Corinthian-Casuals 1 - 0 Faversham Town
Bostik League South
Saturday 27th January 2018
Report: Cameron Smith. Photos: Stuart Tree (full set here)

With practically the last kick of the game, Jordan Clarke’s composed last-gasp penalty deservedly sealed three points for the dominant Corinthian-Casuals at the soggy King George’s despite a valiant defensive shift from opposition Faversham Town.

Casuals looked to get back to winning ways after dropping points against Hythe Town and Whyteleafe over the past two weeks. Ray Turner’s eleven wanted revenge following Casuals’ 1-0 win in Kent in late September; Bracken unveiled a merciless attacking line-up on the team-sheet as Odunaike, Dillon, Clarke and Antonio started the match.

Whilst referee Steven Scott whistled the fixture into action, gusts of wind and a light shower greeted the chocolate and pink shirts of Casuals and the yellow of Faversham onto the unideal surface. Slipping and sliding from the start, the game was affected by the poor weather with scrappy play from both sides. However, through the mud and rain of the first half, the hosts seemed to adapt quicker as Gabriel Odunaike’s one-on-one opportunity was saved by alert keeper Simon Overland early on. Fabulous flair from the two flanks thanks to the combination of Clarke and Dillon, who swapped wings often, created an entertaining and attacking style of play from Casuals. It was entertainment for the Casuals to an extent as the first half ended with zero goals all-round, which on reflection did not represent Corinthian’s great performance.

Danny Bracken was called into action only once in the first-half, but it was praised by the Casuals contingent as his lightning-fast reflexes saved the home side from Faversham breaking the deadlock. It was attack after attack in the second-half as Corinthians weren’t able to penetrate the Lilywhites’ defence from open play or set-pieces. Clarke remained as involved in the game as he was in the first half: he was the Faversham full-backs worst nightmare on the wing. Chances came via Odunaike and Dillon with the odd McAllister drive too and when Max Oldham and Coskun Ekim entered the fray, the midfield duo seemed to inject a fair bit of confidence in the players and supporters. Despite the domination that lasted the full forty-five minutes, it was in added time in which Casuals would strike.

Three minutes after it was signalled that four minutes would be played after the 90, sub Ekim was fed the ball in the penalty area following sustained pressure in the Faversham half. Intelligently opting to move the ball out wide, the Turk ran towards the by-line with a swift turn, but as he ran towards the ball, a Faversham player stuck his leg out and clearly caught Ekim. As soon as the no.12 fell to the ground, the referee pointed to the spot as Casuals behind the goal, on the pitch and on the bench celebrated. Placing the ball on the centre spot from twelve yards out, Clarke took a deep breath before expertly slotting the ball into his bottom right corner as the keeper dived the wrong way. A cool celebration to match the cool finish, Super Jordan Clarke had finally got his goal and seemed to mimic Eric Cantona when he lifted his arms outwards with a serious expression on his face. The composure was certainly Cantona-esque as the referee soon blew the whistle for full-time. One goal to nil, Faversham had been downed, and Casuals had won.
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Unbelievably satisfying, the celebrations at the end of the match were superb as Casuals nicked three points from the defensive Faversham at the death - we wish the visitors all the best for the rest of the season. A trip to Ashford United and a Horsham home fixture is next on the horizon for James Bracken’s army but for now, all the Corinth supporters would have on their minds is Clarke’s coolness.

"Another last minute winner… we like to make sure everyone stays right until the end",  said Manager James Bracken joking after the final whistle. "I hate it when you see empty stadiums with fifteen minutes to go, so we make sure we do a bit of business in the last five minutes just to keep people here.
 
"But seriously, we’ve done it again. Today was a little different. In some games, we’ve left it until the last twenty minutes before we’ve really gone through the gears and put pressure on. There’s been matches, certainly more recent where we’ve drawn games because of that.
 
