Corinthian-Casuals 2 - 3 Carshalton Athletic
Isthmian League Premier Division
Saturday 24th August 2019
Report and Photos: Stuart Tree (pics here)

​There were goals galore at King George’s on Saturday as Corinthian-Casuals will rue a slow start in the 3-2 loss to neighbours Carshalton Athletic in the Isthmian League Premier Division.

Manager James Bracken will take heart in the second-half fightback but once again, a tepid opening ten minutes ultimately cost the Amateurs any chance of points.

Nat Pinney returned to the starting line-up in place of the injured Ollie Sitch, whilst Hakeem Adelakun, who picked up a knock at Cray, was side-lined with Warren Morgan slotting in at left-back. Ever present in goal was Danny Bracken who was presented with an award for making 400 competitive appearances in a Casuals shirt.

Before much of the 271 in attendance could settle, Carshalton had taken the lead. Casuals looked slow to react to a swift Robins move which ended with Ernold Haxhiu sidefooting his effort past Bracken.

It was to get worse for Casuals, reeling from the initial shock. A poor judgement of a long ball allowed Ricky Korboa through and from inside the area, slotted past a helpless Bracken to make it 2-0 after just six minutes.

It could’ve been worse had Bracken not pulled off a smart save, tipping Jerry Amoo’s effort onto the post and to safety. Casuals were in danger of letting the game slip out of their hands within the first quarter of an hour.

The pace of the game slowed in the heat and Casuals gradually grew into the half, though chances were at a premium. Closest was Mike Dixon who raced onto a ball, beating an onrushing Pat Ohman in goal, but couldn’t convert after defender Luke Read cleared the lines.

But a lifeline was given to Casuals in the dying moments of the half, with Referee Andy Bennett awarding the first of three penalties in the match. Nat Pinney stepped up and notched Casuals first goal of the season.

An injured Jack Strange was replaced at half time with midfielder Coskun Ekim taking up a central defensive role. But it was Ekim who conceded a penalty, coming together with Korboa. Amoo fired to Bracken’s left, just out of reach of the keeper.

But Casuals weren’t done. A change of shape and added attacking options saw Morgan upended in the box after an impressive mazy run. However, Ohman was equal to Pinney’s spot kick and the scores remained the same.

That was until the 79th minute when substitutes Reyon Dillon and Leon Lalor-Dell combined to see the latter neatly finish from 15 yards to give Casuals hope. With wind in their sails, Corinth pushed forward. Serbony’s spectacular bicycle kick from 20 yards was sweetly struck but whistled inches over. Despite the late surge, Carshalton held on and take the three points back to Colston Avenue.
 
“We’ve had to thrash it out in the changing rooms after, because it’s not good enough,” lamented James Bracken after the match.

“We looked at the stats last season and we conceded three times more goals in the first half than the second. And that’s coupled with the fact we’ve scored twice as many in the second half as we had the first half. That’s frightening statistics.

“We’re a team who comes on strong due to good fitness levels, but when we’re conceding in the first half as we are, we’re always chasing games.

“Their penalty was soft. I didn’t think it was a spot-kick. It’s shoulder to shoulder and the lad threw himself on the floor as he did all afternoon. That’s not the way to play football. It was relentless. The referee got wise to it in the end, booking one of them for a dive, but by then, it’s too late.

“In a crazy way, we should’ve got something out of the game. At half time, I said ‘thank your lucky stars that we’re still in this game’. The way we played in the first half was appalling. We didn’t do anything right. But we’ve improved in the second and could’ve got a point had we not missed a penalty.”
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Casuals travel to Cheshunt on Bank Holiday Monday.

​"I’m always happy with a clean sheet away from home," said Manager James Bracken after the 0-0 at Cray Wanderers.

"At Cray, over the course of the season, we’ll look back on it as a good result."

"They scored a couple in the week against Folkestone so we’ve come here and shut them out. We had our opportunities too. We had the ball in the net, plenty of promising attacks though our final ball just let ourselves down.

"There’s no complaints from me today. Nothing but positives.

