Corinthian-Casuals 2-4 Carshalton Athletic
Bostik League One South
Monday 28th August 2017
Match report - Cameron Smith

It was a fourteen minute second-half spell that condemned Corinthian-Casuals to a 4-2 loss as Carshalton Athletic’s capability to convert their chances defeated a Danny Cunningham brace in the Bostik League Divison One South at the King George’s Arena.

“I believe this is a better team than the one we had at the end of last season.” These words from James Bracken following the 5-0 victory over East Grinstead on Saturday injected even more hope into Casuals supporters as the annual Bank Holiday fixtures were next; a tough clash with Carshalton Athletic was on the horizon. Jerson Dos Santos stole the show in the visit to West Sussex with a terrific hat-trick, whilst Reyon Dillon and Josh Uzun were the other scorers.

The Robins have had a brilliant start to their 17/18 Division One South campaign as an unbeaten run of three games includes two wins and a draw, as well as their progression into the first round of the Emirates FA Cup. Predicted to grab an automatic promotion spot at the start of the season, Peter Adeniyi’s side have a few renowned names in their squad, with goal-scoring machine Tommy Bradford, former-Chipstead striker Raheem Sterling-Parker and ex-Corinthian Casuals centre-back Danny Dudley in their ranks. The fantastic Dudley, who was a crucial part of the team that reached the play-off final last season, joined Carshalton in the summer and would make his first appearance back at King George’s.

Looking to combat the strong starting eleven of the Sutton-based club was the on-form Casuals side, fresh from a morale-boosting win two days before. James Bracken decided to utilize the great depth of his squad; hotshot Gabriel Odunaike and set-piece king Josh Uzun were rested. It was Malachi Robinson who would take the place of ‘Gabby’ on the wing, whilst Uzun would give the no.9 shirt to Daniel Cunningham. After a few absences, Dave Hodges returned to the match-day squad, but was given a spot on the bench as Jamie Byatt thrived in left-back again.

Silky passing and outstanding organisation (especially in midfield) saw Casuals outbalance the strong attacking and defensive presence of Carshalton in the first thirty minutes, with the twenty-minute mark producing an opening goal. After a few minutes of speculation around the penalty area, Ben Cheklit found some space on the right flank to whip an early cross towards Cunningham in the box. It was a perfectly placed assist for the striker to peel away from his marker Dudley and dive towards the ball, before connecting and sending it into the goalkeeper’s near post. Brilliant anticipation from Cunningham gave Casuals the 1-0 lead. Starting slightly better than the visitors, Corinth could not keep up with the pace and prowess of the attacking red shirts of Carshalton as they settled. Then, in the 43rd minute, Casuals would lose their lead. It seemed inevitable that Jordan Cheadle, who netted a set-piece at King George’s on Boxing Day for former side Walton Casuals, would dispatch the penalty. Jack Strange’s challenge resulted in the spot-kick, which Cheadle did in fact score. Carshalton struck back just before the break; it was 1-1.

Half-time gave spectators a chance to have a breather following forty-five minutes of full-on football. Would the second-half bring the same intensity? Or would one side prevail?

It was the latter that was the outcome.

Six minutes after play was resumed, Carshalton struck via no.11 Mickel Miller, who managed to capitalise from a corner. A decent following, the Robins contingent behind the goal were delighted to take the lead for the first time in the game, but they would be celebrating again soon. Miller was not finished with the chocolate & pink defence and would burst onto the scene in the 63rd minute, before beating Danny Bracken and firing into the net. It was a very different performance from the Casuals everyone saw in the first-half as the tight midfield and solid back four was loosened up by the clinical Carshalton. It was now 3-1, but Raheem Sterling-Parker wanted in on the goalscoring two minutes later; the no.9 oozed class when he slotted home another goal for the away side. Four goals to one, Athletic were surely victors?

The Corinthians behind the goal, nor the ones on the pitch gave up after the fourth and seemingly deciding goal flew into the back of the net. Dos Santos was on the edge of the area when he decided to power a shot towards goal, and despite the goalkeeper getting his gloves on it, the rebound fell perfectly for Cunningham. Fuelled by his first, the striker was first to the loose ball again, when he nodded past keeper Richard Ossai. Awoken by Danny’s second goal, the Casuals fans resumed their chants and resumed their support- it was 4-2 with twenty-two minutes left. Anything was possible!

However, just moments before Cunningham netted his second header of the day, Ben Cheklit hobbled off the pitch for Max Oldham, which was a worrying sign for the Casuals. The final twenty minutes were long and agonising for both sides, but it was definitely more agonising for Corinthian-Casuals, who had three stand-out chances to jump back into the game.