"I said to them, we have to start games like we play those last twenty minutes. The last period at Whyteleafe, we’ve done enough to get a draw with the exception of having a goal disallowed for offside. Sadly, on review of video evidence, it wasn’t off, which is two such decisions in the last five games that’s cost us four points.
 
"Start the first twenty like the last twenty and we might win games before the very end. We played with an increased intensity for the whole 90 minutes and taken us to the last minute to get something. But that’s a product of playing for the whole game at that intensity. The last twenty, Faversham were out on their feet. We penned them into their own box, by just attacking. That’s when something gives. In this case, it’s a penalty because players tire and decision making becomes wayward. That’s because of the work we’ve made them do, and we made them work for the whole ninety.
 
"There wasn’t a minute of the game where they got a foothold. There was a five minute period at the end of the first half where we just come off the pace a little, allowing them a little more space. Other than that, they’ve had to rely on trying the counter attack.
 
"They’re a good side. The front four that they have are effective and lively. They’ve got two lads on loan from the league above and are good players. But we made sure they had nothing left in the tank for the last fifteen. That’s a product of our hard work rather than their fitness.
 
"We had two training sessions this week which is a massive plus. Tuesday, we had an evening where I did nothing but work on play around the box. That told today. In the first half, we created two absolute sitters through good movement, good passing and it was evident. I was delighted with it.
 
"Had we even drawn today, I wouldn’t have been angry with them. Fair play to the boys as they gave everything. If we hadn’t got the three points, I’d have trouble dealing with it but I could accept what they gave out there. The goal was our reward.
 
"We have gone from one extreme to the other. We were winning games 4-3, 3-2. We tightened up the defence and we’ve conceded just three goals in the last eight games. We’re not letting many in but we need to go and take a few more of our chances. We keep clean sheets and that gives us a platform to go and win games. If we can add a few more goals to the mix, we’ll win every match.
 
"There’s something good here at the minute and we need to build on it. The extra training makes a massive difference. We came into the game today not on the back of a win, loss or draw. We came into the game on the back of two training sessions which had focus on this match and our play around the box. We created enough and on another day, we win that three or four-nil.
 
"We haven’t had an in-form player this season. That’s no disrespect to any of them. We haven’t had a player who’s played well from the first match to where we are now. Every player has had dips. Every player has been at sixty-seventy percent with the odd good game here and there. We’ve gone through the season so far without having a player where you say, ‘he’s on fire again… and again.”

"If they turn up with fire in their belly and hit their top form, we’ll take some stopping. Whether that’s for playoffs, competing for automatic promotion or whatever, we need to keep that fire. We had that today. Nathan Daly showed that at the end, gathering the players around. I’ve got a lot of time for that. I’m not telling him to do that. That’s a mark of a man that pulls boys together and feels he want’s to say something. I know they’ll respond to that. We just need to keep bringing it every training session, every matchday. Simple. "

Whyteleafe 2 - 1 Corinthian-Casuals
Bostik League South
Saturday 20th January 2018
Match Report: Cameron Smith. Photos: Paul Downs (full set here)

Corinthian-Casuals left it all too late in a crucial Bostik Division One South encounter at Whyteleafe FC as an inspired comeback wasn’t enough to salvage a point following the hosts’ two first-half strikes.

The ten-men of Hythe Town managed to hold James Bracken’s pink & brown army to a goalless draw last Saturday, in which assistant manager Dan Pringle summed it up perfectly: “really frustrating.” It was a trip to Whyteleafe’s Church Road that was next on the agenda, and whilst games across the country were postponed due to the poor weather, the side from Croydon boast an artificial pitch, so the game was always going to be played! Comfortably sat in mid-table, Leafe grabbed a point at King George’s earlier in the season, but Corinthians did triumph over the club from the east of Surrey in the first round of the Velocity Trophy soon after.

