Hythe Town 1 - 1 Corinthian-Casuals
Bostik League South
Saturday 28th April 2018
Match report and photos: Stuart Tree (full set of pics here)

Corinthian-Casuals left it to the last moments to clinch a playoff spot, snatching a late equaliser at Hythe Town to set up a repeat of last year’s dramatic 4-3 semi-final win at Greenwich Borough.

Harry Ottaway’s injury time header was enough to see Casuals over the finish line and leave their hosts dejected as Hythe missed out on a playoff spot themselves.

A win for either side guaranteed their season was extended into the knockout stages but Casuals could afford to draw, which would exclude in-form Hythe from the playoff picture.

With ten minutes remaining, an excellent strike from Hythe’s Zac Ansah put the Kent side in the hot seat but on the stroke of full time, Ottaway nipped in at the back post to delicately nod home to the delight of the travelling Casuals contingent.

The draw meant Casuals finish in 5th leaving Hythe in 7th agonisingly missing out on goal difference. Casuals will travel to Greenwich on Tuesday night in the semi-final with thoughts of last year on their mind.

“We’ve got great memories of the semi-final at Greenwich from last year and let’s hope we can create some more,” said Manager James Bracken after the match.

“That’s why we do this. Days like today and the feeling you get is better than any drug. It’s a natural high. It’s not just me as an individual. You look around and you’ve got your players, your bench, your fans, your family… everybody is feeling that moment with you.

“We’ve had plenty of these great moments in the three years I’ve been here and I’ll never take these moments for granted. We’ve had so many great days – moments where the hairs stand on the back of your neck and today we’ve added to that. Why? Because we were right up against it and could’ve been over for us. But we found it.

“We had injuries to key players today and that’s been the story of our season. Yet we still keep doing enough to keep going where we want to go. So Tuesday, we’ll be raring to go and hope to give everyone another fantastic night.”

Casuals started the afternoon in the playoff spots and a point guaranteed their involvement in the knockout stages for the second successive season. One hurdle stood in their way; Hythe Town who had lost just once in their previous 16 matches.

The Cannons had surged through the pack to have a late shot at the playoff picture and a win guaranteed them a spot themselves. This was a cup-final in every real sense.

Bracken’s outfit kept them relatively quiet in the first half and perhaps should’ve taken the lead themselves when Josh Uzun fired over from 15 yards.

Zac Ansah forced Corinth keeper Gareth Williams into an excellent one handed save when the ex-Plymouth striker let loose from 25 yards.

Ansah was in the thick of the action early in the second half but once again, Williams was able to prevent the Hythe hitman from scoring. A delightful lob looped up but the stand-in keeper was able to tip it away to safety.

Casuals had a claim for a penalty turned away when Uzun looked to have been bundled over in the box.

But it was Hythe who took the lead, with Ansah finally getting his rewards, curling his shot into the bottom corner to give Bracken and Casuals ten minutes to save their season.

Gabriel Odunaike could’ve been that saviour but his effort was expertly saved by Will Godmon and the deflection sailed to safety over the bar.

With time running out, Casuals forced a free kick and Captain Nathan Daly’s header looked to be going wide. With Godmon scrambling to the ball, Harry Ottaway appeared at the back post and nodded home from an acute angle to send the Casuals players and fans into rapturous celebrations.

Corinth held out for the seven minutes stoppage time and booked their place in the playoffs leaving Hythe in despair.

“It was a great game of football,” continued Bracken. “There was everything riding on the result for both teams. I think that showed in patches for the two sides. First half, we were frustrating them nicely. In the second half, it could’ve gone either way. Gareth (Williams) has made a couple of good saves and their keeper has made a point blank one-on-one stop.

“When you concede that goal, you sink a bit. But every single time we sink a little, we come back firing and find a goal.

“When we went 1-0 down, we asked ourselves ‘what can we do to put us on the front foot and create more chances?’ Perhaps take one or two more risks at the back, but you have to balance that. We could’ve gone with five up front but that can easily let in a second goal and then it’s game over. We had to time it right and achieve a balance between creating and conceding.

