthy of the three points.

“I don’t feel hard done by with regards to the result,” said James Bracken following the result. “I thought we were terrible in the first half. We didn’t do any of the things I said we had to.

“When you play Cray, along with the other top sides in this division, there are certain things you have to get right. When you play the lesser sides, there are some things you should do but if you don’t, you’ll probably get away with it and still get a win. We’ve done that on a few occasions within this run of eight wins.

“Today, there were very clear instructions on what we had to do, both individually and collectively to stop Cray doing what they’re good at and put them on the back foot.

“We’ve done that in the second half with ten men. It’s just deeply frustrating that it took a sending off and a stern lecture at half time to get a reaction. I asked them ‘where’s your mentality?’ You get into a tough game, you’ve got to show the right attitude and show that you can compete against the teams around us at the top of the division. That’s where we are, on merit, so that’s the level we need to achieve in order to compete.

“First half we let ourselves down. Second half I thought we were fantastic. After the sending off, I thought we only got better. You come away from it disappointed that we lost 1-0 but I can’t say anything negative about the performance in the second half and ultimately the character that the boys showed.

“We dust ourselves down, build on what we did in the second half and go again.

“Losing Gabby (Odunaike) for the next few games is a massive blow. He’s been an ever-present in the starting line-up. His goals, especially recently have been important and he brings a lot of energy and quality to the mix. He’ll be missed.

Speaking of the red-card incident involving Gabriel Odunaike, Bracken said, “I’ve honestly not seen it because the play is breaking at the other end of the pitch. I don’t believe the linesman has seen it either because he’d be looking down his channel looking for throw-ins as the ball is running along the touchline in the opposite half. Then we both look across and see a player down. To be honest, I’ve seen that player down every time we’ve played them. He holds his face a lot. Never seems to show signs of injury but seems to be on the floor a lot… likewise today. Between the officials, they’ve managed to contrive that Gabby has done something to warrant a red card.

“We’ll take the positives in the reaction we’ll get from this loss. In the season run-in, out of 15 games, we could have won 14 of those, drawn on the last day of the season, missed out on automatic promotion and head into the playoffs on a downer. Instead, we have the kick up the backside now and respond. If that makes us go on and win the next six and seals an automatic promotion place, then this result today is a catalyst – and thus a positive that we can look back upon - taking that spirit and character shown in the second half.

“It’s easy for me to say it, but now we have to deliver and I’m always confident that’s what we’ll do.”

Shoreham 0 - 3 Corinthian-Casuals
Bostik League South
Saturday 17th March 2018
Report and Photos: Stuart Tree (full set of pictures here)

​Corinthian-Casuals comfortably overcame a potential banana skin in Shoreham in tricky freezing conditions, winning 3-0 to take second spot in the Bostik League South.
 
A first half super strike from Max Oldham was complemented in the second half by Gabriel Odunaike with Oldham completing the proceedings. Though Casuals had to be patient to earn their rewards against their bottom placed opponents.
 
With snow and ice causing postponements across the South, Casuals’ match was one of the few to survive and enabled James Bracken’s side to add more points to their league tally whilst their promotion rivals sat out another weekend. Against a side with just eight points to their name this season, this was a sure fire chance to continue the impressive run of successive wins.
 
However, on a pitch that’s seen better days and with a strong, biting wind across the Taxi-Link Stadium, it wasn’t going to be as easy as suggested on paper.
 
Shoreham opened brightly and looked to counter Casuals by breaking with the wind behind their backs. Danny Bracken was called into action early on as well as Jack Strange who needed his wits about him to clear off the line.
 
Though possession and territory certainly belonged to Casuals, they only made it count with the dying minutes of the first half. Receiving a short corner from Josh Uzun, Max Oldham looped in a ball which dipped wickedly into the far corner of the goal much to the delight of the Casuals’ faithful.
 
It took a while for Casuals to put the game to bed though not without a scare or two. Shoreham were reduced to ten men when Tadley Bromage was dismissed following a reckless challenge on Kevant Serbony. Despite this, Captain Danny Bracken had to pull off an excellent double-save to prevent their hosts from equalising.
 
On 77 minutes, the game was put to bed. Jordan Clarke’s shot from the right could only be parried into the path of Gabriel Odunaike who calmly slotted home from a couple of yards.
 
