10-Man Casuals Rue Red Card Decision

Corinthian-Casuals 1 - 1 Brightlingsea Regent
Bostik League Premier Division
Saturday 1st September 2018
Match report: Cameron Smith. Photos: Stuart Tree (full set here)

A baffling red card left Corinthian-Casuals with ten men versus a scrappy Brightlingsea Regent, who bagged a second-half equaliser as points were shared on a sunny afternoon at King George’s Arena.

Bank Holiday Monday’s unfortunate 1-0 defeat only fuelled a resilient Casuals side led by James Bracken- the manager had a bittersweet taste in his mouth after the Kingstonian loss, describing Casuals as “fantastic” despite lost points. Brannon Daly was the fifth goalkeeper in the 18/19 season to wear the grey keeper jersey for Corinth, whilst McAllister and Carvalho returned ahead of Walker and Oldham. Super Jordan Clarke made his first start since re-joining the pink and brown army, shifting in the no.9 role.

White shirts of Brightlingsea Regent distributed across their half as the clock edged closer to 3 o’clock, with the Essex club looking to add to their four points and lowly position. As soon as the game kicked off, it was clear that the visitors were hungry to come away with a result via tactical fouls and good defensive work. So, Casuals had to match that desire to win. They did just that in the 30th minute, where captain Coskun Ekim delivered a perfectly weighted corner in a compact penalty area. Whipped in with precision, there were lots of bodies looking to make a connection to the ball, but Jack Strange was the one to succeed. Tapping the ball past the keeper and Regent player on the line, the beaming no.4 ran to the jubilant support behind the goal as for the first time this season, Casuals had taken the lead! Recognising that a 1-0 lead in football is never safe, the side collectively put pressure on Brightlingsea.

After Warren Morgan was fouled consecutively in one of his trademark wanders, Ekim was twenty yards out when he placed the ball down to take the free-kick. Eyeing up the keeper’s left hand corner, the Turk curled a magnificent effort over the wall and past the R’s no.1… but not past the agonising goal post. Hannigan was present for the rebound, but completely off-balance and out of position, so his effort skied over the bar. Enough was enough for the away side’s management- they made two substitutes in the 40th minute in a desperate attempt to get back into the one-sided fixture. Even if it was not by their football, they did. Referee Shelby Elson broke up a scuffle on the right flank between Josh Gould, Jake Gould and Warren Mfula. Finally deciding to hand out cards, the official inexplicably gave Casuals’ Mfula a red card, whilst only booking no.3 Jake Gould. Confusion rippled across the arena as the no.10 exited the pitch on the stroke of half-time.

Unable to comprehend the disciplinary decision from Mr Elson, the Casuals contingent switched ends and hoped the extra man would not affect the game’s quality. That hope was instantly crushed when a lightning quick attack resulted in sub Michael Baxter bundling in a cross only two minutes after the break. Brightlingsea had taken full advantage of the extra man- it was one apiece. Following the equaliser, the Casuals and the Regent had almost switched roles in the second half as the visitors were ever so close to nicking a winner when keeper Daly made a tremendous save from point-blank range in the 65th minute. Always managing to ease past the full-back, Carvalho was Casuals’ main threat, but his efforts just couldn’t beat the structured Regent back four. A possible handball in the goalmouth was enthusiastically dismissed by the referee as Casuals dug deep to both defend and muster offensive opportunities. Exhausted after 95 minutes of practically end-to-end play, Corinthians and Brightlingsea were halted as the game ended 1-1.

Disappointing to only gain a point but happy to keep one after being strangely reduced a man, Casuals now sit in 21st place but look to the FA Cup for an access into the next Qualifying round- the home match is next Saturday.

​Read James Bracken's post match comments here >>