Corinthian-Casuals 2 - 0 Horsham
Bostik League South
Saturday 10th February 2018
Match report & photos: Stuart Tree (full set of pics here)
Corinthian-Casuals continued to heap pressure on their promotion rivals with a solid 2-0 win over mid-table Horsham on a heavy pitch at King George’s.
First half goals from Jordan Clarke and Gabriel Odunaike were enough to seal three points in a performance that never saw them under any real threat from their opponents.
In fact, the biggest threat to James Bracken’s side picking up three points was the weather; volunteers worked hard all morning to ensure Casuals didn’t suffer their first postponement of the season and an early inspection was passed. However, persistent rain meant that by kickoff, some wondered if the game would last the full ninety minutes.
Horsham and Corinth had equally traded wins over the last six contests between the two sides and if the trend was to be maintained, this would be a victory for Dom Di Paola’s Hornets. It had the potential to be one of those days where the playing surface would negate any gap in the league standings and act as a 'leveller' between the teams.
As expected, conditions weren't easy for any of the players but despite this, both teams looked to take the initiative. Horsham, with the strong wind on their backs pressed hard to gain an early foothold. Casuals threatened too and Jordan Clarke was only thwarted by Joe Shelley who got a vital touch to put the striker’s chance out for a corner.
The breakthrough came in the 24th minute when Odunaike sent a cross field pass to Clarke who cut inside and unleased a 20 yard curling shot that left Josh Pelling in goal no chance. With the cameras of FIFA’s weekly TV show set behind the goal, there’s every chance that Clarke’s effort could be broadcast to 150 countries across the globe.
Ten minutes later, Odunaike added his name to the scoresheet. Max Oldham raced through and although his shot was partially-blocked by Steve Metcalf, the resulting deflection wrong-footed Pelling and Odunaike pounced to put the ball into an empty net. Horsham players protested for offside though Odunaike had been behind play after Oldham had struck his shot.
Casuals had the bit between their teeth and Jack Strange could’ve made it 3-0 but steered his header wide. Ben Cheklit’s seering run into the box was only ended by a last ditch interception at the far post. Horsham had their chances too, with Joe Shelley’s header only thwarted by the upright.
By the second half, the playing surface was cutting up badly and the rain continued to fall. Casuals, now with the wind in their favour never truly looked in trouble, despite a couple of scares. Danny Bracken saved well from substitute Alfie Rogers who struck his shot straight at the keeper.
Chances fizzled out for both Casuals and Horsham as legs clearly became as heavy as the pitch. Callum McAllister’s improvised overhead kick would’ve been spectacular had he kept it down, instead coming closer to the car park than Pelling’s goal. Cheklit probably deserved a goal of his own but Horsham’s stopper scuppered that expertly saving from a vicious drive by the midfielder from 20 yards.
Caked in mud, soaked in rain but delighted with the win, Casuals march up to 3rd in the table. Keeping another clean sheet, James Bracken’s side have now only conceded 3 goals in the last nine league matches – a feat that could help them win promotion yet.
“We’re pleased with the three points even if the state of the pitch now is not great,” said Manager Bracken after the match.
“It was always going to be the case with the weather we’ve had and it was a bit of a leveller, especially for the first 25 minutes. It took us a while to get to grips with just how slippery it was. That was beyond wet!
“Boys were sliding around everywhere and Horsham were putting the ball forward quickly which caused us a few problems in the first period. Though we haven’t been threatened too much, we took that time to get going ourselves. We settled down, scored a couple of decent goals and perhaps could’ve added to that. Second half, we pretty much controlled the game. We need to turn some of that possession into goals.
“Another clean sheet. I’m watching these games and I’m not sure where our opponents are going to score from. We look so solid that I think teams will have to do well to score and very well to score twice. If we can get a couple of goals a game then we’re going to be very hard to beat.
“The result puts a bit of pressure on the others around us. Hopefully one or two will slip up as Greenwich did today, with a shock result. But that will happen. The teams through the mid-table can beat those at the top. What’s more, the top sides have all got to play each other.
“Billericay in the semi-final of the trophy will be a good test. It’s a fantastic achievement to get to the last four of a competition that had 70-odd entrants in, without a budget is good. We didn’t enter it to just get this far though. I want to win it.
“Some of my team selections in the Trophy have been opposed from some of my management team who’s questioned as to why we are risking players when the league is the priority. Why? Because we can win this. We could’ve made more changes but chose to select a side that could win every time. We’ll do that again and hopefully put ourselves in a cup final.
“Here, we can win this league, achieve automatic promotion and make history for this club. We could win a double and who doesn’t want to be involved in that? If anyone doesn’t, then they’re in the wrong sport. It’s going to be an exciting few weeks.”
