Corinthian-Casuals 0-2 Carshalton Athletic
Ryman Dicision One South
Saturday 28th January 2017
Match Report Cameron Smith

A valiant second-half display from 10-man Corinthian Casuals was unable to
prevent Carshalton Athletic from sealing three points with a comfortable 2-0 victory
at King George’s.

Two consecutive postponements, a visit to Molesey and a trek to Cray was cancelled due
to the arduous weather so when an essential clash versus high-flyers Carshalton was
given the green light; everyone was relieved. The Robins were unbeaten in four games
and are located in the play-offs. The previous meeting between the two teams was won by
Casuals thanks to Jamie Byatt’s late penalty, which secured a 3-1 away result. Would
Corinth be able to ‘do the double’ against the Sutton-based side?

James Bracken opted to give holding midfielder Coskin Eskim a debut despite the
significance of the fixture whilst Josh Gallagher and Shaun Okojie were given striker roles.
A back-four of Juevan Spencer, Warren Morgan, Danny Dudley and Jack Strange also
featured in the starting XI; Josh Uzun and Ben Cheklit on the wings.

The fluorescent yellow strip of Carshalton won the toss and attacked the chocolate and
pink shirts of Casuals as the game started. A nightmare start for the hosts, it was a mere
five minutes on the clock when the deadlock was broken. Leathering the ball into the roof
of the net, no.6 Kalvin Morath-Gibbs wheeled towards the travelling fans in jubilance after
a dangerous corner was not cleared by Corinth.

Eleven minutes later, Corinthians were dealt a disheartening blow when right-back Juevan
Spencer trailed Mickel Miller’s mazy run before tripping the Carshalton attacker and giving
the away side a penalty. Miller, who was about to strike the ball, was taken out unfairly by
Spencer- the referee had no hesitation as he pointed to the spot. Spencer was then given
his marching orders- Casuals were down to 10! A confident conversion from Paris
Hamilton-Downes set the score-line to 2-0.

The remains of the first-half was uneventful as Corinth could not break down the strong
Robins side as the main talking point was an off-the-ball incident where Miller received a
yellow card for a late challenge on Danny Bracken. The Casuals staff, players and fans
were incredulous as the referee chose a yellow over a red. Half-time brought the end of
Carshalton’s domination.

A remarkable second-half performance from Corinth was needed to overcome the superb
Carshalton wall. Hammering a low shot towards the near post of goalkeeper Joe Tupper,
Cheklit nearly started a Casuals comeback but the powerful wrists of the orange jersey
denied the dream. Then, Corinthians’ best chance arose when the brilliant run of Warren
Morgan exchanged a quick pass with Okojie before firing a venomous effort towards goal.
Tipping over, it was agonising for the luckless Morgan. All three substitutions failed to
make an impact as half-chances arrived and left. Referee blew thrice on his whistle as
Carshalton secured the win.

Gutted, Casuals players applauded the vocal (as always) support and dejectedly exited
the pitch whilst the Robins punched the air and celebrated. In eighth spot, Casuals
travelled to Whyteleafe next Saturday for a tough fixture.

Corinthian-Casuals 1-1 Cray Wanderers
Ryman Dicision One South
Saturday 14th January 2017
Match report:Cameron Smith.  Photo: Paul Downs (Full set HERE) -   Stuart Tree's photos HERE

Masterfully ‘parking the bus’ in the second half, ten-man Cray Wanderers
exasperated a luckless Corinthian Casuals side to grab a point in a 1-1 draw at King
George’s Field.

On Tuesday evening, Corinthians hosted their third consecutive home fixture versus
Molesey, in which a terrific second-half performance granted three hard-earned points for
Casuals in a 5-1 win. One day later (a Wednesday night), Cray Wanderers were trounced
5-1 by an unpredictable Walton Casuals team, therefore leaving them in ninth place. Two
games with identical results- Corinth had more positive news.

James Bracken kept the exact lineup that netted five goals on Tuesday to face Cray
Wanderers, who have an experienced side featuring Danny Haynes, a journeyman striker
who has represented Charlton Athletic, Ipswich Town and Bristol City, amongst others.
Would an experienced side be able to prevent the fast, attacking force of Casuals?

Before the game started, both sides gathered in the centre-circle for a well-observed
minute’s applause, in honour of the late Graham Taylor, the former-England, Watford and
Aston Villa manager. The referee concluded the one minute and the game started.