On a drizzly Saturday afternoon, the third meeting of the 17/18 season was underway. Twenty-five minutes into the match, Casuals and Leafe had battled hard, with the hosts the ones creating more of the chances and retaining most of the possession. Silky exchanges before a superb flashing cross, Tommy Hutchings bundled home a well-timed and well-executed assist from the left flank to edge Whyteleafe into a 1-0 lead.

Keeper and captain Danny Bracken hastily grabbed the ball from the net and urged his team to step their game up a notch, whilst the travelling support continued voicing their encouragement. Despite cheers from the away end, no real change occurred, as Leafe threatened via their speedy wingers once more. Their inevitable second goal, however, wasn’t from the wings, it was from 30 yards out. Hutchings was gifted the ball by a mistake in the midfield before a stroke of pure luck saw the no.10 smash a powerful effort towards goal that took an agonising deflection off a Casuals defender and ended up bouncing over Bracken and in. It was a cringe-worthy moment for the visitors, who were dealt an unfortunate blow in the 34th minute as Whyteleafe notched their second.

Just before the referee blew the whistle for half-time, super striker Harry Ottaway used his instincts to intercept a backpass and aimed for the goal, but Leafe no.1 Kyle Merson was there to save it. At the break, Gabriel Odunaike and Hamilton Antonio entered the fray ahead of Uzun and Oldham. Same support, different ends from the Casuals contingent as the Tolworth side had improved considerably in the second-half. Although the final touch of class did not seem to appear, opportunities via headers from Ottaway and Terry Murray left Corinth on the verge of pulling a goal back. It was only until the 82nd minute in which they finally did. Odunaike was given a difficult, bouncing through ball to work with when clean in on goal, but a glorious touch was the perfect height to beat the keeper and Casuals were given an injection of hope.

Eight minutes flew by with the hosts resorting to extra-long set-pieces, goal-kicks and substitutions in order to run down the clock, but it didn’t stop Corinth from making chances. A perfect free-kick hit straight down the middle of the pitch was headed forward by Ottaway in the 90th minute, and the cheeky knock-on was met by Nathan Daly’s looping header that dribbled into the net. Celebrations lasted for around five seconds before the pink & brown army realised the linesman’s flag was raised on the right flank. Jubilation turned to anger very quickly as everyone on and off the pitch were in shock at the inexplicable decision to rule out the goal due to offside- Daly had seemingly been yards ahead of the last defender! The decision stood, and Casuals played out four minutes of added time before the referee concluded proceedings. Whyteleafe were triumphant in a 2-1 victory.

The loss left Casuals just inside the play-offs in 6th place whilst first-placed Lewes beat second-placed Cray Wanderers to stay at the top of the table. Another frustrating fixture in the Bostik South will hopefully be erased from Corinthian-Casuals’ memory next week; mid-table Faversham Town make the trip to South London on Saturday.

Corinthian-Casuals 0 - 0 Hythe Town
Bostik League South
Saturday 13th January 2018
Report: Cameron Smith. Photos: Stuart Tree (full set here).
Additional photos from Andy Nunn here.

​​A goalless draw versus a resilient ten-man Hythe Town side left Corinthian-Casuals with a bittersweet aftertaste as a point and a clean sheet was weighed up against dropping to fifth place in the Bostik Division One South on a scrappy Saturday afternoon.