Bostik League South
Saturday 10th February 2018
Match report & photos: Stuart Tree (full set of pics here)
Corinthian-Casuals continued to heap pressure on their promotion rivals with a solid 2-0 win over mid-table Horsham on a heavy pitch at King George’s.
First half goals from Jordan Clarke and Gabriel Odunaike were enough to seal three points in a performance that never saw them under any real threat from their opponents.
In fact, the biggest threat to James Bracken’s side picking up three points was the weather; volunteers worked hard all morning to ensure Casuals didn’t suffer their first postponement of the season and an early inspection was passed. However, persistent rain meant that by kickoff, some wondered if the game would last the full ninety minutes.
Horsham and Corinth had equally traded wins over the last six contests between the two sides and if the trend was to be maintained, this would be a victory for Dom Di Paola’s Hornets. It had the potential to be one of those days where the playing surface would negate any gap in the league standings and act as a 'leveller' between the teams.
As expected, conditions weren't easy for any of the players but despite this, both teams looked to take the initiative. Horsham, with the strong wind on their backs pressed hard to gain an early foothold. Casuals threatened too and Jordan Clarke was only thwarted by Joe Shelley who got a vital touch to put the striker’s chance out for a corner.
The breakthrough came in the 24th minute when Odunaike sent a cross field pass to Clarke who cut inside and unleased a 20 yard curling shot that left Josh Pelling in goal no chance. With the cameras of FIFA’s weekly TV show set behind the goal, there’s every chance that Clarke’s effort could be broadcast to 150 countries across the globe.
Ten minutes later, Odunaike added his name to the scoresheet. Max Oldham raced through and although his shot was partially-blocked by Steve Metcalf, the resulting deflection wrong-footed Pelling and Odunaike pounced to put the ball into an empty net. Horsham players protested for offside though Odunaike had been behind play after Oldham had struck his shot.
Casuals had the bit between their teeth and Jack Strange could’ve made it 3-0 but steered his header wide. Ben Cheklit’s seering run into the box was only ended by a last ditch interception at the far post. Horsham had their chances too, with Joe Shelley’s header only thwarted by the upright.
By the second half, the playing surface was cutting up badly and the rain continued to fall. Casuals, now with the wind in their favour never truly looked in trouble, despite a couple of scares. Danny Bracken saved well from substitute Alfie Rogers who struck his shot straight at the keeper.
Chances fizzled out for both Casuals and Horsham as legs clearly became as heavy as the pitch. Callum McAllister’s improvised overhead kick would’ve been spectacular had he kept it down, instead coming closer to the car park than Pelling’s goal. Cheklit probably deserved a goal of his own but Horsham’s stopper scuppered that expertly saving from a vicious drive by the midfielder from 20 yards.
Caked in mud, soaked in rain but delighted with the win, Casuals march up to 3rd in the table. Keeping another clean sheet, James Bracken’s side have now only conceded 3 goals in the last nine league matches – a feat that could help them win promotion yet.
“We’re pleased with the three points even if the state of the pitch now is not great,” said Manager Bracken after the match.
“It was always going to be the case with the weather we’ve had and it was a bit of a leveller, especially for the first 25 minutes. It took us a while to get to grips with just how slippery it was. That was beyond wet!
“Boys were sliding around everywhere and Horsham were putting the ball forward quickly which caused us a few problems in the first period. Though we haven’t been threatened too much, we took that time to get going ourselves. We settled down, scored a couple of decent goals and perhaps could’ve added to that. Second half, we pretty much controlled the game. We need to turn some of that possession into goals.
“Another clean sheet. I’m watching these games and I’m not sure where our opponents are going to score from. We look so solid that I think teams will have to do well to score and very well to score twice. If we can get a couple of goals a game then we’re going to be very hard to beat.
“The result puts a bit of pressure on the others around us. Hopefully one or two will slip up as Greenwich did today, with a shock result. But that will happen. The teams through the mid-table can beat those at the top. What’s more, the top sides have all got to play each other.
“Billericay in the semi-final of the trophy will be a good test. It’s a fantastic achievement to get to the last four of a competition that had 70-odd entrants in, without a budget is good. We didn’t enter it to just get this far though. I want to win it.
“Some of my team selections in the Trophy have been opposed from some of my management team who’s questioned as to why we are risking players when the league is the priority. Why? Because we can win this. We could’ve made more changes but chose to select a side that could win every time. We’ll do that again and hopefully put ourselves in a cup final.
“Here, we can win this league, achieve automatic promotion and make history for this club. We could win a double and who doesn’t want to be involved in that? If anyone doesn’t, then they’re in the wrong sport. It’s going to be an exciting few weeks.”
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