Dos Santos was circulating on the edge on the box again when the no.10 had another effort on goal, but his low shot narrowly missed the goal, and clipped the post on its way behind. Carshalton seemed to sit back slightly in the last 10 minutes, so their relaxed style of play would be shaken by a glorious chance for Casuals.

The third golden chance was rejected by Richard Ossai- the Carshalton shot-stopper. Cunningham proved to be a real pain for the Robins throughout the 90 minutes and nearly grabbed his hat-trick when Jamie Byatt’s incredible left foot curled a cross for the striker, who managed to clip the ball high in the air with a single touch. It was an audacious effort that deserved to dip over Ossai and into the net, but the keeper’s quick reactions prevented a third goal. The deflated Casuals supporters could only applaud Ossai’s stunning save.

Jack Strange was shaking his head when he left the field for half-time at East Grinstead, and even muttered to the Casuals supporters ‘I could’ve had a hat-trick!’ as three identical headers from set-pieces flew narrowly wide. Strange would be put in the same situation again versus Carshalton as the centre-back connected with a Uzun (who came off the bench for Mu Maan) corner and directed the ball towards goal. The leap was perfect, the power was perfect and the accuracy… was near-perfect as the header shattered against the underside of the crossbar. The ball bounced on the goal-line before being cleared and the Casuals supporters joined the players in screaming for a goal to be allowed- they thought it was over the line. Referee Mr Sunny Gill peered over to the linesman on the touchline, who was shaking his head and the man in black continued with play. Harsh was an understatement as James Bracken’s army had hit the post and the crossbar, but to no avail.

The full-time whistle blew without another Casuals goal as Carshalton left Tolworth with three points and a 4-2 away win.

Thank you to Carshalton Athletic for a thrilling Bank Holiday fixture on a roasting Monday afternoon. The result bumped the Robins into second place in the league as Walton Casuals remain at the top without a defeat or a draw- four games, four wins. Casuals’ short-lived winning streak was over, but James Bracken’s side would be happy that the next round of the FA Cup was next on the list as Ashford Town beckoned on Saturday 2nd.

After the match, Assistant Manager Dan Pringle reflected on the afternoon.

"First 45 minutes, we were in total control. We attacked at will, created some good opportunities but were disappointed to go in at half time at one-apiece. It was a sloppy penalty to give away. I feel they were quite fortunate to be on level terms with us at that point.

“We can put the loss down to a mad ten minutes in the second half. We switched off and got punished for it. We showed good character to come back from it. Great for Dan Cunningham to bag a couple of goals and Jack Strange's header, which was clearly over the line could’ve made all the difference. But we left it too late.

“When you concede four goals, you cannot expect to win a game of football.

“We need to cut out the errors. The four goals we conceded were very sloppy on our part. We weren’t carved open or never inflicted any sustained pressure on us. But the two goals in two minutes hurt us.

“It’s one game today where we’ve been punished for mistakes but there’s 42 more league games to go. Let’s see where we are at the tail end of the season.

“Everyone has to be a little bit careful with their expectations of the club. Last year was fantastic, reaching the playoff final. But we lost nine players in the Summer. To completely rebuild the squad again with people expecting the same results from us is obviously difficult.

“We have no playing budget as everyone knows and we’ve had to start from scratch again. But James and I have so much belief in our ability and in the ability of the lads that there’s no reason we can’t be up there again.

“This is probably the toughest start to the season that we could’ve had. But we’re through to the next round of the FA Cup and two wins in the league, including beating title favourites Greenwich… we’d have probably taken that if it was offered to us at the start.”

East Grinstead Town 0 - 5 Corinthian-Casuals
Bostik League One South
Saturday 26th August 2017
Match report - Cameron Smith - Photos Stuart Tree

On a fine summer afternoon at the picturesque East Court, Corinthian-Casuals netted five goals to comfortably defeat East Grinstead Town, with the help of hat-trick hero Jerson Dos Santos as James Bracken’s army marched onto three more points in the Bostik League Division One South.