Max Oldham’s brace aided James Bracken’s pink and brown army to a 3-1 victory in a tough Velocity Trophy quarter-final fixture at Hendon FC on a drizzly Tuesday evening. Progressing into the semi-finals, Casuals were in high spirits when the play-off outsiders Hythe Town travelled to Tolworth all the way from the south coast of Kent for an interesting encounter on a biting Saturday 3pm kick off. There was also a new signing for the South London side, not for the team, but for King George’s groundsmen as the friendly face of Stan Collymore jumped on the mower and helped prepare the pitch ahead of the match! The former-Liverpool and England footballer was presenting a short film on Corinthian-Casuals and the people behind our historic club for RT’s The Stan Collymore Show.
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As the referee started proceedings, the Bracken Brothers hoped that the pacey combination of Oldham, Dillon and Odunaike would provide the edge they needed to beat the visitors whilst Callum McAllister looked to boss the midfield once again and the return of Jack Strange to the starting eleven added assurance at the back. Cagey, the first fifteen minutes brought only changes in possession, until Hythe’s Ryan Palmer fired a pinpoint yet mightily powerful shot onto the underside of the crossbar, which bounced on the line before being cleared. The blue shirts of The Cannons were up in arms when the ball bounced on the line as they felt Palmer’s effort might’ve edged over the line, but the referee continued with play.

Chances were rare for Corinth as Hythe seemed to block the hosts’ trio of attackers with ease. Just before half-time, the referee had another tough decision to make when Hythe’s Jordan Johnson-Palmer and Casuals’ Reyon Dillon were involved in a collision on the right flank in which the opposition’s no.6 engaged in a gruesome studs-up challenge that may have taken the ball, but took Dillon too. Rolling in pain on the floor, the Casuals winger was lucky not to receive any lasting damage as both sides surrounded the referee. Hythe’s blue shirts were arguing that the tackle resulted in them winning the ball, whilst Casuals players wanted Johnson-Palmer off. It was Corinthians who got their way, and deservedly as the challenge saw Hythe go down to ten, which swiftly brought the game to half-time.

A second-half that was as frustrating as the first, Casuals and Hythe were both involved in a compelling 45 minutes of football, despite the lack of goals. With no.11 Kieron Campbell keeping full-backs Walker and Daly on their toes throughout, Hythe kept their composure, professionalism and strategy within check at all times despite the disadvantage. Defending with utter urgency, they prevented Casuals on multiple occasions from scoring the opener as corners and set-pieces were guided away from the bustling penalty area. Josh Uzun’s whipped corner agonisingly avoided the pink and brown shirts in the box as well as the blue as his trademark kick flashed past everyone in one of Casuals’ best opportunities. Gabriel Odunaike slammed an one-on-one well wide of the goal in a disappointing outcome to an initially promising move with ten minutes to go. Following an inexplicable decision to not add on any extra minutes for Hythe’s time-wasting late on, the referee blew for full-time; it had ended 0-0.

The fourth goalless draw of the 17/18 season so far, Corinthians would take the positives from an irritating result as a clean sheet and the extension to their eight-game unbeaten run in all competitions. We wish visitors Hythe Town the best of luck for the rest of the season. James Bracken would take the point and focus his squad on Whyteleafe away next Saturday. 

“Really frustrating today,” said Assistant Manager Dan Pringle after the match. “In the first half, we weren’t at the races.
 
“Through our poor start, we allowed them to get a foothold in the game. We allowed them to get some belief and from there-on, it was difficult for us to assert ourselves back into the game.
 
“For sure that was a definite red card. In fact, there could’ve been another one issued for the tackle on Max Oldham. They were fortunate to go in at the break with ten men still on the field. It should've been nine.
 
“Playing against ten men can be a poisoned chalice. Teams change their mindset. They sit in and are happy to take a point at that stage. It’s a great result for them.
 
“We’ve not pressurised them enough. Not enough shots at goal in the second half. Not enough sustained penetration. The final ball was lacking or someone not being in the right area at the right time.
 
“In all honesty, we could’ve played for another 90 minutes and not scored today.
 
“When we’re at our best, as we saw on Tuesday at Hendon, we can beat anyone. We dominated that game, passed them off the pitch and should’ve scored more than the three we did.
 
“It’s just a shame we go from that to this performance today.
 
“We’ll believe we can still win this league until it’s mathematically impossible for us not to do so.
 
“In our three years here, we’ve never come across another side who we feel like we’ve been outplayed or feel like we should’ve lost to. We’ve had poor halves of football now and again but I don’t think we’ve ever had a full 90 where we believe we should’ve been beaten.
 