“We made a change, it put us on the ascendancy, won a couple of free kicks and scored a good equaliser.

“Hythe were the in-form team. Looking at their form since Christmas, they’ve not lost many and won most of their matches. They come from nowhere to put this run on for the playoffs. The team that hits the playoffs on form often go on to win it. Had they beaten us today, I’d have fancied them to go on and win promotion.

“We deserve to be in the playoffs on the balance of the season. We’ve competed in the top three or four places for the majority of the campaign. We had a dip a couple of weeks back but we’ve stabilised, come back with a strong 5-0 win and earned a great draw against the in-form side in the league. So we’re full of confidence.

Casuals travel to Greenwich on Tuesday night with the winner set to face either Cray Wanderers or Walton Casuals in the final on Saturday.

Corinthian-Casuals 1 - 3 Herne Bay
Bostik League South
Saturday 21st April 2018
Match report and photos: Stuart Tree (full set here)

Corinthian-Casuals face a critical week ahead if they’re to keep their promotion ambitions alive following the 3-1 loss to Herne Bay on Saturday.

The result, coupled with Walton Casuals’ 5-2 win against Cray Wanderers means James Bracken’s side drop out of the promotion or playoff places for the first time since September.

Whilst a playoff place is still within the Amateur’s hands, two points from a maximum of 15 in their last five games is not promising form.

Casuals face Guernsey on Tuesday night in a ‘must-win’ match before travelling to the league’s in-form side, Hythe Town who’ve only lost once in their last fifteen matches. Corinth will need four points from their last two matches to guarantee a playoff spot.

On paper, the Herne Bay match was the easiest to pick up three points; Bay sit mid-table with little to play for other than pride.

It’s often the case that these can be the fixtures that cause the most difficulties. Teams play free from pressure with nothing to lose whilst blooding youngsters keen to shine or applying new tactics.

Whatever it was, Casuals have to feel a little unlucky in the first half alone. The home side found the woodwork on no less than three occasions. Twice was from set pieces from Josh Uzun. The first free kick evaded everyone and found the far post. The second was from a 20-yard free kick which smacked the right post and fell to Jack Strange barely two yards out. However, the defender didn’t make clean contact and somehow the scores remained level. The third came from a Max Oldham cross which found Harry Ottaway, who swung his foot and lashed home from 15 yards only to find the far post and out for a goal kick. On this evidence, it felt it was only time before Casuals took the lead.

It never came. The second half began with a lethargy not befitting a side looking to take advantage of other playoff sides losing. In fact, Casuals looked to join them. And so it happened. From a whipped in free kick, errors in judgement allowed Connor Wilkins to bundle in at the back post.

To make matters worse, Bay doubled their lead just after the hour mark when Sam McCallum found space to race through and poke past the oncoming Gareth Williams in goal.

Only at 2-0 down and the introduction of Jamie Byatt and Shaun Brown did things pick up. Brown’s first touch should’ve resulted in a goal, but played through, his shot was scuffed wide. Ben Hunter in goal also produced a fantastic save to deny Uzun.

Harry Ottaway gave the home side hope on 83 minutes when he beat Hunter to the touch and prodded home to reduce the deficit. Casuals had mounted some comebacks this season to great effect but this would be the toughest of the lot. Pushing forward naturally created holes at the back and so it was no surprise when a break down in play allowed Jake Embery all the time in the world to slam home the deciding third goal in stoppage time.

After the match, Manager James Bracken spoke to Stuart Tree.

“I said to the lads before the game today that we’ve lost three league games out of our last 21. It’s not a bad record by any stretch but the last five, we haven’t picked up a win. There’s no point in hiding it and saying we’re doing alright. We’re not doing alright.

