Corinthian-Casuals 1 – 2 Burgess Hill Town
Velocity Trophy Knockout Stage
Tuesday 4th February 2020
Photos from the match can be seen here.
More pics courtesy of Andy Nunn can be seen here.
Typically, being in a cup competition in early February indicates good progress into the latter stages, but Corinthian-Casuals crashed out at the first hurdle following a 2-1 loss to Burgess Hill Town on Tuesday night.
Hill remain unbeaten, notching up their sixth consecutive win in the Velocity Trophy this season. Radical changes to the tournament meant the Sussex club had to negotiate a group phase before qualifying to play Premier League opposition – in this case, Casuals.
For James Bracken’s side, this was their first foray in the League Cup this season and the second of nine scheduled matches in February – or nearly one game every 72 hours. Therefore, it was unsurprising that he named a changed line-up from that which defeated Lewes at the weekend. There was a debut for ex-AFC Wimbledon defender Jim Fenlon. Jack Tucker returned from dual-registration duty at Frimley Green and Nat Pinney was promoted to the starting line-up. Coskun Ekim returned in place of Matty Bakare whilst Gabriel Odunaike was rested, sitting in the stands for the evening.
Despite this, Casuals settled well and began to carve open Burgess Hill’s defence on multiple occasions. With 20 minutes gone, Corinth found themselves one-up. An excellent cross from the left unusually found makeshift forward Tucker sliding in to bag his first goal for the club.
Hill did go close themselves but an excellent clearance from Mark Jamison, from under his own crossbar, saw off the danger of Pat Harding when it was easier to bundle into his own net. However, with Brad Wilson also hitting the post, the half very much belonged to Casuals.
Seeking the all-important second, Corinth applied serious pressure after thebreak. Nat Pinney shot wide and Jack Strange’s header whistled past the far post, all before Brad Wilson’s effort was cleared off the line. However, in the resulting melee, Wilson was awarded a penalty for an adjudged foul. The midfielder himself stepped up but crashed his spot-kick against the foot of the post.
We’ve all seen what happens next; give away countless opportunities and it’ll bite you in the backside. Five minutes later, Hillian Aaron Smith-Joseph’s persistence paid off and forced his way through the defence to fire low past Danny Bracken’s left and into the corner.
Then, out of nothing, on 77 minutes, Mason Dougherty unleashed a wonderful 25-yard ripper into the top corner to send the small band of Hillians into hysteria.
Casuals attempted to rally. The best chance fell to Warren Morgan who met an enticing cross only to inexplicably put it wide. After the match, the stand-in forward still couldn’t understand how he’d missed. The Hill goal had led a charmed life at times, but the score remained 2-1 to the visitors and they booked their place in the next round away to Horsham next week.
For Bracken, it’s a return to important league action this weekend as the team travel to Margate. Next Tuesday night is Casuals’ last foray in cup competitions, heading to Wingate in the London Senior Cup Quarter Final.
Velocity Trophy Knockout Stage
Tuesday 4th February 2020
Photos from the match can be seen here.
More pics courtesy of Andy Nunn can be seen here.
Typically, being in a cup competition in early February indicates good progress into the latter stages, but Corinthian-Casuals crashed out at the first hurdle following a 2-1 loss to Burgess Hill Town on Tuesday night.
Hill remain unbeaten, notching up their sixth consecutive win in the Velocity Trophy this season. Radical changes to the tournament meant the Sussex club had to negotiate a group phase before qualifying to play Premier League opposition – in this case, Casuals.
For James Bracken’s side, this was their first foray in the League Cup this season and the second of nine scheduled matches in February – or nearly one game every 72 hours. Therefore, it was unsurprising that he named a changed line-up from that which defeated Lewes at the weekend. There was a debut for ex-AFC Wimbledon defender Jim Fenlon. Jack Tucker returned from dual-registration duty at Frimley Green and Nat Pinney was promoted to the starting line-up. Coskun Ekim returned in place of Matty Bakare whilst Gabriel Odunaike was rested, sitting in the stands for the evening.
Despite this, Casuals settled well and began to carve open Burgess Hill’s defence on multiple occasions. With 20 minutes gone, Corinth found themselves one-up. An excellent cross from the left unusually found makeshift forward Tucker sliding in to bag his first goal for the club.
Hill did go close themselves but an excellent clearance from Mark Jamison, from under his own crossbar, saw off the danger of Pat Harding when it was easier to bundle into his own net. However, with Brad Wilson also hitting the post, the half very much belonged to Casuals.
Seeking the all-important second, Corinth applied serious pressure after thebreak. Nat Pinney shot wide and Jack Strange’s header whistled past the far post, all before Brad Wilson’s effort was cleared off the line. However, in the resulting melee, Wilson was awarded a penalty for an adjudged foul. The midfielder himself stepped up but crashed his spot-kick against the foot of the post.
We’ve all seen what happens next; give away countless opportunities and it’ll bite you in the backside. Five minutes later, Hillian Aaron Smith-Joseph’s persistence paid off and forced his way through the defence to fire low past Danny Bracken’s left and into the corner.
Then, out of nothing, on 77 minutes, Mason Dougherty unleashed a wonderful 25-yard ripper into the top corner to send the small band of Hillians into hysteria.
Casuals attempted to rally. The best chance fell to Warren Morgan who met an enticing cross only to inexplicably put it wide. After the match, the stand-in forward still couldn’t understand how he’d missed. The Hill goal had led a charmed life at times, but the score remained 2-1 to the visitors and they booked their place in the next round away to Horsham next week.
For Bracken, it’s a return to important league action this weekend as the team travel to Margate. Next Tuesday night is Casuals’ last foray in cup competitions, heading to Wingate in the London Senior Cup Quarter Final.
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