“We can take confidence from how we ended the last two seasons. Last year, we won 10 on the bounce to get to the playoff final. That’s fantastic but we have to be mindful that other teams respect us much more now.
 
“The first season, it was unheard of here and we were a complete surprise. The second season, people expected us to fall away and not sustain our challenge. Therefore, this year it’s harder than ever because there’s far more respect towards us.
 
“We’ve got so much talent in our changing room though that there is no reason why we can’t win every single game, even against the big boys. I believe if we achieve that, we will finish as champions.
 
“If not, we’ve been in the playoffs last year so we know what to expect. It was a good experience, though hard to take defeat at the time, so we take great confidence from what we learned in that and the last two years as a whole.” 

Hendon 1 - 3 Corinthian-Casuals
Velocity Trophy Quarter Final
Tuesday 9th January 2018
​Match report and photos: Stuart Tree (full set of photos here)

Hedonism is a school of thought that argues that pleasure and happiness are the primary or most important intrinsic goods and the aim of human life.
 
For those travelling Casuals fans in attendance at Silver Jubilee Park on a cold, drizzly January evening, pleasure and happiness was most definitely provided by James Bracken and his Corinthian-Casuals side. Hedonism at Hendon? Absolutely.
 
It’d been 33 months as to when the last two sides met and the resounding 5-1 victory by the Greens over Casuals in the inaugural competitive contest at Hendon’s new ground was still fresh in the memory.
 
Much has changed in that time - for both sides. Danny Bracken, notching up his 350th competitive appearance was the sole survivor from that London Senior Cup Quarter Final in 2015, joined by Hendon’s San Murphy. Vast changes to both squads in less than three years meant this was as new an encounter as the 3G surface that lay beneath the feet.
 
Hendon’s ranks included league top scorer Niko Muir and Dagenham & Redbridge loanees Joe White and Liam Gordon. By contrast, Casuals were without regular centre-backs Jack Strange and Terry Murray as well as forwards Gabriel Odunaike and Reyon Dillon. Whilst Harry Ottaway was touted to play, an injury kept him from travelling to North London for the tie. Leading the line was Jordan Clarke – making his first start in three months following an injury layoff. Bookmakers had put Casuals as far out as 4/1 for the win and those odds looked generous with the changes enforced on Bracken.
 
Despite this, it didn’t go to plan for the home side. Within 13 minutes, Casuals were in front. Using the counter-attack to good effect, Jordan Clarke laid a perfect ball for Max Oldham who struck through the feet of keeper Dan Purdue to send the small but vocal away contingent into raptures.
 
Danny Bracken was called into action himself on a couple of occasions, including a fine tip onto the post to prevent parity in the scoreline.
 
Casuals doubled their lead in the 35th minute with Max Oldham turning provider, laying a perfect ball across the face of the goal for Josh Uzun to lash home from close range.
 
Despite what looked to be a foul on Jordan Clarke in the build-up, Hendon’s Joe White found himself with a great chance to score but was bundled over by Ben Cheklit. The resultant penalty was dispatched by Muir to bag his 30th goal of the season.
 
Controversy was averted on the stroke of half time when good pressure from Clarke forced an error from the back four and bearing down on goal, struck the side netting. However, the ball had passed through a hole to nestle in the back of the net. Some thought he’d scored but the eagle-eyed officials had spotted the ball passing the wrong side of the post. Reaction of the players also told everyone that it was a chance missed rather than converted.
 
The second half saw Hendon attempt to take a grip on the game and were afforded good spells of possession, though never really testing Bracken in goal.
 
The tie was sealed when Max Oldham ran onto a through ball, caused by pressure exerted on the Hendon midfield. Oldham beat Purdue to roll the ball into the empty net, much to the American’s delight.
 