"Defensively we’re looking good. We’ve let in two goals in the first three games – that’s the best record in the league. We’ll continue to work on our forward play, and it’ll come good. I believe when we score a goal, with the defensive displays we’re putting in, we’ll wrap games up on the counter-attack and that’s where we’ll win matches.

Speaking on his Brother, Danny Bracken making his 400th competitive appearance, James said, “He’s been a fantastic servant to this club, more so than anyone else I know. Today, he’s had a good game. He didn’t have too much to do but what he did have to deal with, he made it look easy. That’s pleasing from my part. 400 games, a clean sheet – he can enjoy that like the rest of the team should."

Looking forward to next Saturday, at home to Carshalton Athletic, Bracken had the following to say.

"Carshalton is another stern test. But we can’t take past records as an indication of what will happen. I saw the stats before the Merstham fixture which stated that I’d never lost a league match played on the 13th of a month… well I have now. We might have beat Carshalton three times last season but it certainly doesn’t mean we’ll beat them this time around. I don’t read into stats too much. I don’t believe in ‘Bogey sides’. There are sides that have your number and if that’s the case, the next time you meet, you approach it differently.

"If we play like we did at today and at Haringey, then we’re in with a massive shout of getting the win. However, if we play as we did against Merstham, we’ll get nothing from it. What we worked on in training was much more evident today and as a Manager, that’s all I can ask. You saw that from the boys, the amount of effort they put in and the commitment to what I asked of them.

"Yes, we’d like to have more points but as a start of a season, I’m happy with where we’re at. Just make those improvements in the final third. I’m not delighted with only having one point from three games. It’s not the best. But it’s early days. Cray have two points, Kingstonian three points. One win on Saturday and we’ll go above a lot of good sides. But I’m delighted with the attitude with players and the group as a whole."

Cray Wanderers 0 - 0 Corinthian-Casuals
Isthmian League Premier Division
Saturday 17th August 2019
Match report and photos: Stuart Tree (photos here)

​Corinthian-Casuals earned the first point of the season in a gritty 0-0 stalemate at Cray Wanderers that couldn’t see the sides separated.

Earning points at Hayes Lane has always been tricky. Memories of a 4-2 defeat when the sides last met at Bromley were still fresh. Undoubtedly, James Bracken will be the happier of the two Managers taking a point from home.

Wanderers - last season’s Bostik League South East champions had already drawn a blank at King George’s this season in another 0-0 draw against tenants Kingstonian. They were unlucky not to pick up at least a point against Folkestone in the week, losing 3-2 in time added on.

Casuals had been somewhat unlucky not to already pick up points, with two narrow defeats in the opening fixtures. Whilst the Amateurs were still awaiting their first goal, they also had the best defence in the league, only conceding twice.

Therefore, only two changes were required from the disappointing loss to Merstham last Tuesday; in came Matty Bakare for Josh Uzun and Mike Dixon replaced the absent Nat Pinney.

Ever present in goal was captain Danny Bracken, celebrating his 400th competitive appearance for the Casuals – a remarkable feat for a player about to enter his tenth year at the club, and all before the schoolteacher reaches his thirtieth birthday. A clean sheet was all he could ask for on this special occasion.
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A match report usually details pivotal moments in the ninety minutes, but there were few to pick out as both sides cancelled each other out. Casuals arguably started the brighter of the two sides and exploit space. Kevant Serbony found himself in the action firing wide on a couple of occasions. At the other end Freddie Parker’s low shot was well stopped by Bracken who wasn’t going to let anyone spoil his day.

The closest anyone came to breaking the deadlock was on the half hour mark. Juevan Spencer’s low cross to the back post was met by a sliding Ollie Sitch, who finished well, all in vain as the Assistant Referee raised his flag for offside. Fans would have to wait to celebrate their first of the season.

Mike Dixon also tested Lewis Carey in goal after a good run from the channel, taking on the shot himself and forcing the corner.

The second half never reached the highs of the nearby Biggin Hill Airshow display as the pace of the game dropped and loose passes became more common. The adage of ‘it’s got 0-0 written all over it’ from local Palace fans rang true despite a late surge from Cray who had two good chances to win it. Bradley Prichard’s header from just yards out tested Bracken’s reaction time and the keeper made a sharp stop. More fortunately, Charlie Allen’s shot just wide of the post left a few Casuals hearts in mouths.