“There are circumstances in every game where I’d say we haven’t taken our chances. We’ve had plenty and in crucial moments of the game. That sets the tone for the whole match. If we’d got one or two goals in-front today, I’d have no doubt that we’d have seen it out. We didn’t. We’ve ended up having to push forward and go for it which resulted in the third goal. When we came back to 2-1, I felt we would go on and get at least a draw.

“I told them that this was a must win game. But this is football; we had chances, we hit the post three times, balls on the goalline that should be put away… a lot of opportunities to take charge of this game. It’s not fallen for us. Again, the first two goals we conceded are really poor from our point of view.

“We can’t get too down about it. The season isn’t over. We must win on Tuesday night. If we do that, the maximum we’ll need on the last day is a point. That’s very doable. We beat them last season 5-0 and this season 3-1 at theirs. They’re a good side in good form but we need to worry about Guernsey now. Our season is in real danger of coming up just short.

“We must get in a positive frame of mind, be ready and get the team right.

“It’s our game in hand and if we get a result, we’re back up to joint fourth. We go into the last game of the season on an even peg with everyone knowing what we need to do. It’s in our hands.”

Ramsgate 2 - 2 Corinthian-Casuals
Bostik League South
Saturday 14th April 2018
Match report and photos: Stuart Tree (full set of pictures here)

Corinthian-Casuals let a two-goal lead slip at Ramsgate on Saturday, ensuring more work needs to be done to guarantee a playoff place in the Bostik League South.
 
First half goals from Max Oldham and Harry Ottaway gave the visitors the lead but Ramsgate struck back in the 56th minute from the penalty spot and equalising with less than ten minutes remaining.
 
“There’s always goals in this fixture,” I worriedly predicted, after the previous three seasons had seen sixteen goals shared between the sides. Last season’s dramatic 4-3 win was as tough as they come on the heart and previous to that, Casuals had let a two-goal half-time lead slip to lose 3-2 on a windy Wednesday evening.
 
Casuals came without a win to their name in three, though Cray, Walton and Lewes were hardly the three you’d pick as three-point bankers. Ramsgate were on a run of reasonable form having won five of their last eight matches. Southwood a notoriously tough place to raid for precious points.
 
The visitors began bright, with Oldham heading home from a Josh Uzun corner on 17 minutes – the ball apparently moving in slow motion before finally crossing the line.
 
Corinth then had to soak up some sustained pressure as Ramsgate pumped balls into the box on a continual basis. Gareth Williams called into action on occasion, expertly tipping one over.
 
Despite this, the lead was doubled when Ottaway latched onto a perfect through ball and calmly finished. It was a classic counter-attack and appeared to deflate the hosts. Everything was positive at half-time.
 
The second half was a stark contrast to the controlling first. Despite having half chances to further extend the lead, Ramsgate were given a lifeline when a foul on the edge of the box saw Aaron Millbank step up. Casuals’ keeper Gareth Williams got a hand to the shot but was unable to keep it out.
 
Josh Uzun came closest for Casuals when his delicate lob left Luke Watkins stranded with only the crossbar making a last ditch intervention.
 
But on 81 minutes the comeback was complete when Ramsgate broke and a cross into the box saw Rory Smith head home to level the scores. Jamie Byatt and Ottaway both had good chances to re-take the lead but in the end it was Gareth Williams who had to make a superb last ditch save in added time to prevent Casuals coming away pointless.
 
Whilst James Bracken’s side were unable to take all three points, playoff rivals Walton Casuals suffered a defeat meaning Corinth require four points from their last three matches to guarantee a playoff position.
 
"It feels like a loss to me,” admitted Bracken after the match. “We’re 2-0 up at half-time. We know it’s never a safe score. You need to do certain things right when protecting that lead. We haven’t done that.”
 
“I’m beyond frustrated with it. We’ve been incapable of carrying out my instructions in the last few games. They’re simple things that need to be actioned to win a game of football. If they’d done the basics, they won’t score. It’s falling on deaf ears continually, so it’s deeply frustrating on my part. If they listen to me, we’ll win every game.
 