Hendon were repelled one last time in the dying minutes with Bracken making an excellent fully-stretched dive across his goal and Casuals were able to comfortably see out the rest of the game.
 
The win sees Corinth as the first club to reach the last four with the heavyweights of the Bostik Prem yet to play their quarter finals. Based on this performance against Hendon, Casuals will have nothing to fear for the remainder of this cup competition.
 
"The performance was fantastic,” commented James Bracken after the match. “I lifted the pressure off by telling them to just go and enjoy it.”
 
“We’ve got a lot of good footballers and a 3G pitch suits how they want to play. So I gave them a little more freedom to just play the way they wanted to. They certainly didn’t let anyone down in their performance.
 
“Right from the start, we took the game to them, passed the ball well and created chances. We should be pleased with that.
 
“We were the better team for sure. I like Gary (Hendon Manager). Hendon are a nice club and they’re a good side. They’re a league above doing well on merit. But we deserved that tonight. If we perform to the levels I know that we’re capable of, we can do that to most teams in our league and the league above. Tonight, we proved that.
 
“I said we wanted a trophy and we’re in good sight of one. I go back to what I said before that this is supposed to be a local tournament in the early rounds at least. We’ve been to Margate, Hendon, Whyteleafe, Thamesmead – every round has been an away game. We’ve been on a lot of journeys, but we’ve got ourselves into a semi-final. With a bit of luck, we can do the business in that and have a cup final for everyone to look forward to. It’d be a fantastic achievement to get there and then on the day, it’s anyone’s for the taking."

Herne Bay 1 - 4 Corinthian-Casuals 
Bostik League South
Saturday 6th January 2018
Match report and photos: Stuart Tree (full set of photos here)

Corinthian-Casuals continued their perfect start to 2018 with a resounding 4-1 win away at Herne Bay on Saturday, all but wrapping up the game within the first half hour.
 
An own-goal courtesy of Jonathan Richardson started the proceedings and was swiftly followed by a close range strike from Gabriel Odunaike and an audacious header from Josh Uzun. Despite Bay pulling a goal back in the second half, Hamilton Antonio sealed the three points when he rounded keeper Benjamin Hunter and slot into an empty net.
 
James Bracken’s side were out to avenge disparaging comments courtesy of the hosts in their match preview, insinuating that Casuals were a dirty side – with factual inaccuracies to boot. Though no encouragement is needed to pep up the team, it was one gratefully received by the manager to get across the importance of the win. 
 
Casuals travelled without Harry Ottaway, the late scorer in the 1-0 win over promotion rivals Walton Casuals on New Year’s Day but otherwise had a relatively unchanged side, with Reyon Dillon taking Ottaway’s place. Bay, vastly changed from last season under the departed Sam Denly sat 15th in the table, unlikely to threaten either playoffs or relegation.
 
Bay started brightly, pushing Casuals onto the back foot but it was the visitors who struck first, though with more than a helping hand from Bay’s captain Jonathan Richardson. With quarter of an hour gone, Max Oldham squared the ball to an unmarked Dillon hovering over the penalty spot. The striker’s shot rebounded off the post and careened off the incoming defender’s boot, lashing into the back of the net.
 
Two minutes later and it was 2-0. Bay’s defence were in disarray when the ball was played over to a waiting Odunaike at the far post who couldn’t miss, bundling the ball home to the sound of ecstatically-vocal away supporters.
 
Casuals tasted victory and pushed to kill the contest early. Max Oldham’s reaction to his blazing miss over the bar probably told all that he should’ve buried the chance. But Casuals were able to make it three on the half-hour mark. Josh Uzun’s improvised header impressively lobbed the 6’7” keeper and dipped perfectly under the stanchion to practically seal the deal.
 