Just like last season, Casuals pick up their first point of the campaign in the third game of the season. The positives are how defensively tight James Bracken’s side are looking with the joint best record in the league. Start adding goals to the tally and Casuals will themselves, be looping the loop.

Read James Bracken's post match thoughts here.

​“Saturday was very different,” commented Manager James Bracken after the 1-0 defeat to Merstham. “We had four great chances to score and we’ve not managed to put any of them away.

“Tonight – debatable penalty aside, there were no chances. That’s the truth. I cannot remember their keeper needing to make a good save.

“When Merstham scored, it gave them confidence and by rights, their nine should’ve scored a hat-trick. So, we need to improve, certainly on that first half.

“We showed better intensity in the last ten minutes and became more of a threat. That’s not good enough. We must be intense right from kick-off. If you find yourself 3-0 up after an hour, that’s when you can play a little more comfortably.  

“We’re getting into good areas. We’re playing some good football, but perhaps overplaying at times. How many crosses have we put into dangerous areas? I don’t remember one. Too many crosses have hit the first defender or gone out for a goal kick.

 “For all our good play, we get into dangerous areas and then descend into stepovers, drag-backs and the like. We need to simplify things.

“No one will work harder than us to rectify that in training and analysing this week.

“This level of football is about being consistent. Dan (Pringle) said to me ‘that’s typical us. We never play the same way in succession.’ It’s frustrating because we approach each game in the same way, but it wavers between good performances and flat ones like tonight was.

“The team we picked for the first game of the season was what I thought is the strongest side I could pick. On the day, we were the better side. Tonight, apart from one change, we pick the same side and expected them to perform somewhat close to what they did at the weekend. Unfortunately, they haven’t.

“I’ll certainly analyse everything that we as a management team did. Have we made mistakes? Did we pick the right side? Should we have freshened things up? These are all great questions, retrospectively. The bottom line is the players should’ve done better. And they know that.

“The plan this season is to score more goals and we have goal-scorers in this squad. But where were the passes flying across the face of the goal for them to pounce on? Where’s the ball in behind that they can run onto? We can’t expect them to create their own chances.

“Anyone can beat anyone in this league. It’ll be topsy-turvy. Carshalton finished second last season and they’ve lost the first two games. Anything is possible. We must make sure we don’t panic and dramatically change things too much. There’ll be boys on the bench or not involved, who came down anyway because they’re great lads, who’ll be looking at me wondering if they’re in with a chance on Saturday.

And Bracken put out a warning to his squad for the need to step-up their game.

“Bottom line, I’ll never put out a side who I don’t think is good enough to win. If I don’t think they’re good enough, I’ll get new players in. That’s not a threat, just a truth.

“I won’t just watch us lose and lose again. I have people calling me constantly about bringing in new players… good players. And that includes pro-clubs offering me players, just this week that I’ve turned down.

“Why have I turned them down? On Saturday, I saw enough to believe in this squad. I want to build a side that trains with me every week, buys into your principals of what we’re trying to achieve. We’ve put a lot of time into these players over the last few months. They’re a good bunch with good attitudes and you want to back them.
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“But the bottom line is, they must step up and deliver consistent level of performances, because this group of players are good enough to be better than the decent sides in this division.”

Corinthian-Casuals 0 - 1 Merstham
Isthmian League Premier Division
Tuesday 13th August 2019
Report: Cameron Smith. Photos: Stuart Tree (set here)

Corinthian-Casuals’ second attempt at drawing blood in the new season was gate-crashed by Merstham, who held onto a 1-0 win at King George’s Field despite two controversial refereeing decisions and a second-half domination of possession from the hosts.

“It’s an intense 90-minute battle for every point. Wins and draws should be celebrated. All sides have our respect because the level here is good. If your intensity is not up to scratch, you’ll lose no matter who you play.” James Bracken’s post-match comments after the 1-0 defeat at Haringey Borough on Saturday was a rousing and truthful omen of what is to come in the 19/20 Premier Division.