It took eighty-five minutes for Corinthians to finally take the lead on Tuesday evening as an impressive performance in the Emirates FA Cup Preliminary Round replay versus Hythe was finally served justice when Josh Uzun converted a spot-kick. Ben Cheklit was able to add his name onto the scoresheet soon after, which extended the lead to 3-1 after Gabriel Odunaike cancelled out a Hythe opener. The long-winded trip back to Tolworth was a time for reflection and preparation for the next game; East Grinstead Town away beckoned.
Despite participating in the Casuals Reserve fixture against Leatherhead on Thursday, Max Oldham and Daniel Cunnigham grabbed a spot on the substitute’s bench. Bracken’s starting lineup was completely unchanged and all eleven faces had appeared in the successful Hythe replay. Since the opening day defeat at Hastings, Casuals have started an unbeaten streak in all competitions, but looking to thwart the confident Corinth was an opposition from West Sussex- East Grinstead Town. A loss and a draw in the league, the Wasps have had a bittersweet campaign so far with success coming from the FA Cup Preliminary Round as a 3-2 victory over VCD Athletic sent them into the next round. Would Matt Longhurst and his side cripple Casuals’ momentum?

The away strip of white and dark blue was used by Casuals whilst East Grinstead wore their yellow and black home kit. As soon as the referee began proceedings, it was clear to see that Corinthians were up for causing havoc amongst the Wasps’ back four. With six minutes on the clock, attacking ace Josh Uzun perfectly weighted a through ball for striker Reyon Dillon, who did very well to keep onside, but the no.11’s shot on goal was saved by keeper Oshane Brown. It was parried away for a corner kick, and the following set-piece resulted in a chance for Jack Strange as he peeled away from his marker, but couldn’t steer his header into the back of the net as it flew wide. Set-pieces and corners were a plenty for the visitors as Strange had another stray header edge just past of the post.

Then in the 28th minute, Casuals finally broke the agonising and undeserved deadlock. Jerson Dos Santos’ drive towards goal was initially blocked by the stern gloves of keeper Brown, but the East Grinstead no.1 was unable to keep hold of the ball and Dillon was there to poke the ball home from a few yards out. The 1-0 score-line didn’t reflect Casuals’ brilliant start to the game… it should have been more! Ten minutes later, nothing much had changed as the Wasps grew more agitated with each-other, failing to end Corinth’s dominance. Uzun was the main troublemaker as he twisted and turned in the penalty area attempting to find a crevice to slot the ball through before Andrew Cooney lost his patience and slid in on Uzun. Whilst gaining the ball, Cooney was found guilty of fouling the Casuals player during the tackle, which saw the referee point to the spot. Angry complaints from both the East Grinstead supporters and players was drowned out by the Casuals contingent singing the Josh Uzun’s name. He won it, and he would take it. Just like his conversion on Tuesday, Uzun looked relaxed as he sent Brown the wrong way to score. It was 2-0 Casuals. The remainder of the half was played out and half-time was signalled.

It only took two minutes for Casuals to nick a third goal, with many supporters still enjoying the break and missing the eagerness of Jerson Dos Santos. It has been an unlucky spell so far for the no.10, who had started all four Casuals games this season but has been elusive to his first goal despite a few promising performances. Dos Santos burst onto the left flank- nudging off defenders with ease- and hammered a simple yet accurate effort past the oncoming keeper. It was 3-0 to the Casuals, and three points seemed to be heading back to Tolworth.
A terrific display from the midfield, Corinthian’s men in the middle did not give East Grinstead any time to rest as the constant attacking movement gave Mu Maan a creative license to occasionally roam forwards, but it wasn’t from the no.8 that saw Casuals score again, it was from the fatigue of the hosts. An extremely risky backpass from a yellow shirt left keeper Brown in a dilemma as the alert Dillon pounced onto the opportunity, but was stalked by the intimidating East Grinstead shot-stopper before he cut the ball back to Dos Santos, who was in the right place at the right time to fire the ball into the top corner. The score was four goals to nil with a brace from Dos Santos.

East Grinstead did have the ball in the back of the net at one point, which prompted cheers from the quiet cluster of fans around the ground. However, it was short-lived and it was time for Casuals fans to cheer as the linesman adjudged the goal offside. A clean-sheet for Bracken was still very much on the cards as Casuals pressed for a fifth. With three goals in all competitions to his name so far, Maan was searching for his fourth of the campaign when he collected the ball thirty yards out and rocketed a ferocious effort that was coasting towards the top right corner. The giant in the net stood completely still and just watched Maan’s mighty effort slam onto the crossbar and ricochet away from goal. It was fortunate for East Grinstead, but very unfortunate for Mu and the Casuals.

