I thought I’d bring my super-sub linesman on and get three points. It’s the best substitute we’ve had all season," said James Bracken following the 2-0 win at Enfield Town.

In seriousness, when you get those prolonged breaks in the game, you wonder which team will better adjust to the circumstances. I’ve had both. I’ve had teams come out after a lengthy break and hit the gas like we did today. Likewise, I’ve had sides who never got going again and it’s cost us.

I was grateful we managed to seize the initiative and get on the front foot. I thought the subs had a positive impact on the match and turned it in our favour after Enfield had a good ten-minute spell. We were well worth our win.

Would we have taken a draw when the referee sustained his injury with ten minutes left? No – my stance is always to try and win every game. That’s why we rarely draw.

If we’re 0-0 with ten to go, I’ll always make positive changes in an attempt to win. If you do that in three games and you win one of them, that’s as good as three draws. It’s also what people pay to watch. As a fan, I’d want to see my Manager picking a player off the bench that can win you a game. You have a throw of the dice.

We played the better football. Like last week, we were the only team who tried to play. We got the ball down and played through the thirds. We let the boys express themselves which was nice.

We’re one game away from an unbeaten month in January. That’s now our focus. A third win on the spin would be very welcome but Bognor Regis will be another tough game.

I’ve spoken to the lads about intensity – our training intensity has improved. There’re no excuses. When the games were coming thick and fast, there wasn’t time to prepare for the next match. It’s also physically demanding on players. When you’re winning, you ride it but when you lose, it’s hard to reach those levels again. Now, with a lack of midweek fixtures, we have time to prepare. We’ve now had time to do our research, work at it in training and that’s probably why the results are coming our way again. To be fair to the players, they’ve stepped up when they needed to.
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It’s great to provide these moments for the likes of Roger (Stringer) and the supporters. Some of these fans have supported the club when it wasn’t in the best of places, struggling most weeks and getting turned over more often than not. These are now the good times and people like Roger deserve that more than most. There’s plenty of supporters that deserve these moments and hopefully they last a lifetime in memories. 

Enfield Town 0 - 2 Corinthian-Casuals
Bostik League Premier Division
Saturday 19th January 2019
Match report: Cameron Smith - Pics: Stuart Tree (full set here)

With only eight minutes remaining, the sturdy and spirited Corinthian-Casuals scored twice to steal three vital points away in numbing conditions at Enfield Town.

2019 had provided two games for the pink and brown army prior to this trip to North London. Despite the stalemate with ten-man Harlow Town feeling like a loss, James Bracken’s side were unbeaten as last week saw Casuals come back from an early Leatherhead goal to stylishly win 2-1. The small but vocal contingent of Corinthians in and around the Queen Elizabeth II stadium had either jumped on a few trains or drove around the M25 to get to the vintage Enfield venue and were surprised to see a new face in the chocolate and pink no.6 shirt. Majed Osman made his first start for the Casuals ahead of the injured Coskun Ekim- it was Bracken’s only change.

There were seven goals in the reverse fixture earlier on in the season; a 6-1 drubbing at King George’s Field had Casuals shuddering at the thought of a repeat. Since then, Enfield have found themselves hovering around the play-offs whilst Corinth are not too far off in 12th. The Blues had a very strong tactic that was apparent from the off, asserting their long-ball football and physicality on their opponents. Casuals tried a more thoughtful approach but the two sides cancelled each-other out for the first-half.

Danny Bracken was tested when he dived to his left and parried a good effort away from danger. Meanwhile down the other end, Hakeem Adelakun and Jordan Clarke stood over a free-kick, won after a cynical Enfield challenge. Teed up by the left back, Clarke’s low shot was swallowed by keeper Joe Wright. This was the start of a flurry of chances late on in the first 45. Osman burst through on the right hand side of the box and belted an effort that bounced off the post agonisingly. But perhaps most agonisingly, Clarke controlled the rebound and just before releasing was unfairly pushed off his feet. Protests for a penalty were to no avail and Casuals went into half-time without a goal under their belt.

A second half that was destined to end like the first, the most notable highlight was Enfield’s close encounter with breaking the deadlock as Sam Youngs hit the post in the 75th minute. Moments later, something quite inexplicable happened. Referee Jeffrey Aldous replicated something he had seen hundreds of times before in his career… sit on the floor and signal to the bench in agony! Limping off the pitch (with the help of an Enfield and Casuals player), the future of the game was in limbo. Luckily for both sides, Enfield found one of their fans to run the line whilst one of the original linesmen grabbed the whistle and took over from his injured friend.

Maybe it was the introduction of Oldham and Serbony just before, or the ten minute delay that had pumped some energy into the fatigued visitors. Oldham whipped in a genius corner in the 82nd minute straight onto the head of Adelakun at the back post. Delightfully directing it to the crowded front post, the assist was touched down by poacher Odunaike, who did what he does best and poke the ball home and cause an eruption behind the goal. The resilience to push past on-field battles and off-field battles was encapsulated in the opening goal of the game.

After celebrations died down and chanting resumed, the chocolate and pink were determined to do more than just hold out for a narrow 1-0 victory… Substitute Max Oldham carved a delicious ball for the hidden Mfula in injury time, and remarkably slotted the ball past the oncoming Wright. The clinical pass, the tight angle, the perfect finish- Mfula was mobbed by his teammates as they celebrated with the jubilant travelling support. At full-time, Corinth had done the unthinkable and nicked three points from a seemingly dead-end match at the expense of the distraught Enfield Town.

Thank you to Enfield Town for their always warm hospitality and a good game of football- we wish them well for the remainder of the season. James Bracken made two games unbeaten three with the 2-0 victory and now Casuals look onto next Saturday for a fourth. Play-off hopefuls Bognor Regis Town visit King George’s Field in the Bostik Premier.

Read James Bracken's post-match thoughts here.