Just like Corinthians, Merstham were dealt with a difficult blow on the weekend in their season opener. Despite taking the lead, the Moatsiders conceded twice in the last thirty minutes to lose 2-1 versus Hornchurch- a short trip to Tolworth on Tuesday was their chance to rectify the lost points.

There was one change from the energetic Casuals side that were condemned in North London: Hakeem Adelakun was at left-back ahead of Warren Morgan. 

Red shirts invaded Danny Bracken’s box in the opening ten minutes, with the visitors clearly starting the brightest. Splitting the pink and brown defence completely, Merstham’s impressive football allowed Omar Folkes to side-foot a cross from the left into the net with ease. The few behind the goal celebrated as King George’s seemed shell-shocked- it was 1-0 Merstham. Moments after the definitive strike, Frank Wilson’s team nearly grabbed another when Folkes blasted a golden opportunity over the bar. It was a lifeline for the Casuals, who began to read the game better and settle. Set-pieces failed to be capitalised upon even with specialist Josh Uzun donning the no.7 shirt again.

Merstham missed another great effort down one end, and in truth, Wilson's side could’ve easily had the game wrapped up at half time. For Casuals, there were clusters of half-chances when Oliver Sitch’s work-rate and Nathaniel Pinney’s hold-up play excited the Casuals contingent behind the goal. A Sitch effort was blocked by a Merstham player’s hand, but hadn’t been spotted by the referee, which riled the Casuals fans and players. These little sparks of anticipation carried on until half-time with the home side 1-0 down.

Improvements were clear from as soon as the game was re-started; a Pinney shot narrowly missed the keeper’s left-hand post as the new no.9’s quest for his first competitive goal for Casuals continued. It would be short-sighted to not speak of another clear penalty that were turned down by the referee but Casuals deserve credit for a lively second-half full of possession that just seem to fizzle out, whether it was Merstham’s committed defensive display or the lack of clinical finishing. 

If one penalty claim against was not enough, there was another one, which was worse. In the area again, Morgan was causing trouble and when Sinn Kaye Christie clattered into the no.15 with two feet without winning any of the ball, Casuals fans deserved to be outraged when the referee not only did not give the stonewall penalty, but decided it was a free kick to the opposition.

Casuals were determined to equalise but it was to no avail. Their second game of the season was another 1-0 loss. There can be no complaints about the visitors being the winners seeing as Casuals failed to seriously test Merstham stopper Matte Pierson on any single occasion. Merstham once again prove to be Casuals’ bogey side, with just two wins from the previous 17 Isthmian League encounters – a record that’s unlikely to be matched for its one-sidedness by any other club.

Find out what Manager James Bracken had to say after the match.

"​I felt we deserved to win," said Manager James Bracken following the 1-0 loss at Haringey on the opening day of the season. "We’ve created four or five clear-cut chances throughout the game and their goal has come via an error at the back.

"I’ll be honest, I thought we looked every bit the side I want us to be. Another day, I back us to take those missed chances and we come out of here with a 4-1 win, raising some eyebrows.

"But we lost and we’ll need to come back and do better. That’ll never change. We’ll always look to improve on our last performance. We have a good squad. They're capable. I’d hold my hands up and say if they weren’t. It was solely a day where we didn’t take our chances, made one error and came away with no points.

"I’ll look at it as we’re a point down on where we should be, because we didn’t score. The error has only really cost us a draw. I won’t look at it as three points dropped but they were there to be taken.

"I’m not worried though. In the past, I might have been concerned if we had the players that could take those chances, or even creating those opportunities. We’ve lived off half-chances at times but now, I back the boys in the squad to only get better. We created chances, we were hard to create chances against and the more we play, the more we’ll gel. With a few new boys in the squad, it’ll soon become a well-oiled machine and we’ll see the results from that.

"There’s no pressure on the next game following that result. If we want to challenge for the league then there’s pressure on every single match, but that’s on us anyway. We won’t approach it any differently. I trust all of the boys in the squad to be able to get us results and we’ll take it three points at a time. We’ll look to put a run of form together as often as we can. Realistically, we’re not going to win the next fifteen games on the bounce but it’ll be nice to put some runs of four or five matches together, supplemented with a draw here and there. If we stay fit and healthy, there’s no reason why that’s not achievable.