Chances came and went for Corinthians, but it was the 90th minute where the inevitable no.5 arrived. Again under pressure from full-backs, beast Jerson Dos Santos was a lion as he hunted ruthlessly for his hat-trick, pacing past yellow shirts before expertly curling the ball into the bottom corner with security and skill. An incredible goal-scoring feat for Casuals was brought to an end, with Dos Santos cradling the match ball at the final whistle. East Grinstead had conceded five, to give  Corinth three points.
After match-day three, the Bostik League Division One South is topped by the unbeaten Walton Casuals, who won three out of three games. Casuals are positioned in 10th despite two wins off the back of an opening day loss. Next up for the formidable army is Carshalton Athletic at King George’s Field on Bank Holiday Monday.
Stuart Tree spoke to Casuals boss James Bracken after the match.
“We played well but probably should’ve scored a lot more,” said Bracken after the win.
 
“I’m not exaggerating; we could’ve, and should’ve been four or five nil up at half time. We did a lot wrong. Our set pieces weren’t very good and we’ll address those.
 
“However, the result is obviously pleasing and there’s lots of positives to take. It’s pleasing to see the boys shooting a bit more. That’s probably been the one thing that’s been lacking in our game. We’ve had plenty of good possession and slick passages of play but we’ve been guilty of not creating chances and shooting.
 
Today, we went out there with instructions to shoot more and just be confident in what we’re doing. That showed. The only criticism I can give is that we didn’t score more.”
 
After an opening day defeat at Hastings United, Bracken’s side are undefeated in all competitions going into the Bank Holiday. But the Manager wants more.
 
“Six points from the first three games and a spot in the next round of the FA Cup is nice, But I want 9 points. Had we played Hastings United next week, who we lost to on the opening day, we would win.”
 
“I believe this is a better team than the one we had at the end of last season.
 
“We’ve done a lot of work with the way that we play. It’s not been often that I can sit back in the dugout and enjoy the last half hour.
 
“In the past, we’ve been too guilty of not killing games off when we should. We managed to do that today.
 
“That’s down to the amount of work we’ve done here behind the scenes. Others talk about coaching shapes and developing styles of play but I don’t see a lot from them.
 
“You can see with us what we’ve worked on. Other teams cannot get to grips with us at all. Long may that continue.”

Hythe Town 1 - 3 Corinthian-Casuals
FA Cup Preliminary Round replay
Tuesday 22nd August 2017
Match report - Cameron Smith

Following the 1-1 stalemate in the Emirates FA Cup Preliminary Round, Hythe Town were hosts to Corinthian-Casuals for the all-important replay match, in which the visitors left the Reachfields Stadium with a 3-1 victory and a spot in the next round.

Mu Maan oozed confidence as he faked a shot on goal to round a blue shirt before delicately yet powerfully firing a low effort into the bottom corner of the net. It took Casuals eighty-eight minutes to equalise versus Hythe Town on Saturday; Maan was on the scoresheet again, but the equaliser was a bittersweet one as the midfielder prevented an early exit for Corinth, but sealed a tough away trip to the south coast of Kent for the replay.

It was a very mild summer evening at the cosy and quiet Reachfields Stadium, before the storm arrived. I am not talking about the weather, but the coach carrying the squad of optimistic Corinthians. James Bracken’s lineup would hint at Casuals’ approach to both the game and preparation for upcoming fixtures. A much-changed back four saw Nathan Daly and Jack Strange keep their places whilst the absent Dave Hodges was replaced by Jamie Byatt at left-back and Coskun Eskim shifted into centre-back ahead of Tommy Smith, who was benched. There was a place in the substitutes for Malachi Robinson as Ben Cheklit wore the more defensive no.6 shirt whilst Reyon Dillon made his first start in attack. There were three returning faces on the bench for Casuals as winger Jordan Clarke, striker Shaun Brown and midfield powerhouse Kevant Serbony had places in the match-day squad.

For the first time this season, Casuals wore the white shirts of the away kit whilst Hythe returned to the comfort of their traditional red strip. The opening ten minutes was heavily one-sided as Corinth came straight out of the blocks and capitalized on the hosts’ lack of concentration. Jerson Dos Santos was already proving a menace; the no.10 was positioned on the right flank when he cut the ball back for Maan, who was only able to guide his shot into the chest of a Hythe defender. Another opportunity arose, this time from the right flank as the agile Jamie Byatt used his ferocious pace to accelerate towards goal and hit a half-baked effort towards the top left corner. Will Godmon of Hythe was ready to palm the ball away as Corinth started the brightest.

At first Hythe’s long ball tactics were ousted by Casuals’ on-the-floor football, but as the game settled and nerves were put at rest, the hosts edged into the game subtly. Their reward was the opening goal. Just outside of the area, tricky midfielder Ryan Palmer fired a low shot towards captain Danny Bracken, but somehow the ball ended up in the back of the net , and Casuals were undeservedly 1-0 down.  