Spreading the ball across the surface of King George’s, play was brilliantly distributed by
an efficient and creative Cray side in the opening ten minutes with Haynes firing over. After
a brief reign of domination, Corinth slowly edged into the game and settled with the hightempo-
Shaun Okojie rifled a low shot into the gloves of keeper Nick Blue. Ben Cheklit’s
mazy run saw the winger force a good save before the subsequent corner was glanced
wide by Jamie Byatt. Casuals had two consecutive, agonising attempts on goal denied by
a yellow shirt on the goal-line; Byatt and Jack Strange had their heads in their hands after
the ball was booted away.

In the 33rd minute, the Wands took the lead via Carl Dent as the no.10 notched his
seventh goal of the season as he volleyed past Bracken from point blank range. Picking
themselves up, Casuals then equalised only two minutes later. Searching for his twentieth
goal of the campaign, Shaun Okojie was ready to dispatch a Juevan Spencer cross, but a
reckless sliding challenge from Lea Dawson denied him. A clear penalty, the offender was
given a yellow card as the referee pointed to the spot. Josh Uzun calmly converted into the
bottom left corner- it was 1-1.

Cray, who were dealing with Casuals’ fast attack well, were hugely disadvantaged when
Haynes (Cray’s top goal-scorer) was given his marching orders when he lunged at Danny
Dudley, leaving his foot outstretched and making contact. Horrendous, it was no surprise
when the referee grabbed his red card and sent him off.

A frantic first half was completed with the score 1-1.

If the next 45 minutes for Casuals were to be summarised in one word, it would be…
frustrating. The Wands put up their defensive shields, ready to combat the flow of Casuals
attacks. Josh Gallagher nearly broke those shields when his low effort was inches wide of
the post following a mis-understanding in the Cray ranks. Logical, the Cray side were
fabulously defending their goal as Okojie’s diving header was guided past the post with ten
minutes to go. During the last remaining minutes, Corinth were unable to score and
provide a late winner so three blows on the referee’s whistle ended the game 1-1.

Corinthians were out of the play-offs due to Lewes’ victory versus Herne Bay whilst Cray
sat in ninth place. A remarkable second-half performance, Cray won their hard-earned
point and we’d like to thank them and wish them well for the rest of the season- see you
next week for the away fixture! A tough away clash versus Molesey was next for James
Bracken as they aimed to retain their play-off spot.

Stuart Tree spoke to James Bracken after the game:
“One word to describe today? Frustrating.
“You've seen it a million times; if you watch football regularly, you'll know that breaking
down ten men isn't always the easiest thing to do. The sending off has totally changed the
complexion of the game. From there, Cray had very little ambition in the second half -
which is fine - I might have been same in similar circumstances. They stuck two banks of
four behind the ball and we didn't do enough to break that. We weren't quick enough when
moving the ball and it was hard on that pitch. It was a plod in a bog.
“At half time, I said to the boys that we played fine in the first half but missed three or four
good chances. We were the better team... just didn't take advantage. If we'd have carried
on that good play in the second half, and in honesty if they'd have kept eleven players on
the pitch, we probably would've won it because the game would likely have been more
open.
“With the pitch being the bog it was and our failure to break down the two banks of four, it
made for a very frustrating afternoon.
“However, it's another game unbeaten which you take the positives from but we need to
bounce back on Tuesday with another win.
“We came off the Molesey game last Tuesday in good confidence and we were good in the
first half here. We weren't able to adapt to the situation well enough to get three points.
“So I don't think this is a 'blip' game. Just a tough match in testing conditions. Hopefully,
come Tuesday night, the pitch will dry up a little bit which will help the game flow more.
Everyone can stay on their feet a bit easier. If we get the win, that'll be seven points in the
last three and that's the start of a nice unbeaten run.
“We haven't lost ground on the leaders though. The last five games, we've picked up five
points. Very feasibly, if another side had won five out of five, they could be ten points
further off than us. We have two games in hand. Win those and we're six points off the top
of the table. There's still a lot of football to play and it really is all to play for.
“It's not just us saying that though, a lot of sides in this league – right down to tenth place
will be thinking it's all to play for. We're confident of achieving something big here but it'd
be nice to get back on another winning run, get ourselves back in the playoffs and open up
a gap from sixth place.”