“After one season in this league, we know what the level of physicality and intensity is required. We must pick a side that is up for the challenge. If we look back to our opening match last season at Margate we had a few boys in that game that weren’t ready for it. Against Haringey on Saturday, I knew each and every one of those players were ready. It’s an intense 90-minute battle for every point. Wins and draws should be celebrated. All sides have our respect because the level here is good. If your intensity is not up to scratch, you’ll lose no matter who you play. 

"We found those levels last season when we won six on the bounce and we’ll approach it in similar ways."

Haringey Borough 1 - 0 Corinthian-Casuals
Isthmian League Premier Division
Saturday 10th August 2019
Report: Cameron Smith. Photos: Stuart Tree (full set here)

​It was a frustrating opening to the 2019/20 BetVictor Isthmian Premier Division for the creative yet ultimately luckless Corinthian-Casuals, who were condemned to a 1-0 defeat at Haringey Borough on a temperamental Saturday afternoon.

Cast your mind back to the very end of last season, the 4-0 loss at Whitehawk ended the 2018/19 campaign on a disappointing note despite the remarkable efforts by the Amateurs in finishing in 17th and placing above local rivals Kingstonian. The seaside loss would not be the final game of football the Casuals contingent would see before the new season, as an historical trip to Budapest loomed. 

The squad for Casuals on the cloudy afternoon in North London included a few new & returning names recruited by James Bracken over the summer. Andrew Mills returned to Casuals and shifted in at centre-back ahead of Reece Hannigan - on a sabbatical, whilst Player of the Season Jack Strange threw on his no.4 shirt and partnered newbie Mills in the centre. With Spencer on the right and Morgan on the left, the defence looked the perfect balance of strength, height, composure and pace. Ekim, Antonio and Serbony stacked a familiar midfield whilst Josh Uzun’s impressive pre-season earned him a place on the pitch. New no.9 Nathaniel Pinney was up-front alongside Oliver Sitch in a new look attack. For the substitutes, Maan, Dillon and Tucker were familiar names to the faithful and they were joined by Leon Lalor-Dell and Michael Dixon.

Four points from the two games played against Haringey last season, Bracken’s army visited Coles Park Stadium with fond memories of the 2-2 thriller back in March. With Tom Loizou still at the wheel, Borough look to improve on their best ever season in which they finished 3rd, but failed to win the play-offs and promote themselves.

Pink and brown clashed with bright yellow as the referee’s whistle got the match underway. Congested and tetchy, the two teams were back and forth in both possession and opportunities, but both clearly affected by the high winds, occasional sun and lashing of rain. Serbony paced through on goal and released a powerful effort that whistled just wide of the post after ten minutes, but Bracken was kept busy too, especially where a long-ranger forced the no.1 into a diving save. The work rate of Sitch deserves commendation, even if his energetic performance could not conjure an opening goal. It was an extremely equal half, with Casuals and Haringey showing defensive and attacking sturdiness. It looked as if the only way a goal would be scored would be via a single mistake. But which side would benefit?

After the re-start, Pinney had a shot that was millimetres from the keeper’s right hand corner following Sitch’s class build-up, and Uzun’s curling trademark free-kick was brilliantly palmed behind by the purple-shirted Valery Pajetet shortly after. Casuals wowed their supporters behind the goal with the sheer quality of football they were playing.

Silky passing and intelligent runs frustrated Haringey, so they attempted to use the wind as an advantage… and it worked. Caught in the non-ideal conditions, the ball bounced awkwardly in front of Bracken, who had sprinted from his goal to clear it and Chibuden Onokwai managed to touch the ball past a pink shirt and the keeper. He finished the rest by tapping into the empty net and celebrating the first goal of the game, and their season.

