Bostik League Premier Division
Saturday 5th January 2019
Match report and photos: Stuart Tree (full set of pictures here)
Corinthian-Casuals started 2019 with a clean-sheet and a point after grinding out a 0-0 draw against ten-man Harlow Town on Saturday.
The Hawks were reduced to ten men after just seventeen minutes when Taylor Hastings denied Gabriel Odunaike with a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
However, Harlow’s defensive resilience coupled with Casuals inability to create clear-cut chances meant this match was only ever destined for a scoreless draw.
Positives will be taken from the result, with James Bracken’s side claiming their first clean sheet in nine games and a point that ends a four game losing streak.
Harlow have spent most of the season in the relegation places but with new additions into the side, they’d picked up a few valuable points in the past month. Casuals were looking to kick-start their campaign after a difficult December which saw the Tolworth-outfit pick up three points from a possible fifteen.
Hasting’s sending off set the tone for the rest of the afternoon; a lofted through ball saw Odunaike sprint through on goal and his defender inadvertently tripped the forward leaving Referee Hugh Gilroy no option but to show red.
However, the first half was an even affair. Whilst Max Oldham drove his shot into the side netting and Odunaike choosing to square the ball to Warren Mfula rather than taking the shot on, there wasn’t much action in either box. At the opposite end, Danny Bracken was forced into a sharp but comfortable save from a Harlow attack.
The second half was more one-way traffic as the extra man told. For periods, it seemed it was only a matter of time before the deadlock was broken but Casuals almost possessed a fear of shooting. Josh Bexon, the Harlow stopper had little to save throughout the match.
The introduction of Bradley Woods-Garness and Josh Uzun gave fresh impetus going into the final 20 minutes but despite creating good openings, neither could quite magic up that late winner as was so often seen last season.
And so the spoils were shared leaving Casuals fourteenth in a tight table - six points above the relegation spots but only eight points from playoffs. A run of form as seen in November would put Bracken’s side right in the promotion mix, yet December form could leave them in a relegation dogfight.
Read Manager James Bracken’s thoughts here.