Corinth were quick and precise with their attacking prowess as superb passages of play between Odunaike, Maan, Dos Santos and Uzun caused monumental trouble for Hythe. Another chance from the active Byatt was saved by Godmon as the no.1 seemed alert at all times. However, it wasn’t the fault of Godmon in the 40th minute, where Casuals scored and made it 1-1. In fact, it wasn’t the fault of any Hythe player, it was the skill of Gabriel Odunaike that left the hosts bamboozled. A mix of pure strength and unbeatable acceleration, Odunaike powered past Hythe’s helpless full-back before composing himself and stealthily slotting past the keeper. A weight had been lifted off Casuals’ shoulders as the score was rightfully levelled again. The Casuals Contingent looked short of numbers behind the goal, but it did not sound like it as the five supporters were in raptures. ‘Gabby’ Odunaike had netted his first goal for the Casuals and it had been long overdue.

The referee soon blew his whistle for the break; it had been an eventful first half, but there was much more to come. Josh Uzun was enjoying terrorizing defences with either his eagle-eyed vision and passing or spectacular set-pieces, but was not able to put Casuals 2-1 up early in the second half as a low shot was saved after impressive team play. The atmosphere inside the Reachfields changed as the Hythe supporters seemed to wake, but not to cheer on their team, to appeal to the referee. Normal time was running out, and the prospect of extra-time and a penalty shootout seemed to fuel mistimed challenges and heated confrontations. This distracted from the tempo of the game and the quality seemed to falter too.

In the 85th minute, with the score still level, a single touch changed everything. Reyon Dillon was kept onside by the last defender, and had a fantastic opportunity when presented one-on-one with goalkeeper Godmon. Fan favourite Dillon deliciously lifted the ball over the head of the oncoming keeper in one intelligent and skillfull flick. Attempting to race past Godmon to put the ball in the back of the net, Dillon was blatantly dragged to the floor by the keeper, which resulted in the sharp blow of the referee’s whistle. It was a penalty to Corinth and a red card for Will Godmon, who was without complaints as he solemnly exited the pitch, not before he gave an inexperienced teammate his gloves. It was the regular Josh Uzun who would take it, and the midfielder composed himself before assumingly sending the keeper the wrong way with a cool finish. Suddenly, the whole game changed: Hythe were down to ten men, and Casuals were 2-1 up!

The final five minutes saw the Cannons make a few substitutions in hope of an equaliser against all odds, but hope diminished in the 90th minute, when Ben Cheklit hammered a low shot into the bottom left corner to end the game once and for all. It was 3-1, and the Casuals supporters were ecstatic. A hit-and-hope effort from sub Tommy Smith nearly made it four goals to one, but the keeper collected the powerful shot from the centre-back with surprising ease for an outfield player! The referee ended proceedings shortly after: Corinthian-Casuals had defeated Hythe Town 3-1 and had sealed a place in the first Qualifying Round!

Ashford Town are the opponents, with the first round tie being held at the Robert Parker Stadium on Saturday 2nd September. For James Bracken’s Pink & Brown Army, it was another away day on the agenda, this time in the Bostik League Division One South- East Grinstead Town this Saturday before Carshalton Atheltic travell to King George’s on Monday 28th.

Corinthian-Casuals 1 - 1 Hythe Town
FA Cup
Saturday 19th August 2017
Match report - Cameron Smith
Photos - Stuart Tree

A deft equaliser in the 88th minute saw Corinthian-Casuals’ midfield maestro Mu Maan grab his third goal in three games and earn his side a replay at Hythe Town in the Emirates FA Cup Preliminary Round.

The FA Cup doesn’t begin in January. A terrific four-page spread in the Casuals programme details how the long-established cup deserves to be recognized at the start of the competition- not just when the big clubs enter in the third round. It was a different buzz around the King George’s Arena; the FA Cup was back! Despite an unkind record in the prestigious cup, the pressure seemed to be lifted a little as the intensity of the league departed, only to be replaced by the expectations in cup competitions.

James Bracken was obviously impressed with Casuals’ performance versus Greenwich Borough on Tuesday as the manager made only one change from his victorious starting eleven. Danny Cunningham was dropped to the bench ahead of Josh Uzun, who was alongside Jerson Dos Santos and Ben Cheklit as attackers. Mu Maan, who netted the winner in the dying seconds of the Greenwich game, donned the no.8 shirt once more as Corinth looked to gain momentum after that dramatic, morale-boosting 1-0 win. The opponents were Kent-based Hythe Town. The Cannons were victims to a 5-0 defeat at home to the formidable Corinthians in their last meeting, but did score six to beat Casuals in the game at Tolworth almost a year ago. It would certainly be an interesting match.

