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.
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.
RSS Feed