“We do need to remember that we’ve played good sides these last few weeks and haven’t threatened the goal nearly enough. Not enough shots, not enough goalmouth action. Today we scored two and had five or six other good chances. We’ve hit the bar and their keeper has made a couple of good saves. We were much better as a forward threat but badly let ourselves down with poor defending.
 
“Is the glass half full or half empty? At the moment, I’m not sure. I’m not going to dress things up for our boys. They need to listen, do what is asked and have a desire to defend as well as attack. They need to do what is necessary on the pitch. That might be a horrible 50 yard recovery run against someone with pace. We haven’t had enough of that recently and we need to address that quickly.
 
“We still need to secure our playoff place. There are three games left and a lot can go wrong. On the flipside, a lot can go right. So we need to make sure come Saturday, we’ve got the right team selections, the right tactics in place and go win. We do that, we’re in decent shape.
 
“Two massive home games now, because Hythe Town away on the last day is not a game you want to be going into needing something to secure a playoff spot. They’re on a fantastic run at the moment so we need to make sure next Saturday is nothing else but three points. We need a win by hook or by crook – whatever is necessary in order to get a positive result.
 
“If we come up short, then it’s clear we aren’t good enough. I believe we are good enough, but the boys need to quickly look at themselves and realise what I’m saying is right. If they do that, then we can secure playoffs, go into the semi-final confident and win the whole thing.”

Corinthian-Casuals 1 - 3 Lewes
Bostik League South
Saturday 7th April 2018
Match report and photos: Stuart Tree (set of pics here).

Corinthian-Casuals’ Manager James Bracken conceded making the top two automatic promotion spots following a 3-1 loss to League Leaders Lewes at King George’s Arena on Saturday.
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Two goals in the first fifteen minutes essentially wrapped up the tie despite a brief comeback in the second half when Josh Uzun scored from the spot. However, five minutes later, an own goal settled the tie.

Casuals came into the match without their captain and three-times goalkeeper of the month Danny Bracken after sustaining a fibula fracture at Walton Casuals on Monday. In stepped experienced veteran Gareth Williams, who had already notched up over 120 appearances for Corinth some fifteen years ago. Williams, who began his career at Casuals hadn’t played a competitive match since retiring two years ago yet performed like he’d only played last week. The home side were also without Harry Ottaway (unavailable), Coskun Ekim (injured), Gabriel Odunaike (suspended) whilst Jordan Clarke was dropped to the bench suffering from illness. At the other end,

Lewes were without their regular keeper who was absent on leave, though otherwise named a strong line-up.

Within the first ten minutes, Casuals’ task of needing three points was made harder when poor defending let Frankie Chappell head freely direct from a corner kick.

Gareth Williams had to be alert at the other end expertly tipping over an attempted lob by Leon Redwood to keep Lewes within reach. But it was almost a repeat performance from the resulting corner just minutes later when Lloyd Cotton gained bags of space to volley home Lewes’ second. Casuals were in disarray at the back and potentially could’ve collapsed.

However, the home side composed themselves and began to play themselves back into the match. Mu Maan tested Max Huxter in goal with a fizzing shot. Max Oldham produced a fierce cross only to evade all on-coming Casuals’ attackers. Terry Murray on his 100th appearance also fired a long range effort that narrowly passed the crossbar. At the opposite end, Jonte Smith broke free but was expertly denied by the experienced Williams.

A further addition to Casuals’ growing list of injuries came in the form of Ben Cheklit, only just returning to first XI action after a layoff. Clarke called into action earlier than it would’ve been liked.

Within moments of the second half commencing, Lewes could’ve added a third, when Bouwe Bosma delicately lobbed Williams only for the post to deny the Rooks. Casuals’ stopper also prevented Jamie Brotherton with another fine stop. Perhaps a turning point? It could’ve seen that way when Josh Uzun was felled in Lewes’ penalty area. Ever reliable from 12 yards, Uzun dispatched the resulting spot kick to give Casuals hope of a comeback.

