Corinthian-Casuals 1 - 2 South Park
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 27th February 2016
Attendance: 156
Match report: Cameron Smith. Photos: Stuart Tree (full set here)
Corinthian-Casuals were dealt an enormous blow to their chances of a play-off spot with a narrow 2-1 defeat to South Park on a crisp afternoon at the King George’s Arena.
Positional changes were the subject of most conversation around Tolworth as established attacker Juevan Spencer was drafted into right-back while Matt Reece and James Cottee were given starts. After a week’s rest since their fantastic away victory at Herne Bay, Casuals were looking to edge ahead of potential play-off rivals in the table with a win today against South Park, who had conceded eight goals in their last two fixtures.
A scrappy affair from the start, the visitors carved out more chances than the hosts in the first 45 as centre-backs Murray and Dudley were always on the back-foot, struggling to catch-up with the pace of the lively Kofi Quartey.
Casuals did have a few opportunities as a thunderbolt from Niall Wright whistled a few inches over the bar. Just as the first half was destined to end goal-less, a defence-splitting ball was perfectly weighted for the oncoming Quartey, who slotted the ball into the far left corner with ease.
Reverting to his natural right-wing position for the second half, Spencer was replaced by Wright at full back.Manager Bracken hoped to tire the legs of the Sparks by using Spencer’s lightning speed. However, attention was required when Dylan Merchant met a corner with a tricky header which blasted off the post before the linesman raised his flag for offside. Casuals could breathe again but they lost concentration at another corner and let Merchant have a second chance. The centre-back lost his marker and doubled South Park’s lead with a bullet header.
Casuals looked dejected as they limped to re-start play but did not give up. A Spencer cross fell to Reece at the back-post and the forward tested goalkeeper James Wastell for the first time of the afternoon. It had promise to be the start of a comeback. Quartey had different ideas as the striker was unleashed only to hit the post. In the 66th minute, Casuals’ Shaun Okojie emphatically thumped the ball into the top corner from 12 yards. Good fortune was involved as Cottee’s blocked effort found Okojie before the striker netted his seventh of the season. The goal had given Casuals hope but it soon diminished as the home side failed to create chances late on. Substitutes Emmanuel Akokhia, Sekou Kaba and Cherno Mendy could not conjure an equaliser and it ended in a 1-2 loss.
Manager James Bracken spoke to Stuart Tree after the match:
“That was certainly not what we were looking for today. It’s back to the same old problem of being inconsistent.
“The goals that we’ve conceded, they’re the moments we have to look at.
“Our second half performance was better than the first where we’ve had a few shots and probably had the better of possession. However, we’ve conceded just before half time, off the back of one of our attacks where we’ve been sloppy, not taken care of it and got caught out. Then just after half time, you can’t expect to mark them at a set-piece the way we did and not concede.
“You can’t go two down and expect to win a game of football. It’s just too much.
Asked if he had a theory as to why Casuals could defeat those higher in the league but struggle against lower-ranked teams, Bracken added, “I think the games that we deem are winnable, we see the opposition turning up here motivated knowing they’ll be in a tough match. The teams at the top might still look at us as a bit of a softer touch.
“But I also think it’s down to us and how we approach the games. We’ve shown what we can do against higher league opposition like Leiston and Grays and just last week away at Herne Bay. We’ve had plenty of good wins this season against top sides. We’re up for it.
“When we play sides lower down the table, we don’t seem to be able to get ourselves to the same level. It’s about hitting a consistent level every game. It’s solely a mentality thing. The lads are young and they’ll learn.
When asked if injuries were a concern, Bracken answered, “At the moment, this is probably the time we’ve had the least injury worries throughout our squad in the course of the season. We had eight or nine injured every week for the first four months of the campaign but it wasn’t a problem because we put a good squad in place.
“Yes – we have a few injuries and you could argue that we’re missing one or two regulars but I’m more than comfortable of the sides we’re putting out but in terms of the performance and result today, obviously, we’re not happy.
“Of course we’re still in the playoff race. I said to the boys in the changing rooms that if we’d won today, they should take five points from the next three games. A win and a couple of draws would be good against tough opposition.
“Okay – we didn’t get the three points today so now we need to pick up six from the next three. If we do that, then we’re still in with a shout.
“I said earlier in the season that if we’re three to six points outside the playoffs with seven games to go and if we can get up for the games that maybe aren’t so big on paper, then we’ll be in with a good chance.”
