Potters Bar Town 2-2 Corinthian-Casuals
Bostik League Premier Division
Saturday 20th April 2019
Report: Cameron Smith. Pics: Stuart Tree (full set here)

When the full-time whistle blew at the Parkfield Stadium, it was finally confirmed that Corinthian-Casuals would be playing Bostik Premier football for another year after a tiring but valuable 2-2 draw versus Potters Bar Town, who also secured safety as points were shared.
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Comfortable was not a word that the Casuals contingent were used to when it described a Bostik Premier match, especially in 2019. A series of draws and losses in February and March put Corinthians in a sticky situation as they were dragged into a restless race for survival in the bottom half of the table. But recent victories and spirited performances were summarised in Majed Osman’s decisive third versus Wingate and Finchley in the 3-1 win, which was actually comfortable for the pink and brown army.

Only one point was needed to secure safety for the Casuals as supporters, players and staff made their way to the penultimate away day of the season; the small town of Potters Bar was the destination. The Hertfordshire outfit required a single point just like their visitors and on a beautiful summer day, it would be intriguing how both teams approached the unorthodox circumstances.

It was clear how James Bracken would approach it. Dillon, Aghadiuno and centre-back Robert Jamison were on in a new-look starting eleven. Intensity was key, and maybe Potters Bar were trying to adjust to the heat, or the hungry Casuals frontline chasing down loose balls and putting them under pressure. An Ekim free-kick was swung in after only two minutes, and Jack Rudoni managed to retrieve it from the nervy Bar defence. The no.8 threaded a cheeky but perfect pass to Reyon Dillon, who completely bamboozled the keeper with a step-over before feigning a shot and rounding him with ease. Dispatching brilliantly, Dillon had netted one of the earliest Casuals goals of the entire season as well as putting them 1-0 up. The well-taken strike was credit to Dillon’s determination to get back into the side as Bracken gave him a chance up-front ahead of the injured Mfula.

The pitch at the Parkfield Stadium was something that was noticed by the visitors beforehand as it was bobbly, dry and overlong. It did not affect Casuals though. A wayward back-pass caused the Bar keeper to run out and rescue it from becoming a corner, but he mis-controlled after a bump in the ground and it was another set-piece for Casuals. Ekim’s corner kick was not collected or cleared properly as the ball bounced off a player’s head and rippled the net. Jack Strange wheeled away in celebration and it was given to the centre-back. Singing the no.4’s name, the Casuals supporters enjoyed a two goal lead after eight minutes! Enjoying the rest of the half in the sunshine, the travelling supporters had a right to feel confident about the second-half… but little did the home support know, they did too.

Two quick-fire goals in the first half benefited the Casuals, but it was their downfall in the second. Dernell Wynter made a sharp turn just outside the area after three minutes, and slotted the ball home. A bobble was what caught Danny Bracken out and the pitch was used for the hosts’ advantage at last.

Bracken scooping the ball from the net would occur again minutes later, but it would be much crueller. An enormous deflection from a Bradley Sach shot meant it was 2-2. At the moment, both sides were staying up… but it would not be satisfactory for James and Dan Pringle on the bench. The energy of Jack Tucker and the danger of Jamie Byatt were inspired substitutions that nearly resulted in a late winner. Antonio and Rudoni in midfield was scary for Potters Bar and when they assisted in giving Jamie Byatt a great chance at goal, it was nearly ecstasy for supporters behind the goal. His shot was blocked and then cleared. It just wasn’t to be for either side. That was fine for both teams as the referee blew for full-time. Safety? Secured.

Thank you to Potters Bar for their hospitality. Two games remain in the Bostik Premier, which was a sad realisation for many fans… what will everyone do in two months of no football? (There's always Budapest, and we'll have news of more 'away' games soon - Ed.) The last home game versus Worthing on Bank Holiday Monday and then the finale at Whitehawk will end the campaign. At the moment, Casuals sit in 17th and are one place above Kingstonian. Six points in the last two games would be the dream for Bracken’s army, and to finish above their rivals would be very sweet indeed.

Manager James Bracken spoke his thoughts after the final whistle.