Re-emerging in the second half, Casuals looked to have taken their foot off the gas too much and invited unwanted pressure, not seen in the first period. Danny Leonard stretched the defence from wide positions and his cross found Nassim Dukali who neatly finished past a stranded Danny Bracken to give hope to the home side. The goal stirred Casuals into action once again and Max Oldham saw his penetrating run and shot only find the side netting.
 
It could’ve – make that ‘should’ve’ been over minutes later. A perfectly weighted through ball was made with Dillon looking like the recipient, though breaking through the pack was Uzun, who found himself completely free with only the keeper to beat. Perhaps with too much time to think about what to do, Uzun chose the wrong option and blazed the ball over the bar. It felt like a pivotal moment in the match.
 
Thankfully, Casuals didn’t pay for the miss as substitute Hamilton Antonio this time burst through the defence beating Hunter to the ball and calmly slotting home into an unguarded net to the relief of the Casuals following. They looked to increase their goal difference tally with Malachi Robinson testing Hunter in the dying moments.
 
“It’s been a decent day’s work,” said Manager James Bracken after the win. “I’ve always maintained that we should try to start bright, get games put to bed as not many sides come back from three-nil down. If we do come off the pace slightly, you’ll likely get away with it.
 
“We should’ve scored more goals. Our decision-making wasn’t as good in the second half. They had more of the ball for short periods but we had some great opportunities to score. There’s been moments where we’ve shot when perhaps the better option would be to pass it across the goal for a tap-in.
 
“Three-nil up at half time and we’re comfortable. I have to credit the players as there was a lot of good performances out there today. Many of the boys stepped up a level that’s required from here on in.
 
“They put a bit of pressure on us before they scored a goal but we went and had the best two chances after that period, scoring ourselves. It wasn’t anything more than just needing to change one or two things which we did. I could’ve done it sooner but when a team has done well, got themselves well in front, you give them the benefit of the doubt for another 10-15 minutes. We did that, they scored, we made the changes and after that, there wasn’t a problem.
 
“The conceded goal was a bit sloppy and there’s bits to look at with play breaking down in areas where it shouldn’t. That’s where we invited their best attacks, through us not securing the ball.
 
“I’m not going to batter anyone too much over it. We’ve won 4-1 away from home and that’s one goal conceded in four games. If we do that every four games, we won’t be very far away.
 
“Cup quarter final at Hendon to look forward to now. I wanted to go there and put out what I feel is our best XI at the moment. Realistically, there’s one or two lads that have played a lot of football over the past couple of weeks who will be rested. We do want to get to the semi-final. We won’t go to Hendon on a Tuesday night just to make up the numbers. I’ve said in every round, I’ll put out a team that I believe is capable of winning and we’ll do the same on Tuesday.”  

Corinthian-Casuals 1 - 0 Walton Casuals
Bostik League South
Monday 1st January 2018
Match report: Cameron Smith. Photos: Andy Nunn (full set here).

​Corinthian-Casuals couldn’t have started the New Year on a better note; a vital 1-0 victory over Walton Casuals pushed the ecstatic hosts back into third place thanks to a brilliant bullet header from the superb Harry Ottaway, who sealed three points in Corinthians’ first game of 2018.

Consecutive goalless draws were rare, especially for one of the highest goal-scorers in the Bostik League South Division. The Boxing Day stalemate at Carshalton Athletic was a commendable outcome as James Bracken’s pink and brown army were tested by an energetic and relentless Robins side, but the 0-0 result away in Dartford was excruciating to watch as a dominant Casuals couldn’t break Phoenix Sport’s defence and couldn’t return to Tolworth with three points. Gabriel Odunaike’s tap-in was ludicrously adjudged offside in the final ten minutes of the match, which left the Bracken Brothers bereft on a miserable Saturday afternoon.