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 27th February 2016
Attendance: 156
Match report: Cameron Smith. Photos: Stuart Tree (full set here)
Corinthian-Casuals were dealt an enormous blow to their chances of a play-off spot with a narrow 2-1 defeat to South Park on a crisp afternoon at the King George’s Arena.
Positional changes were the subject of most conversation around Tolworth as established attacker Juevan Spencer was drafted into right-back while Matt Reece and James Cottee were given starts. After a week’s rest since their fantastic away victory at Herne Bay, Casuals were looking to edge ahead of potential play-off rivals in the table with a win today against South Park, who had conceded eight goals in their last two fixtures.
A scrappy affair from the start, the visitors carved out more chances than the hosts in the first 45 as centre-backs Murray and Dudley were always on the back-foot, struggling to catch-up with the pace of the lively Kofi Quartey.
Casuals did have a few opportunities as a thunderbolt from Niall Wright whistled a few inches over the bar. Just as the first half was destined to end goal-less, a defence-splitting ball was perfectly weighted for the oncoming Quartey, who slotted the ball into the far left corner with ease.
Reverting to his natural right-wing position for the second half, Spencer was replaced by Wright at full back.Manager Bracken hoped to tire the legs of the Sparks by using Spencer’s lightning speed. However, attention was required when Dylan Merchant met a corner with a tricky header which blasted off the post before the linesman raised his flag for offside. Casuals could breathe again but they lost concentration at another corner and let Merchant have a second chance. The centre-back lost his marker and doubled South Park’s lead with a bullet header.
Casuals looked dejected as they limped to re-start play but did not give up. A Spencer cross fell to Reece at the back-post and the forward tested goalkeeper James Wastell for the first time of the afternoon. It had promise to be the start of a comeback. Quartey had different ideas as the striker was unleashed only to hit the post. In the 66th minute, Casuals’ Shaun Okojie emphatically thumped the ball into the top corner from 12 yards. Good fortune was involved as Cottee’s blocked effort found Okojie before the striker netted his seventh of the season. The goal had given Casuals hope but it soon diminished as the home side failed to create chances late on. Substitutes Emmanuel Akokhia, Sekou Kaba and Cherno Mendy could not conjure an equaliser and it ended in a 1-2 loss.
Manager James Bracken spoke to Stuart Tree after the match:
“That was certainly not what we were looking for today. It’s back to the same old problem of being inconsistent.
“The goals that we’ve conceded, they’re the moments we have to look at.
“Our second half performance was better than the first where we’ve had a few shots and probably had the better of possession. However, we’ve conceded just before half time, off the back of one of our attacks where we’ve been sloppy, not taken care of it and got caught out. Then just after half time, you can’t expect to mark them at a set-piece the way we did and not concede.
“You can’t go two down and expect to win a game of football. It’s just too much.
Asked if he had a theory as to why Casuals could defeat those higher in the league but struggle against lower-ranked teams, Bracken added, “I think the games that we deem are winnable, we see the opposition turning up here motivated knowing they’ll be in a tough match. The teams at the top might still look at us as a bit of a softer touch.
“But I also think it’s down to us and how we approach the games. We’ve shown what we can do against higher league opposition like Leiston and Grays and just last week away at Herne Bay. We’ve had plenty of good wins this season against top sides. We’re up for it.
“When we play sides lower down the table, we don’t seem to be able to get ourselves to the same level. It’s about hitting a consistent level every game. It’s solely a mentality thing. The lads are young and they’ll learn.
When asked if injuries were a concern, Bracken answered, “At the moment, this is probably the time we’ve had the least injury worries throughout our squad in the course of the season. We had eight or nine injured every week for the first four months of the campaign but it wasn’t a problem because we put a good squad in place.
“Yes – we have a few injuries and you could argue that we’re missing one or two regulars but I’m more than comfortable of the sides we’re putting out but in terms of the performance and result today, obviously, we’re not happy.
“Of course we’re still in the playoff race. I said to the boys in the changing rooms that if we’d won today, they should take five points from the next three games. A win and a couple of draws would be good against tough opposition.
“Okay – we didn’t get the three points today so now we need to pick up six from the next three. If we do that, then we’re still in with a shout.
“I said earlier in the season that if we’re three to six points outside the playoffs with seven games to go and if we can get up for the games that maybe aren’t so big on paper, then we’ll be in with a good chance.”
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