“They’re delighted with a point and we’re disappointed. It’s secured safety for both of us so we should be saying, “well done, great job” considering it’s well documented that we’re working with nothing.

“But we’re winners; we don’t come to get a draw – we come to win. We’re disappointed with the draw. We’ll analyse the performance for us to continue to get better.

“We had ten unavailable today. But we still put in a performance that even until the final whistle, we looked the more likely to nick the winner. When they came back to 2-2, sometimes you can be on the back-foot for the remainder of the game but it was never like that here. I can’t recall them threatening the goal again and we had chances.

“The bigger picture is, it’s a fantastic achievement. That puts us on 46 points. Tooting were relegated on 36 points from more games, so we’ve already got more than 10 points than that and they were promoted as Champions, working with a playing budget. It’s more than an achievement to do this. It should’ve been a lot more but it’s a decent haul.

“We’ll look back over the season at games like today where it was two points dropped. The game against them at our place was three points dropped. If we want to kick on and be successful beyond this, you must see those games out.

“We had a game plan in the first half which was ultra-effective. We limited them to a couple of scuffed shots from thirty yards on a cow field.
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“Second half, the game plan was simple, but instructions weren’t followed. I’ve managed over a thousand games – you play with plenty of freedom here, but when I give instructions to mark, drop-in ten yards, etc, it’s best just to listen. If they do, we’ll win more games. Today, that cost us.”

​It was three defeats in a row for Corinthian-Casuals as Potters Bar Town came from behind to snatch a deserved 2-1 victory at King George’s Arena on Saturday.
 
Warren Mfula had put the hosts in front with a second-half strike but goals from substitute Aaron Morgan-Cummings and Dernell Wynter gave all three points to the visitors.
 
“A couple of weeks ago I said, ‘I couldn’t see anyone beating us’,” lamented Manager James Bracken after the loss. “That’s because we were doing things so well, that was how it was looking at the time. Sadly, we’ve stopped performing to that level. But we had bad spells at the start of the season and we fixed it.
 
“We didn’t play well enough with the wind behind us on Saturday. We appeared to settle for 0-0 at half time and go for it after the break. That wind was strong enough that we could’ve penned them in and had plenty more wind-assisted shots. We need to take advantage of opportunities like that.
 
“However, we got our noses in-front and looked more of a threat. Sadly, we took our foot off the gas and relaxed too much. We didn’t win enough first balls or second balls. It just wasn’t good enough. Sometimes we think scoring once is enough. We need to take advantage of good spells and put games to bed.
 
“The defending for the two goals was poor. We looked at those that we conceded in the week at Lewes. The last two we conceded constituted errors from four or five players. Potters Bar’s first goal was the same. We’ve had multiple opportunities to clear the ball and not one player has been able to do that.
 
“It was a quagmire out there and the conditions were difficult. The wind didn’t help matters at all. But at this level, players must do their jobs defensively. If we don’t, their attack stays alive, they score and from there, they have the momentum.
 
“There’s not a lot between Saturday and tonight to address it. At the minute, we need to get on the training ground. We have to give opportunities to players where shirts become available on a Monday or Thursday evening. Training allows us to pick a team that reflects what we’ve seen during these sessions. Now, we’re picking a side that have won, but strayed a little. We’re not being able to see where players are until you put them in a match. It’s difficult. It’s a guessing game as to how you think they’ll perform.
 
“But we’ll be ready for Tuesday. I believe we’ll win, because I will always believe we’ll win any game we go into. We have to ensure we come out of the match with something and look to build on that come Saturday.
 
“I’m never one to use excuses but when we went to Lewes last week, our top three goal scorers were all unavailable. There’re not many teams that can afford to miss their three main strikers and still expect to be at the same level. It’s good to have Warren Mfula back from those three.  
 
“We have no budget to bring in re-enforcements when we need them. We have good players and good lads here that are waiting for opportunities and they’re coming along. If they take them, that’s great. If they fall a little short, they can’t say they didn’t get an opportunity.
 
“It’s not all doom and gloom though. If you’d have said we’d go into Christmas in twelfth position, everyone would’ve taken that. It’s up to us all now to ensure the next few games, we get it right and go out and become winners again.”