Pre-match beverages were consumed, burgers were bought, and areas around the ground were populated. The pink and brown of Casuals walked side-by-side with the blue of Hythe Town onto the carpet of King George’s before the referee held a minute’s applause for former Corinthian-Casuals player Doug Insole, who passed away aged 91. Then, the preliminary round of the FA Cup was underway.

Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. That’s the only description I can use to report the possession in the first half as Casuals and Hythe mostly shared the ball equally, with only a few chances for either side. Despite the equal possession, it was the visitors who seemed to use their share for the better as Danny Bracken and his back four were busy in keeping the blue shirts of Hythe from scoring. An explosive counter attack was the highlight for Hythe as Bracken stretched to palm the ball away following a powerful effort. The conditions in Tolworth were far from ideal as the wind disrupted set-pieces and long kicks, perhaps prompting tactical changes from both sides. It was only half-chances for the hosts, who seemed to possess an initial burst of energy and potential before being halted in their tracks by Hythe, or making the wrong decision. At half-time, neither team had made an overwhelming impact- it was 0-0.

Coskun Eskim would make his first appearance of the season as the midfield regular from the previous campaign returned at the break, taking the place of the cautioned Tommy Smith in defence. As the second 45 started, the Casuals contingent hoped that significant improvements had been made at the break, but there was no sign of anything notably different until the 59th minute… where Hythe took the lead. A goal that was irritating to concede, yet also unfortunate, no.5 Mitchell Dickinson leaped into the air alongside Casuals’ keeper Danny Bracken, but the blue shirt prevailed over the no.1 as the ball bounced into the empty net. Celebration for Hythe, confusion for Casuals.

Bracken picked himself up and saved Casuals from going 2-0 down moments later as the keeper valiantly palmed an accurate shot away from goal. For the next twenty minutes, it would prove to be a game of half-chances and scrappy play. However, as time went by, Corinthians gained more confidence and had most of the chances in the final ten minutes. Then, in the 88th minute, the pink & brown army struck gold. Dos Santos was located on the edge of the area when he was shoved to the ground by a blue shirt, but play continued as the no.10 looked for options. Masterfully tricking Hythe’s Sam Adams, Dos Santos passed the ball to Mu Maan whilst looking into the other direction- buying time for the midfielder with possession. Maan left Dickenson for dead as he turned past him before unleashing a subtle piledriver into the goalkeeper’s bottom left corner. The man of the moment reeled away in celebration as manager Bracken put a fist into the air in jubilation and relief. Another late goal from Mu Maan had saved Casuals.

With a few minutes left to play, Corinth attempted to grab a winner, but time was against them as the referee blew for full-time at King George’s Arena. Hythe’s 59th minute opener was cancelled out by a cool finish from Mr. Mu Maan.

The draw meant that a replay was in order, and Hythe Town would host the deciding fixture at the Reachfields Stadium on the following Tuesday evening. Would James Bracken’s pink and brown army be able to progress to the next round of the Emirates FA Cup at the second time of trying?

Corinthian-Casuals 1 - 0 Greenwich Borough
Bostik League South
Tuesday 15th August 2017
Match report and pics - Stuart Tree
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Two seconds to go… two.

That’s what Referee James Robinson indicated was left to play from the allocated three minutes time added on in the post-match boardroom pleasantries.

But it was enough time for 300+ game veteran Dave Hodges to slip a neat pass through to Mu Maan who beautifully slotted past Ben Bridle-Card in the Greenwich Borough goal to bag his second goal in three days and give Corinthian-Casuals the first three points of the season.

Gary Alexander and Greenwich supporters must hate playing Corinth; four times the sides have met and on each occasion, James Bracken’s amateurs have come out on top. Three of those occasions keeping a clean sheet. The other? A gripping playoff semi-final win in April.

This match would have to be packed with incident if it was to live up to that affair. However, a leading star that fateful night made his entrance once again – the returning Reyon Dillion - in the end, only missing for one competitive Casuals match. Dillon would play a cameo role later in the game with Bracken opting to keep a similar line-up to that which lost 2-1 at Hastings on Saturday. Only Josh Uzun would find himself on the bench in place of Michael Cunningham making his home debut.

Assistant Manager Dan Pringle must’ve felt lonely in the dugout following the departure of his colleague Joe Davies the previous day and with Bracken consigned for the stands serving the last stretch of his touchline ban. Following the game, Pringle was delighted, lamenting the fact that he had a 100% win record as Manager and comically boasted about being the most successful gaffer in Corinth’s history – he’s not wrong!

