Shoreham 0 - 3 Corinthian-Casuals
Bostik League South
Saturday 17th March 2018
Report and Photos: Stuart Tree (full set of pictures here)

​Corinthian-Casuals comfortably overcame a potential banana skin in Shoreham in tricky freezing conditions, winning 3-0 to take second spot in the Bostik League South.
 
A first half super strike from Max Oldham was complemented in the second half by Gabriel Odunaike with Oldham completing the proceedings. Though Casuals had to be patient to earn their rewards against their bottom placed opponents.
 
With snow and ice causing postponements across the South, Casuals’ match was one of the few to survive and enabled James Bracken’s side to add more points to their league tally whilst their promotion rivals sat out another weekend. Against a side with just eight points to their name this season, this was a sure fire chance to continue the impressive run of successive wins.
 
However, on a pitch that’s seen better days and with a strong, biting wind across the Taxi-Link Stadium, it wasn’t going to be as easy as suggested on paper.
 
Shoreham opened brightly and looked to counter Casuals by breaking with the wind behind their backs. Danny Bracken was called into action early on as well as Jack Strange who needed his wits about him to clear off the line.
 
Though possession and territory certainly belonged to Casuals, they only made it count with the dying minutes of the first half. Receiving a short corner from Josh Uzun, Max Oldham looped in a ball which dipped wickedly into the far corner of the goal much to the delight of the Casuals’ faithful.
 
It took a while for Casuals to put the game to bed though not without a scare or two. Shoreham were reduced to ten men when Tadley Bromage was dismissed following a reckless challenge on Kevant Serbony. Despite this, Captain Danny Bracken had to pull off an excellent double-save to prevent their hosts from equalising.
 
On 77 minutes, the game was put to bed. Jordan Clarke’s shot from the right could only be parried into the path of Gabriel Odunaike who calmly slotted home from a couple of yards.
 
With the comfort of a two-goal lead, Casuals opened up and looked to up their goal difference advantage. The third came in the 81st minute when neat trickery from Clarke saw him pull the ball back from the byline, passing to Oldham who couldn’t miss from the six-yard box.
 
Casuals have now won their last seven league matches – the best form of any side in Steps 1-4 nationally. An impressive feat for the Amateur side.
 
With the wind and the pitch today, people could argue it’s a leveller between the sides," said James Bracken following the win. "I don’t think that’s the case. It just makes it more difficult for your class to tell.
 
"Obviously, at 3-0 it was comfortable at the end but it took us a little longer to achieve that than I’d like.
 
“That said, Shoreham beat Molesey a couple of weeks ago and held leaders Lewes to 0-0 for half an hour. I said to the boys, we have to be patient and ensure we continue to do things according to plan. Once we got the first goal, the game opened up a little more which enabled us to get the second and third.
 
“We’ve only lost once since December and that was a game where we scored a perfectly good equaliser only to be ruled out. We’re doing well. We’re not losing many. We have to ensure we’re doing enough to win every week. Eight games to go and we’re ticking them off one-by-one.”

Corinthian-Casuals 2 - 0 Shoreham
Bostik League South
Saturday 30th September 2017
Match report: Cameron Smith. Pics: Stuart Tree (full set here).

Max Oldham’s team-goal tap-in and Jordan Clarke’s elegant long-ranger saw Corinthian-Casuals grab another three points at the King George’s Arena, this time versus last-place Shoreham FC as James Bracken’s pink & brown army stormed into second place in the Bostik League South.

Bogey side South Park did not pose any threat to Casuals on a mild Tuesday evening; Daniel Cunningham netted a hat-trick with Max Oldham and Josh Uzun adding their names to the scoresheet. The five-goal thrashing prompted Bracken to implement five changes when Shoreham travelled to Tolworth on a chilly Saturday for a 3pm kick-off.

Positioned at the foot of the table, ‘The Musselmen’ have not started life in the eighth tier as well as they had hoped for with a measly four points. However, the tricky Dan Simmonds has popped up with six goals for Shoreham despite a poor start, and Sammy Donnelly’s side are only one point off the safety of 23rd. Wearing the traditional royal blue home strip, Shoreham had travelled from West Sussex in attempt to cause an upset against an in-form Corinthians.