This was the 50th minute, so Casuals fans, staff and players knew they had the chance to retrieve points in the final forty minutes. This is where the element of luck evaded Corinthians, who continued playing attacking football mainly through Pinney and Sitch’s interplay. Always a danger for the Borough defence, Sitch did not strike the ball hard enough when in the area after Pinney’s hold-up play as Pajetet collected the shot gratefully. Another weak effort was from Josh Uzun, who sidefooted a first-time effort into the gloves of the keeper. James Bracken’s changes injected even more energy into the team- Lalor Dell’s pace nearly provided the equaliser but when clean through on goal, his shot was saved by Pajetet again. Dixon and Dillon’s introductions in the final fifteen minutes could not grab the goal that Casuals sought after with such commitment and spirit. The final effort was Jack Strange’s header over the bar from a set-piece, and Haringey were delighted to hear the final whistle. Zero points for the visitors showcased just how cruel football can be, whilst the defensively impressive hosts took all three in a narrow 1-0 result.

Merstham on Tuesday evening is the first game held at King George’s Field this season, so there is a chance for opening day redemption for James Bracken’s pink and brown army. Despite the loss, there are a cluster of positives to take from the game- the passionate new signings, the silky attacking play and the intelligent defence should make for an exciting clash.

Click here for James Bracken's post-match thoughts.

Corinthian-Casuals 1 - 2 Wimborne Town
Pre-Season Friendly
Saturday 3rd Aug 2019
Report and Photos - Stuart Tree

​Wimborne Town came out on top in a competitive final pre-season friendly at Corinthian-Casuals, coming from behind to win 2-1.

Josh Uzun had opened the scoring for the hosts in the second half but were pegged back immediately by the Southern League South Premier side following Jordan Lee’s deflected shot. And Town bagged a late winner when Kieran Roberts fired home courtesy of a 20-yard free kick.

Humid conditions saw both sides cancel each other out in the first half, with the best chance falling to Wimborne when Lee’s effort was adjudged offside. Jack Tucker went closest for the Casuals firing over from a tight angle.

The deadlock was broken ten minutes into the second half when Uzun whipped in a vicious free kick via the inside of the post to give Casuals the lead. Wimborne equalised minutes later when Lee’s delicate chip somehow crept into the corner.

And it was down to Roberts to win the match in the 87th minute, slamming his free kick past Danny Bracken in goal.

“We started okay and got progressively worse as the first half went on,” said Manager James Bracken after the match.

“We’ve worked on plenty over the course of the pre-season and there was plenty that was wrong today. We don’t have much time to correct it but I’ll select the players that I trust will get it right on the day.

“We’re okay though… we’ll be alright. We’ve got enough quality around here, but I just think today was a little disappointing and too many players didn’t do themselves any favours and too many faults that I’m seeing in individuals. Some keep showing me the same shortfalls and I can’t keep watching that. They’ll struggle to play unless they improve in the areas I’m asking them to do.

“It’ll be a tough start to the season with a trip to Haringey Borough next week. We’ll go there and it’ll be a fast and furious game. Whether the quality is there on the first game of the season, I don’t know. It’ll probably be whoever is the fittest and most up for it will end up winners.
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“I have an idea of six of my first eleven. I think five places are still to be determined. I can set us up to be hard to beat on the first day of the season but that’s not my style. I want us to play good football which we’re more than capable of. At the same time, I don’t want to have a plan to play attractively but be 3-0 down at half time. We’ll have to go with a balanced approach.”

Tooting & Mitcham United 2 - 0 Corinthian-Casuals
Pre-Season Friendly
Saturday 20th July 2019

Corinthian-Casuals suffered their first defeat of the 2019-20 pre-season campaign going down to two late goals at Tooting & Mitcham United.

The Terrors clinched their fifth win in five courtesy of Edwards and Carty. Played on the Tooting's artificial surface behind the main ground, the match was played in competitive but good spirits.

Casuals had the best chance of the half when Uzun struck the post from range. At the other end, Ex-Casual Hibber-Delgardo tested keeper Minter who expertly tipped over.

With both sides making numerous changes, it was left late before the deadlock was broken; a pinpoint diagonal ball was latched onto by Edwards who slid his shot into the bottom corner.

And moments before the final whistle, Tooting doubled the lead when Kojo produced a fine cross for Carty who headed home at the near post.

Thanks to our hosts for the warm-up and we wish them all the best for the forthcoming campaign. Next up for Casuals is the visit of a Crystal Palace XI to King George's on Tuesday night.