Truth be told, whilst the action was free-flowing and possessed a high intensity, finishing was lacking for both sides. Perhaps wary of each other’s prowess (Greenwich are tipped for the title by many), both sides looked to figure each other out in the first 45 minutes. A great chance presented itself to Borough when Charlie Macdonald charged down a clearance from Danny Bracken to find Babalola who in turn could only find the side netting.

This report could document the various ebb and flow of the second half, continuing much in the same vein as the first. Only a flurry of disappointing cautions distinguished the two halves. In a match where the proverbial ‘could play all night and not score’ was uttered, half chances went begging-a-plenty.

But if the game is to be remembered for one thing, it’s simply the 93rd minute. Dave Hodges, into his 302nd competitive appearance, still defies defenders with his simplistic but effective wing play, threaded a beautiful ball through to Mu Maan who slotted the ball past Bridle-Card and sent the vast majority of those in attendance into raptures. Is there a better way to win a match than with the last kick of the game? Certainly a bitter way to lose but graciously, once again, Borough Manager Alexander conceded defeat and wished well on his opposition.

“It’s a confidence booster,” said Bracken after the match.

“There’s no better time to score than in the last minute, but obviously we’re looking to score throughout the match.”

“Our build up play and possession was good but just lacking in the final third tonight.”

“I’d have taken two points from the first two games if I’m honest, playing sides who finished in the playoffs last season and who have the biggest budgets in the league.”

“So I’m delighted to come away with three points tonight.”

Casuals start their FA Cup campaign at home to Hythe Town on Saturday.

Hastings United 2 - 1 Corinthian-Casuals
Bostik League South
Saturday 12th August 2017
Match Report by Cameron Smith. Photos: Stuart Tree (full set here).

In a budding yet indecisive performance, the new-look Corinthian-Casuals side suffered a marginal 2-1 defeat at Hastings United on the opening day of the 2017/18 Bostik League Division One South.
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102 days. It was 102 agonising days without competitive football for Casuals supporters. Thirsty for the weekly fix of football on a Saturday (only just replenished by the annual pre-season friendlies), a cluster of the Corinthians contingent brushed off the near 2 hour journey to the seaside for the season opener, and headed down to Hastings. A lot has happened between the final penalty kick in the dramatic play-off final shootout at Dorking Wanderers and the first touch of the ball at the glorious Pilot Field. Nine of the brilliant promotion-hunting players of the last campaign have left the club, most notably, league top scorer Shaun Okojie swapping their pink and brown shirts for other colours. However, these departures have opened up gaps for new recruits, and manager James Bracken wasted no-time in introducing the newbies to Bostik League football.

For an incident that occurred in February versus Chatham Town, Corinthians would be without the pitch-side management of Bracken and Dan Pringle, as the duo serve a touchline suspension: they looked on from the stands with walkie-talkies in hand. With the trusty captain Danny Bracken in goal, the back four was a mix of new and old; Dave Hodges and Jack Strange alongside right-back Nathan Daly, and centre-back Tommy Smith. Powerhouse Kevant Serbony returned to the Casuals first-team with regulars Mu Maan, Ben Cheklit and Josh Uzun, whilst Gabriel Odunaike and Jerson Dos Santos donned the iconic home shirt for the first time. Jamie Byatt was the only returning Casuals player on the substitutes bench.

Hastings United grabbed a play-off spot last season (5th), but succumbed to a semi-final loss to Dorking Wanderers- on penalties. The U’s looked not only to replicate their success in the previous campaign, but to amplify it. The Pilot Field was drenched in glorious sunshine as the clock reached three o’clock, and the 400-or-so spectators took their places around the ground.

Starting the match with high-tempo football, Casuals began the better side as enthusiasm and energy was pumped into the veins of the visitors. A delightful move inside the first ten minutes resulted in the ball in the back of the net, but celebrations were halted by the referee’s piercing whistle. Casuals’ robust unit Jerson Dos Santos was causing trouble for the Hastings back four as the no.9 towered over a white shirt in the six yard box a little too forcefully so he could nod a Jack Strange help-on home. Ruled out for a push, the brief celebrations in the Casuals end was brought to a halt by Mr. Paul Harris. A scrappy yet entertaining first eleven minutes would soon result in a goal… but not to the ones with the chances. Jack Dixon rose the highest in a packed penalty area as the no.8 gave the hosts the 1-0 lead. A free-kick deflected straight onto the head of Dixon got the Hastings supporters on their feet for the first time in the afternoon- in the battle of Hastings, the U’s drew first blood!