With the comfort of a two-goal lead, Casuals opened up and looked to up their goal difference advantage. The third came in the 81st minute when neat trickery from Clarke saw him pull the ball back from the byline, passing to Oldham who couldn’t miss from the six-yard box.
 
Casuals have now won their last seven league matches – the best form of any side in Steps 1-4 nationally. An impressive feat for the Amateur side.
 
With the wind and the pitch today, people could argue it’s a leveller between the sides," said James Bracken following the win. "I don’t think that’s the case. It just makes it more difficult for your class to tell.
 
"Obviously, at 3-0 it was comfortable at the end but it took us a little longer to achieve that than I’d like.
 
“That said, Shoreham beat Molesey a couple of weeks ago and held leaders Lewes to 0-0 for half an hour. I said to the boys, we have to be patient and ensure we continue to do things according to plan. Once we got the first goal, the game opened up a little more which enabled us to get the second and third.
 
“We’ve only lost once since December and that was a game where we scored a perfectly good equaliser only to be ruled out. We’re doing well. We’re not losing many. We have to ensure we’re doing enough to win every week. Eight games to go and we’re ticking them off one-by-one.”

Corinthian-Casuals 2 - 1 Thamesmead Town
Saturday 10th March 2018
Bostik League South
Report and Photos: Stuart Tree (full set of images here)

​Corinthian-Casuals kept their promotion challenge on track with a comfortable win over Thamesmead Town in the Bostik League South.
 
First half goals from Josh Uzun and Warren Morgan were enough to give James Bracken’s side the three points despite a late comeback from Mead, when Paul Vines scored deep into an extended stoppage time.
 
The win is now the sixth in a row and puts Casuals top of the form guide going into the make-or-break business end of the season.
 
Fans were delighted to see the name of Mu Maan on the teamsheet after returning from a lengthy injury sustained against Dulwich Hamlet earlier in the season. He took his place on the bench, ready to be introduced later in the afternoon.
 
Thamesmead were the quickest out of the blocks and looked to press early putting Casuals on the back foot. However, the first real chance came to Casuals when Max Oldham surged into the box and unleashed a deflected shot into the side netting.
 
Oldham was causing trouble again just seven minutes later when another run saw him upended in the box and awarded a penalty. Up stepped ever-reliable Josh Uzun to dispatch the spot kick.
 
Casuals doubled the lead just five minutes later when Gabriel Odunaike’s snuck a pass to Warren Morgan who’s cross-come-shot looked to be deflected over the line by a Mead defender. 2-0.
 
From here, it looked routine. Casuals continued to search for a killer third though it never came. Close calls came in the form of Josh Uzun, Jordan Clarke, Max Oldham, Gabriel Odunaike… yet none could complete the deal.
 
The closest to clinching the third came when Odunaike raced through on goal and was taken out by his challenging marker, only for the referee to wave play on. It was a decision that baffled most.
 
Thamesmead came to life in the dying minutes and despite no lengthy stoppages in play, no goals and five substitutes, the referee inexplicably added on ten minutes (okay – 9 minutes 51 seconds to be precise). In this extension, Paul Vines met a cross to head in, to deathly silence. Casuals rode out the last few moments, still unsure how long the contest would go on for, to take all three points.
 
“That game was strange”, said Manager Bracken after the match. “2-1 flatters them so much it’s unbelievable. We’ve had so many chances, had we won that 4-0, you’d have said that was a fair result.
 
“We should’ve put the game to bed as 2-0 keeps them in it. Then the referee inexplicably adds on ten minutes. But I’m pleased with the result. They’re a dangerous side who are the third top goal-scorers in the league and we limited them to one half chance at the end, which Paul Vines done very well with a good finish.
 
“That’s one game ticked off with nine to go. On paper, this could’ve been a sticky one and as it happened, it was relatively comfortable.
 
“If we win all our remaining games, the only way we’re not going to be promoted is if Lewes or Carshalton win all their games. There’s no more to it than that. We’ll try our hardest to win every one of our remaining nine matches. That’ll put massive pressure on them. Both of them have got very tough games so seeing them winning the next nine or ten is unlikely. Plus they have to play each other so someone’s dropping points there.
 
“You’ll get to the point where teams will either stand up or they’ll fold. In the last two years we ended our seasons by winning seven and ten in a row respectively. We’ve already proved that we won’t be folding. I trust the boy’s character. I trust my own mentality and know we will turn up to every one of these next nine games. Whoever we play, we’ll make sure we get out on the pitch and be better than them on the day.”