Corinthian-Casuals 5-1 Molesey
Ryman Dicision One South
Tuesday 10th January 2017
Match report:Cameron Smith.  Photo: Andy Nunn (Full set HERE)

After the infamous floodlight failure in November, the replay of Corinthian Casuals
versus Molesey resulted in a comfortable 5-1 victory for Corinth, who netted four
times during an explosive second-half performance.

On Saturday 5th November, Corinthian Casuals faced Molesey in the Ryman Division One
South. All was well (Casuals were winning 2-0!) until the seventy-first minute, when the
floodlights around King George’s were judged insufficient. The referee called the players
off the pitch as the game was officially abandoned. Goals from Okojie and Gallagher
sealed three points before the result was cruelly removed as the rematch was scheduled
for the new year.

Now, it’s Tuesday 10th January 2017- both sides have finally locked horns for the rematch.
Molesey, who have only collected a point from four games, travelled to King George’s
hoping to complete ninety minutes of football. Gritty, Molesey have a structured set-up but
are located in the bottom half of the table this season, in 20th place.

Looking to provide the first win of 2017, James Bracken made a few bold changes in the
starting XI as Jack Strange earned a place at centre-back ahead of Terry Murray. The
flanks were occupied by Juevan Spencer (right-back) and the sparkling Warren Morgan,
who would terrorise Molesey’s defence on the left whilst Dave Hodges missed out.
Bettache and Uzun were the holding midfielders, Cheklit was given an opportunity on the
wing as well as the inclusion of Jamie Byatt, also on the wing. Would these changes
ensure three points?

Silky wing play saw half-chances pop up for the hosts inside the first ten minutes as the
darting runs of Cheklit menaced the full-backs. Another provider of danger was the tricky
Warren Morgan. Despite playing in his unnatural position, Morgan managed to fool
Molesey’s Josh Andrews with a cheeky prod which left him space to deliver a cross to
Jamie Byatt in the centre. Scuffing his first chance, Byatt then chipped the ball with his
right-foot into the top corner of the net as he jokingly celebrated with the Casuals
contingent in the fourteenth minute. Searching for the essential second, the chocolate and
pink shirts swarmed towards the cramped area with confidence- Shaun Okojie dragged a
shot just wide of the post following a powerful attacking move.

Chances heavily one-sided, the game was unexpectedly levelled. Light-blue jerseys of
Molesey took advantage of stationary defending as a low cross was fired past Danny
Bracken and across goal for… Casuals’ Warren Morgan. The left-back could only slot into
his own net as the power on the assist caught him by surprise- the score was 1-1.
Attempting to repair a period of lost concentration, Casuals continued with their attacking
duties in the form of Cheklit. The winger beautifully crossed the ball on the by-line to Byatt,
who peeled away from his marker at the back post but could only guide a looping header
into the hands of keeper Liam Allen. First-half brought to a close, Corinthians must have
been wondering how the score was equal?

Fluidity in movement created a few half-chances for Casuals as the home side struggled to
find the edge until the 52nd minute, where Josh Uzun netted a screamer. With the famous
‘Two Joshes In Our Team’ chant echoing around the ground, Gallagher stabbed the ball
towards Uzun and from around twenty-five yards, ejected a remarkable effort, which
seamlessly sailed into the top corner of the net as Corinth were ahead- in style. Never
putting on the brakes, Casuals were on the move once more as Gallagher powered a shot
towards goal but it was wide of Allen’s post.

With the third lingering, Juevan Spencer took the matter into his own hands as his mazy
run left defenders for dead before delivering for the oncoming Okojie, who slammed the
ball into the net. Cue the cool celebrations from Super Shaun as the score was made 3-1.
Nine minutes later, Byatt’s inch-perfect cross was satisfyingly nodded on with accuracy
and power by the danger-man Okojie, who was lurking in the centre. Easily beating Allen
in net, the well-worked goal adjusted the score-line to 4-1!

Chances for both sides arose as Danny Dudley heroically hooked the ball from the goalline
to prevent Molesey from scoring their second. However, Corinth comfortably
dominated and somehow did not add a fifth when substitute Max Oldham connected to a
failed Jack Strange chance from yards out. Strange, who was the Man Of The Match, had
a header cleared off the line by Moles’ Ashby Charles. Then, the fifth arrived, with
substitute Jordan Clarke wonderfully shrugging off defenders to slot home, through the
legs of keeper Allen.