It was short-lived; Five minutes later, from another set piece, the ball came to Leon Redwood who looked to cross into the box, saw his effort headed over Williams for an unfortunate own-goal.

It looked to have deflated Casuals and the league leaders were able to comfortably see out the remaining minutes with ease to keep their grip on top spot.

“It wasn’t good enough today, that’s for sure,” said Bracken following the loss. “To let in two set-pieces the way we did was soft. They’re soft goals to concede. Against a good side like Lewes, you can’t gift them a two-goal head start. That’s what we’ve done. It’s just not good enough.

“The first goal is bad. The second one is atrocious. The amount of space we’ve given them in the box is criminal. To give him 15 yards of space to allow him to perform a bicycle kick with no-one around is indefensible. Someone’s not done their job properly.

“But there was a lot of lads that haven’t done their job today.

“It’s simple; to win a game of football against a top side you’ve got to have seven or eight of your players giving at least 7/10 performances. Today, we had no-one above a six. No-one has played well. Everyone has underperformed. No-one had that fire in their belly for what was needed today.

“That’s what games like this are about. Sometimes you can win being at only 60% of your best but today, we should’ve been looking to hit our absolute best. We didn’t find enough.

“When we pulled a goal back, I thought we’d have a go at this. Had we not conceded another very poor goal, with the flicked-on deflected shot, then who knows what could’ve happened? Just after we scored, there was a little moment where we started to rock them, but we didn’t sustain the pressure. They then score the poorest goal of the day from our point of view.

“Three awful goals conceded against Lewes? Of course you expect to lose.

“I said to the boys after, I can’t keep taking sole responsibility, which I choose to do for these kind of results. I will feel awful for the rest of the week now and will permanently have the hump until next Saturday. I’ve asked them to share the responsibility in defeat with me. Don’t go home and be alright with this. They shouldn’t be. With four games to go, you’ve got to breathe fire to get promoted. You don’t achieve promotion by hitting 60% of your level. Not just technically but with attitude, commitment, workrate… everything.

“Lewes looked like a team that could win the league. They were good, organised, full of belief. Two goals have helped them at the start which set the tone. And we certainly didn’t look that way today. We need to do better next week.

“The only positive is results elsewhere. Again, they’ve given us a reprieve. We always said there’d still be twists and turns in this league. Unfortunately, we’ve not managed to take advantage of it. But with four games to go, we’re right in there for that third place – the top two have gone. We’ll be going all out to get that. We have to show up with more fire.

Speaking of his last minute stand-in keeper, Bracken added, “Gareth Williams done fantastic today. Couldn’t have done anything about the goals. He’s come in, helping us out doing great for the team and the club. He’s thoroughly cheesed off at the result. He’s got great pride in what he does and even though he’s not played in a long while, he want’s to do well. He was let down today by the rest. He’s come in and done his best.”

He finished off with a request to his players to step up.

“If we get promoted, this performance will soon be forgotten about. If we play like this in the next two games and we slip out of the playoffs, or do it in a semi-final, then it’s cost us everything.

“As individuals, they need to take responsibility and ensure that’s not on their shoulders because that isn’t something that can be easily dismissed. Errors can stick with you forever. Take Dave Hodges last season in the playoff final. He’s got broad shoulders and will understand, but missing a penalty in the playoff final, he’ll tell you that’ll be with him forever. It’s not his fault he didn’t win… we didn’t take our chances, but you’ve got to make sure that when these moments come along, you have to grab them. If someone’s going to fall short of the mark, make sure it isn’t you. If they all embrace that next week and after, we’ll win.” 

Walton Casuals 0 - 0 Corinthian-Casuals
Bostik League South
Monday 2nd April 2018
Match report and photos: Stuart Tree (set of pics here)
Andy Nunn's photos can be seen here
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​Corinthian-Casuals suffered a major blow to their promotion chances when Goalkeeper and Captain Danny Bracken suffered a nasty injury which could rule him out for the rest of the season.
 