There was a certain chill in the air as spectators sat or stood around the ground; the two sides walked out onto the supreme surface ahead of the tenth match-day in the Bostik League South. Vocal from the off, Shoreham’s style of play was established in the opening twenty minutes as the rough and hands-on defence amalgamated with the promising attacking aspect However, the visitors’ opening display was expected by Bracken & Co. and was combatted with the quick-thinking midfield of Casuals and a pacey frontline of Cunningham, Reyon Dillon and Jordan Clarke. So in the 20th minute, it was no surprise that Cunningham, fresh from a classy hat-trick on Tuesday was involved in the first strike of the match. A left-footed drive from the no.9 from just inside the area was parried away well by the Shoreham goalkeeper. Dave Hodges was incisive when he collected the ball on the left flank and fed Cunningham again, who delightfully squared the ball for the two chocolate and pink shirts in the area. Dummying the ball in the six yard box, Reyon Dillon skilfully let the ball run to the back post, where Max Oldham tidily finished. A terrific team-goal had put Casuals 1-0 up.

Casuals were drowning in set-pieces for the remainder of the half as Jordan Clarke’s countless efforts to produce a goal failed, excluding a cross that was going to end up curling straight into the net if it wasn’t for the gloves of James Broadbent, the Shoreham no.1. Other than chances, it was a rather feisty match, with midfield rock Kevant Serbony receiving a yellow card after squaring up to an equally-involved Shoreham no.10, who was also booked. As half-time was signalled, Casuals would be pleased with their performance, but would also be hungry for the vital second goal.

The 160 in attendance were not forced to wait long for that second goal… only seven minutes to be precise. No changes to either side at the break saw no changes in quality or distribution of possession- it was all Casuals. Collecting the ball with a sense of composure twenty-five yards from goal, Jordan Clarke unleashed a superbly placed finish that made the effort look oh so easy as the ball was hit low and hard into the keeper’s left hand corner. Clipping off the post, Clarke’s strike was unbelievably accurate, and it was a worthy first goal of the season from the no.11. “Super Jordan Clarke, running down the wing, hear the Casuals sing, super Jordan Clarke!” was chanted repeatedly by the Corinth faithful as the goal-scorer was mobbed by his teammates.

Despite a layer of comfort that was provided alongside the second goal, Casuals seemed to increase their work-rate and creativity, but faltered in the essential clinical aspect of finishing. Gabriel Odunaike was substituted onto the pitch in the 70th minute nearly made an instant impact with a perfect opportunity to slot home skimming the post. However, Odunaike’s shot was nothing compared to the chance that Hodges made for himself late on. Perhaps the definition of agonising, Hodges was fed the ball on the halfway line and decided to take advantage of a long stretch of free space infront of him. Bamboozling three blue shirts with his sheer acceleration, Hodges paced through the Shoreham ranks in a masterful run, but the left-back fell short at the finish when he wasn’t able to get enough power on his shot from just inside the area. The ball dribbled towards Broadbent whilst the Hodges and the Casuals contingent had their heads in their hands. Agonising, but also extremely unlucky.

The game ended with the score-line at 2-0. For the most part, the result would please the Bracken Brothers as Casuals edged into 2nd place in the league. However, they would also be disappointed that the goal difference (which is the best in the whole division) was not increased, as Corinth had multiple chances to score more. Next on the agenda is a trip to Greenwich Borough, who were the hosts during the nail-biting play-off semi-final that cements itself in Casuals’ bespoke history as the night in which the 10-man underdogs came back to beat the semi-pro side 4-3, is on Tuesday night.

“That could’ve been more today for sure,” said Bracken following the win.
 
“We hit the post, squandered a few opportunities and not found the killer pass probably more often than I’d have liked. Saying that, 2-0 up after the 5-0 win on Tuesday along with the good away win at Faversham caps off a decent week.
 
“We freshened the team up a little. I said in the changing room that it’s about me showing faith in everyone and believing everybody is good enough to play and get points. It’s pleasing we can do that. It helps save tired legs and allows others vital minutes to improve their match fitness.
 
“It’s not just about winning games. Over the course of a season, I have to deal with 22 people that want to play football and today, we were able to give a few more an opportunity. They repaid it with another three points and a clean sheet.
 
And Bracken spoke of the desire to win in all competitions.
 
“I said at the start of the season, I’m taking every competition seriously. I know all managers say that and then put out a youth side.
 
“I’ll always put out a side that is capable of winning and with the squad we have, I can put out an eleven for one match and a totally different eleven that would be capable of finishing in the top six of the Bostik League.
 
“We have enough players, so we’ll be taking every competition seriously – the London Senior Cup, the Surrey Senior Cup, League Cup.
 
“I want to win the league, but if we get promotion and a trophy, then that’s acceptable. I don’t just want to get promoted – I want to win something. I’d like the club to have a trophy in the clubhouse, that when my time is done, they look on the wall and see that we won something. I want to leave that mark.”