Casuals’ energy levels seemed to wither after the opening goal, with the white shirts of Hastings obtaining much of the possession and chances. Sam Crutwell almost grabbed the second in the 26th minute when the attacker flashed a powerful effort high and wide of Danny Bracken’s net. Half chances popped up at various points for Casuals, who just weren’t able to grab the vital equaliser that the vocal supporters behind the goal were hoping for. On the verge of half-time, Jack Dixon positioned himself in the penalty area again, and was looking to ease the risky 1-0 scoreline with another goal- and he did just that. A cross from the left flank saw keeper Bracken and attacker Dixon jump for the ball in the air, but it was the Hastings player that got out of the collision victorious. It was half-time a few moments later, and James Bracken would have been glad to speak to his players following the disappointing display at the break.

Overall, the quality of the second-half was ugly. It was a scrappy affair, with fouls committed by both sides across the pitch, with Casuals’ Serbony limping off injured early on. Like fouls, chances were shared between the teams as Hastings had a terrific effort from outside the area saved by Bracken’s fingertips as the score stayed at 2-0…

Until the 78th minute, where Corinthians finally managed to defeat the formidable Josh Pelling in goal. Mu Maan fired a ferocious yet accurate shot into the top left corner of the Hastings no.1’s net. The patient fans behind the goal were able to celebrate at last, with the goal-scorer not getting ahead of himself and pacing backwards so he could start up another attack straight away. Maan’s brilliant strike closed the gap and made it 2-1. With the introduction of veteran Jamie Byatt, Casuals were frantic in their attacking as the tricky feet of Odunaike and Daly bamboozled the full-backs on the right flank. Jack Strange, scorer here last year saw his vicious header whistle inches above the crossbar. Byatt forced a dramatic fingertip save onto the post from Pelling and flashed the ball over the bar in one of Casuals’ last attempts to grab a deserved equaliser, but the full-time whistle terminated any chance of an opening day point. It was a performance with certain potential, but it lacked the cutting edge.

Thank you to Hastings United for their warm hospitality, we wish you good luck for the rest of the season! Despite the negative result, there were plenty of positives as new players showed their potential, and returning players refreshed us with their abilities. Corinthians’ tough start to the 17/18 campaign would continue on Tuesday evening as Greenwich Borough visited King George’s Field for the first Casuals home game of the season.

After the match, Manager James Bracken spoke about the result.

“Lots of positives. As far as defeats go, it’s not the worst.” 

“Most Managers probably say the same thing after a defeat but I thought we were at least worthy of a draw.
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“First half, we know that they’re going to want to play football, flood the midfield and use their rotations. They didn’t achieve it once. We limited them to very little controlled possession in our half and their centre halves would give the ball back to us or go long into the front.

“But we got caught out by two free kicks.”

“The first one, whenever you flick a ball on as a defender, it’ll always cause you problems at the back post. It wasn’t good from our point of view. It wasn’t a drastic error, rather just one of those things.

“The second one, I can’t comment on as I was writing something down at the time, so I’ve done a bit of a ‘Wenger’ there… I didn’t see it.

“I can’t be too hard on the lads because they followed our instructions.

“It’s a little disappointing that we’ve had our own chances in the first half in what was a tight game and to get undone by two goals like that made it an uphill struggle. We gave it a good go and by the end, we’ve laid siege in their half for the whole second period. With a little more guile and simplifying things we’d have created more chances. But we had chances and had we got the second goal early enough, we could’ve even gone on to win the game, because it was all us.

“Sitting in the stands for the game does hinder you to an extent but not as much as you’d expect. We had good communications with the dugout and with the boys relaying messages. It’s never going to be the same as if it comes directly from myself as by the time you relay the message, possession might have changed. The boys in the dugout, Joe (Davies) and Ike (Robertson-Feehi) done a great job. I’ve got no qualms about how it went.

“I’m emotional anyway and I want to win. Had I been in the dugout, I’d have got involved in appealing for decisions… and there were decisions that consistently went against us, that perhaps would’ve masked my view of the game. I’d have probably come away more fed up and wound up than I have. I’m not a good loser but I can certainly accept what happened today and accept the performance of our boys.

“I’ve been encouraged by our squad from the moment we’ve come back for pre-season. We lost nine players but gained a lot.

“We had seven missing today. Four of those are definite starters in what would be our strongest team. Some of those are players who got to the playoff final last season and they are missed when injured. Then again, the lads who’ve come in today have done well so I have no problem with that.

“We have a very good squad. We’re lucky in the fact that week-in, week-out we can get a good sixteen players out. That’s something we’ve never had a problem with. But those boys coming back from injury will be a big plus.”