At full-time, the Casuals’ players delightedly shook the hands of the (as always) fantastic
crowd before exiting and preparing for a tough clash in Tolworth on Saturday versus
fellow-promotion-hunting side Cray Wanderers. We thank the Molesey fans and players for
travelling down to King George’s, on two occasions!

 Corinthian-Casuals 0-2 Lewes
Ryman Dicision One South
Saturday 7th January 2017
Match report:Cameron Smith.  Photo: Paul Downs (Full set HERE)

Corinthian Casuals’ first home fixture of 2017 was one to forget as the clinical
Lewes left Tolworth with a 2-0 win and three points on a bitter Saturday afternoon.

Following on from the lacklustre display at Tooting & Mitcham last week, Casuals looked to
secure their place in the play-offs with a victory over Lewes, who were hovering just
outside the top five. The Rooks, who are based in East Sussex, succumbed to a
disheartening 2-1 loss to Horsham last week. Previously gathering points from Tooting and
Cray Wanderers, Lewes have been a consistent side this season thanks to midfielder and
top scorer Jamie Brotherton, who has been delivering the all-important goals.

James Bracken implemented two changes from the 3-1 defeat at Tooting as Warren
Morgan was benched ahead of the versatile Juevan Spencer, who happily shifted into
right-back whilst Max Oldham was introduced on the wing. Josh Uzun was selected in
attack as Jamie Byatt was dropped.

The light blue away attire of Lewes faced the classic chocolate and pink of Corinth as the
referee began proceedings. Vocal, Lewes’ starting XI were superior from the off, with
possession and opportunities edging in the visitors’ favour. In only the seventh minute, the
dominance was satisfied by the opening goal. Charlie Coppola’s space in the area allowed
him to simply dispatch a low cross from the by-line as the travelling Lewes fans celebrated.
The dangerous Jamie Brotherton engaged in a 50/50 challenge with solid Danny Dudley
minutes later, which resulted in the Lewes player screaming in pain after Dudley left his
studs up. The Casuals centre-back received a yellow card. Brotherton was stretchered off
with the help of Corinth fan favourite and substitute Jamie Byatt, who helped carry the
Lewes player to the sidelines.

Stephen Okoh, the replacement for Brotherton, superbly doubled the away side’s lead in
the fifteenth minute. With the defence out of position, Okoh moved to the edge of the area
where he unleashed a superb curling effort into the top corner; leaving Danny Bracken for
dead. Lewes were 2-0 up versus the complacent Casuals.

Approaching half-time, Corinth had improved their game with two outstanding saves from
Lewes’ terrific no.1 Adria Munoz Fernandez. Lobbing the ball back into the busy area,
Uzun nearly gave Casuals a lifeline with a pinpoint assist for Dudley, who headed the ball
back for Okojie at the back post. ‘Super Shaun’ was unable to convert as the heroic
reflexes of Fernandez denied the striker. During stoppage time, it wasn’t Fernandez who
saved Lewes- it was the woodwork. Oldham’s darting drive into the area saw the winger
cross for Uzun, who deftly targeted the ball onto the post. Brilliant play from Corinth was
not rewarded with the essential goal as half-time began.

A quiet start to the second-half, Corinth were unable to break the well organised back four
of Lewes. Opportunities on goal were a rarity. In the 65th minute (following a spell of
predominant Casuals set-pieces), a corner was nodded towards goal by Terry Murray but
the fantastic looping header was parried away by the gloves of Lewes ace Fernandez.
Disbelief echoed around the ground. Next, Shaun Okojie’s effort slammed against the bar,
only for the linesman’s flag to cancel it out.

The visitors populated the edge of Corinth’s box whilst searching for the third but their
sustained pressure resulted in a drought. Byatt switched his temporary ‘physio’ duties for
his usual footballing job late on and nearly nicked the consolation goal Casuals had been
aiming for all afternoon. His powerful volley flashed just wide of the post in the 80th
minute. Danny Bracken dived to save a low shot from a Lewes counter attack in the dying
minutes before three blows on the referee’s whistle concluded events.

The devastating 2-0 loss was drowned out by the Casuals contingent, who sang until
every player exited the field. With Hythe Town losing 3-0 and Carshalton drawing, Casuals
were able to maintain their play-off position for another week. A midweek clash versus
Molesey at home is next on the cards for James Bracken’s pink and brown army.