With just twenty minutes gone at Walton Casuals, Bracken looked to have made a routine save but instantly looked distressed as he seeked medical attention.
 
“It doesn’t look good for my brother,” said Manager and elder of the two James Bracken. “Hopefully it isn’t too bad. He’s distraught. He prides himself on being available every week and the levels of performance he puts in is unreal.
 
James Bracken also took to Twitter after the match to say “To see any player suffer an injury like today is hard. When it's your brother it makes it wrenching. Everyone at Corinthian-Casuals needs to keep stepping up. Me included. You don't replace a Danny Bracken. You can't. But he'll be back soon just like we'll be ready 3pm Saturday.”
 
Casuals already had the tough task of trying to prise three points from their Walton namesakes who’d only lost once at their new Elmbridge Sports Hub ground. Anthony Gale’s side are also in contention for at least a playoff berth with just six games of the regular season left.
 
Corinth had snuck a last gasp 1-0 win over Walton back on New Year’s Day but this time, they’d face former Captain Joe Hicks – commanding as ever in defence. Casuals were without Walton’s ex-hitman Gabriel Odunaike through suspension and Harry Ottaway took a place on the bench after suffering from illness over the weekend.
 
However, plans were thrown into chaos with the injury to Danny Bracken. With no replacement keeper on the bench, eyes turned to Josh Uzun – possibly the smallest player on the field to act as the last line of defence.
 
What occurred was an astounding display of shot stopping from the young striker. Uzun made a string of excellent saves to prevent a counter-attacking Walton from taking the lead. Corinth had to ride their luck at times with the crossbar and post coming to their rescue. Taking nothing away from the substitute keeper’s performance, Uzun made saves that Danny Bracken himself would’ve been proud to have made. The back four of Walker, Murray, Strange and Morgan were excellent in protecting their teammate and Coskun Ekim was imperious before a knee injury ended his afternoon.
 
For the most part, Walton were able to keep Corinth’s sustained pressure. Max Oldham had the best chance of the afternoon when breaking free on the right, lashed a vicious shot which was expertly matched by Denzel Gerrar in the Walton goal.
 
Walton will feel aggrieved that they didn’t capitalise on Corinth’s bad luck and both sides failed to gain ground on their promotion rivals. However, this very much felt like a win for Casuals supporters who gave a rapturous applause for their new goalkeeping hero.
 
“Josh Uzun was absolutely fantastic when taking his place in goal,” continued the Manager. “When an outfield player dons the gloves, the other side will fancy their chances especially when he’s had to play the majority of the game in goal. When they’ve had over an hour of playing against a lad who’s not a keeper, you’d think they’d win the game. Especially with Walton’s home record. They’ve lost just once at the Hub all season and are top of the home form table. So that’ll be a big blow for them because they’d expect to win when we don’t have a keeper.
 
“Take nothing away from Josh’s performance. I said to him afterwards, had you been Danny, I’d be giving you Man of the Match. He earns that on merit.
 
“We had some good performances all over the pitch. Everyone found a massive amount of spirit. When needing to run back and defend, despite being tired, they found that little extra.
 
“Going forward, had we been a little better in the final third, we’d have carved out one or two more chances. We overhit a few crosses and tried to walk the ball into the net at times. You look at Max Oldham’s effort where their keeper has pulled off a wonderful save. Another day, that might go in and we’d have got all three points with no goalkeeper.
 
“A point is good though. It keeps Walton a long way behind us and still in touch with those above us too.
 
“Finding a replacement will be difficult. The signing on deadline has just passed. I’ll have to look at what we can and cannot do. I’ll do whatever I can to ensure come next week, we have a goalie who is more than good enough to play. To be honest, on that performance today, Josh is good enough to play. Will I play him in goal? No. I’ll make sure we get the best goalkeeper I can at this stage of the season.”