Whitehawk 4 - 0 Corinthian-Casuals
Bostik League Premier Division
Saturday 27th April 2019
Report: Cameron Smith. Photos: Stuart Tree (full set here)

Football is a funny old game. Corinthian-Casuals were defeated 4-0 at the hands of Whitehawk, who were nevertheless relegated from the Bostik Premier, in a sour but thoughtful conclusion to James Bracken’s 2018/19 campaign.

Forty-one games, forty-eight goals, thirteen wins and eight draws. Those were the glorious statistics that outlined Corinthians’ 2018/19 season, but it won’t be the numbers on a table that will be the sweetest for supporters, players and staff. It would be the words ‘Kingstonian’ below ‘Corinthian-Casuals’. With the last match-day seeing ground-sharers K’s face Leatherhead and Casuals travel to Whitehawk, there were only two points in the gap… so all to play for.

Some of the Casuals contingent’s journeys would feature Brighton and Hove Albion’s ground on the way, but that would be ignored as Whitehawk FC’s The Enclosed Ground was the destination on a windy but cheerful afternoon. The hosts were part of a relegation scrap that needed a win from themselves and for Burgess Hill to beat Wingate and Finchley.

The Easter double on last Saturday and Monday left Casuals two points better, but there were changes in the final starting eleven of the season. A solid back-four remained the same with Robert Jamison sitting in central midfield and striker Warren Mfula partnering Reyon Dillon, who started ahead of Jack Tucker. A first half that was very even from the off, the white shirts of the visitors wanted to use Whitehawk’s hunger to stay up against them and attacked early on. Mfula was clean through but his touches gifted the keeper the ball. Build-up was good, but it was no cigar for Casuals.

The Hawks then hit the post and a series of strange refereeing decisions that had two Corinth players in the book in the first twenty minutes allowed them to pummel the defence. Juevan Spencer’s genius overlaps and commanding runs into the area became a trademark throughout the season. The no.2 did it again when he assisted energetic Majed Osman, but his effort was well saved. Hawks captain Harry Muggeridge scored the opener from only a few yards out as Goodge’s cross was tapped in, even if the ball was barely kept in on the by-line by the left-back. It was gutting to hear the celebrations from the Reds, but with the vocal Casuals in good number behind the goal, they pushed on. Two minutes is all it took for Muggeridge to grab a brace as a lack of concentration in the defence allowed the no.10 to dispatch another cross.

Half-time meant the last of James Bracken’s truthful and rousing evaluations for the players at the break, and when they returned onto the pitch, it would hopefully be a better display. Kingstonian were in a similar position as they were down to Leatherhead, but heads were focused on the task in hand. But, it was a luckless and lacklustre game, which transferred to the performances. Only two goals separated the sides but there was a long period of no goals. This did not mean no celebrations as Burgess Hill got the score back to 2-2 versus Wingate and when it filtered through, there were loud cheers from the Hawks end. It did not last long- Wingate nicked two late on to seal their fate in the Bostik Prem. Nonetheless, with the game delving into injury time, there was time for two more goals. Nathaniel Pinney got the third before Harry Muggeridge was given the ball when Whitehawk won a debatable penalty and converted it.

When the referee blew his whistle it was a strange atmosphere all over the ground as a subdued pitch invasion occurred when Whitehawk confirmed relegation. Behind Casuals’ goal? Disappointment was obviously floating in the air as a 4-0 thrashing with not too much to write home about may come off as a disaster. However, there was much more than that when the players walked over. No chins were allowed to be down and all heads had to be high as the players and supporters thanked each-other for the whole year of effort. All in the name of Corinthians, James Bracken, Dan Pringle, Jon Williams and Jamie Byatt as well as other heroic backroom staff “did it for free” and volunteered not just every day but every week to keep the Amateurs in the Bostik Premier.

The players deserve so much credit too, for carrying themselves in a professional way and caring about the club they play for, which is all anyone could ask for. Lastly, the supporters. Passionate, grateful and vocal are all the things you want in a fan-base, and the pink and brown army that travel all over the place certainly have those qualities. We wish everyone a good summer… roll on pre-season!