Tooting & Mitcham Utd 3-1 Corinthian-Casuals
Ryman Dicision One South
Monday 2nd January 2017
Match report: Stuart Tree.  Photo: Paul Downs

Corinthian-Casuals were unable to replicate the fine finish to 2016 as they were defeated by three goals to one at Tooting and Mitcham.

Coming off the back of seven wins and a draw, James Bracken’s side couldn’t reach the level of performance seen pre-Christmas in what was their first outing since Boxing Day’s 0-0 draw with Walton Casuals.

Tooting by contrast had ended a run of four matches without a win by defeating Whyteleafe 2-1 at the KNK Stadium just two days earlier.

The hosts started the brighter of the two sides and a lethargic looking Casuals were on the back-foot for the majority of the first 45 minutes. Captain Danny Bracken was called into action on several occasions making a string of fine acrobatic saves as the Terrors hammered shot upon shot at the Corinth goal.

The breakthrough came on 38 minutes when Claudio Hoban’s corner was inch-perfectly whipped in and beat everyone, including Bracken to find the opposite top corner.

The setback appeared to galvanise Casuals and after going one down, began to impose themselves on the game. Winger Juevan Spencer caused multiple problems for the home defence. His persistence paid off beating his two markers to square a perfect ball across the box for Jamie Byatt to fire home. Agonisingly, the ball hit a divot and bobbled up on the striker just before pulling the trigger and ‘Busy’ could only watch in disbelief as his shot spooned up over the bar.

Terry Murray also came close in the dying minutes following a set-piece as his header whistled past Kyle Merson’s far post.

Casuals re-appeared with renewed vigour in the second half and displayed more of their potential. Jordan Clarke was closest to levelling the scores after his shot ricocheted off the right hand post along the goal mouth and hit the opposite upright before Tooting’s lines were cleared.

The Terrors looked to use the counter attack to their advantage and ruthlessly doubled their lead just after the hour mark. Taurean Roberts slotted low past Bracken from a quick break much to the delight of the home fans.
Casuals reverted to three at the back in an effort to get something from the game and they earned a way back into the match on 77 minutes. Shaun Okojie neatly converted a cross from Spencer sliding the ball in at the back post, despite injuring himself in the process.

Just three minutes passed before Tooting struck the killer blow. Sandy Cunningham despatching the ball into an empty net following a precise cross from the wing. With ten minutes remaining, it was hard to see Frank Wilson’s side succumbing a two-goal lead.

Never giving up, Casuals looked to push on and Warren Morgan’s surge into the box, interlinked with neat passing saw the defender’s stab at goal well saved by Merson. Time was called on the game and Casuals suffered their first league defeat since early November. Tooting maintained their second place in the league but despite the loss, Casuals sit handily in fifth with games in hand on those above them in the table.

After the match, Assistant Manager Joe Davies spoke to Stuart Tree.
“The first half, we just weren’t good enough. We were slow to everything, we didn’t take individual responsibility and as a team, we sat off too deep and thus didn’t get near them. There were too many errors both on and off the ball. It’s something we’ll have to look at.

“Second half, we’ve got stuck in a bit more and reacted in a way which we expected. We were probably unlucky to concede the second goal at the time we did as we were on top at that stage. But if you don’t take your chances, you’re liable to be caught with a sucker punch.

“Did missing the Guernsey fixture contribute to the performance? Perhaps, but I don’t want to make excuses. It’s a tough one to answer though as we just won’t ever know.

“At the start of the season, we earmarked December as a very tough month. We’d have happily taken some draws in that period, especially for the away fixtures. An example being Hastings where we’ve won when probably not expected to do so. Carshalton away was also another big win in the scheme of things. So to get seven wins and a draw from that run, we’re delighted. Obviously, we’d have like to have carried on that run but we didn’t match those levels here at Tooting.

“So we can’t be too downbeat. From the second half of the performance against Tooting, there’s positives to take but we absolutely cannot go into games playing the way we did in the first half. If we expect to win, that has to change.

“Lewes will be a tough ask. They’re included in the run of games that we knew would be a tough test for us. But at home, we’ve got a pretty good record, taking 24 points from a possible 36 this season. For that reason, we’ll fancy our chances.”