Things were looking up for the Casuals Contingent on New Year’s Day as manager Bracken fielded a strong starting eleven that included Terry Murray, the return of Warren Morgan and Nathan Daly, the youthful Callum McAllister, fan favourite Josh Uzun and the man on everybody’s lips around King George’s: Harry Ottaway. Ever since donning the pink & brown of Corinthians versus Thamesmead Town, his return to the strike-force has been anticipated after the no.9 netted his second superb goal on the 23rd versus East Grinstead. Reyon Dillon and the returning Brandon Johnson and Jordan Clarke were just a few names on the substitute bench for the Casuals.

As the navy away shirts of Walton lined up next to Corinth’s eleven, Stags boss Anthony Gale watched on as his players warmed up, ready for the Casuals derby. Sitting in 5th place, the visitors were one spot ahead of Corinth going into this six-pointer on the first day of the year, so an entertaining clash was expected.

Was it entertaining? Sort of. The first-half was mainly controlled by the hosts as Corinth had a flow of golden opportunities in the attacking third. Ottaway was already causing chaos in the Walton defence as the striker’s non-stop movement and involvement in attacks left gaps of all sorts in the back four. It was Ottaway who managed to swing a looping cross towards the back post after a corner fizzled out- the ball met the head of no.4 Daly, who got a powerful header on target as the defender tried his best to convert. Daly’s flick bounced off the crossbar before the rebound fell to the off-balance Odunaike, who could only thwack the ball out for a goal kick. Corners galore, Josh Uzun jogged out wide to take his trademark set-piece often in the first half, with his best kick landing perfectly for Jack Strange but the youngster’s header hit the side netting.

​Scrappy at times, the fixture resulted in many breaks in play for fouls with Walton hardman Daryl Coleman at the centre of appeals from the home side after he raised his hands at Ottaway, but only escaped with a yellow card. Former-Walton winger Oduanike was linking up well with Ottaway and others throughout the first half against his former club, but he wasn’t able to get the decisive goal. Perhaps losing focus towards the end of the half, Corinthians nearly allowed Walton to draw first blood, but a header from inside the six-yard box after a flashing cross somehow was guided over the bar. Half-time at King George’s saw both Casuals go without a goal into the next 45.

Solid efforts from keeper Denzel Gerrar and a sturdy Walton defence irritated Corinthians in the second half as half-chances came and went for the hosts in a fixture all about mentality, not just physicality. Daly was at the forefront of another great chance when his booming low effort just missed the post. Cheklit’s creativity, Max Oldham’s energy, Odunaike’s pace, Uzun’s set-piece speciality, McAllister’s cool head and Ottaway’s instinctiveness looked lethal on paper, but in reality, was being closed down well by Walton. And as Reyon Dillon entered the fray, the loud and optimistic Corinth supporters must have had the thought of another goalless draw in the back of their minds with five minutes to go. That was, until Josh Uzun was fed the ball just outside the area, on the left flank.

Uzun effortlessly flicked the ball over a bewildered navy shirt to glide past the obstruction as Corinth began another hopeful assault on the Walton defence. The no.10 was willed on by the extremely supportive contingent behind the goal who all rushed forwards in anticipation of what the terrific midfielder would do next. He then composed himself, glanced at Ottaway in the centre of the area, and clipped a pinpoint cross towards the no.9. Ottaway was ready to get his head on the perfectly angled assist, and in the 86th minute, connected with the ball that flew past the keeper and nestled into the bottom left corner. It was from quite a distance, but Ottaway’s nod had Walton’s no.1 helpless as he clutched thin air when he the ball bounced past him. Mobbed by team-mates, Ottaway raised a solitary fist in celebration whilst many Walton players were on the floor in despair. Meanwhile behind the goal, Harry’s header sent supporters into mayhem as Corinth had finally got their goal.

Four minutes later, it was full-time. A remarkable header from the impressive Harry Ottaway had sealed three, monumental points for Corinthian-Casuals; Walton Casuals left South London with zero points. We wish the Stags the best of luck with the rest of the season. James Bracken and his triumphant team had earned their first win of 2018, with a trip to Herne Bay next on the agenda.