“If we took half of our chances today, we would have scored five, that's the God's honest truth,” explained Manager James Bracken after the 3-1 loss to Bognor Regis Town.

He added: “I'm not talking about half chances, or shots outside the box, but one-on-one's, shots hitting the crossbar and free headers inside the six yard box. We just didn't make the most of our chances.

"I can't fault them though; all I will remember from the game is the reaction in the last 12 minutes. Someone complimented me a while ago and said that your teams never know when they're beaten. That was epitomised in the last 12 minutes of the game, which should have been more like 20 but the ref decided to play just two minutes over the top... but that is a side issue.

"That is what will come away with me, and it is what we need to focus on in the coming week, the positivity in the last twelve minutes, and the whole performance really. My brother (Danny Bracken) could have done better for the first. The second was clumsy and we switched off for the penalty and we were going for the game and caught out for the third.

“We got more out of that today as a defeat, than we ever would have a win. I'm proud of the players, and I have no problem with them with regards to effort and the way we played. It just came down to the fact we didn't take our chances and we got caught out, but that's football.”

Bracken also reserved special praise for Max Oldham stating that he was “brave to walk off without a stretcher” following his clash of heads which left him unconscious.

“I’ve got nothing but respect for Max for going for that ball, winning it the way he did and getting up, walking off the pitch like a man rather than being stretchered off. Fair play to him, he showed a lot of gumption today and that’s what you want to see in your team.

Next up for Corinthian Casuals are two away trips in the shape of a trip to Hornchurch next Saturday, followed by a visit to Folkestone the following Tuesday.

Bracken continued: “We will get both of them watched. We've watched Hornchurch and there won't be much football played by them, which is par for the course for most teams in this league now.

“At the beginning of the season teams were actually getting the ball down and playing football, but it's got to Christmas and when things don't go to plan, they resort to shelling it, and it’s ugly.

“We'll be ready for that though, and we will make sure we're best prepared, as we were today. Bognor are a decent side. Had we won, we’d have been a point behind them and who’d have said at Christmas, we’d be a point behind them going into February? There’s no right for us to be anywhere near where we are. But when you watch us, you can see exactly why we should still be looking up. Get back on another winning run and we’ll be within the playoffs again. Until that’s not achievable, that’s what we’ll be going for.”

James was talking to Joshua Doherty and Stuart Tree.

Corinthian-Casuals 1 - 3 Bognor Regis Town
Bostik League Premier Division
Saturday 26th January 2019
Match report: Cameron Smith. Photos: Stuart Tree (full set here)

An opening beauty from Hamilton Antonio was cancelled out by three Bognor Regis goals as Corinthian-Casuals suffered their first defeat of 2019 in an eventful but ultimately frustrating Bostik Premier clash at King George’s.
​
Three games in the New Year saw two wins and a draw. It had been a fantastic start for James Bracken and his side with an “unbeaten January” being the target. Bognor Regis Town were the visitors and the seaside outfit hovered just outside the elusive play-offs in 7th. A good number flocked from the south coast to Tolworth on a cold and rainy afternoon and with dozens of AFC Wimbledon fans getting their non-league fix before a huge FA Cup clash with Premier League side West Ham, the attendance was high. And so were the stakes.

Majed Osman’s impressive performance versus Enfield Town last week earned him another start in the middle of the park ahead of Mu Maan; Coskun Ekim partnered the no.6. Under pressure from Casuals’ lightning quick attack, Bognor were on the back-foot for the opening 15 minutes. Jordan Clarke had a shot blocked and the traffic on the left flank via Adelakun’s crosses had shaken the away side. Finding a pocket of space, midfield magician Hamilton Antonio struck a pinpoint yet powerful effort towards the keeper’s bottom right-hand corner. Evading the green shirts in-front of him, Antonio’s shot did find the glove of Bognor no.1 Dan Lincoln, but there was not enough contact to avert it wide. Casuals were 1-0 up thanks to an audacious strike!

A first-half of niggly challenges and midfield battles, there was a threat from Bognor as they settled, but notwithstanding consistent Casuals chaos. However, chances went begging as Casuals should’ve turned the screw. First, Warren Mfula found himself through on goal only to have his shot forced wide. Jordan Clarke’s penetrating run into the byline caused chaos and Bognor scrambled clear. To top it off, Gabriel Odunaike should’ve converted a header from almost under the bar that he couldn’t get on top of.  Neither side could add anything else to the half: Antonio’s early quality separated the two teams.

Immediately searching for a second goal, Corinthians seemed to start the second half like they started the first. On the prowl. Clarke was bothering the green shirts once again and had a booming shot dip onto the crossbar from 25 yards out in an agonising hands-on-head moment, where a slice of luck was the difference between 1-0 and 2-0. Just before Bognor equalised, a shot that narrowly missed the post had foreshadowed the visitors’ dominance from the 55th minute onwards. Tommy Scutt’s messy goal that beat Casuals captain Bracken was timed perfectly with the descent in the weather. The rain lashed it down and so did Casuals’ performance.

Five minutes later, a tackle in the area caused the referee to point to the spot for Bognor and Jimmy Muitt was the one to brilliantly dispatch the penalty. In the space of five minutes, it was 2-1 to Bognor- comeback completed. Thinking back to earlier, Casuals were ruing the missed chances of Gabriel Odunaike and Warren Mfula. Two one-on-ones with Odunaike in the second-half saw the striker hit a creative but weak flick first-time that found the keeper’s hands, as well as not being able to finish the other chance.

Introduced two minutes prior, Max Oldham had a collision in the 77th minute and didn’t show any sign of movement upon landing. Play was stopped of course, and the Casuals physio attended to the winger. As minutes went by, the supporters around King George’s realised just how serious the injury was and lending his jacket to the concussed Oldham, James Bracken defined what we call ‘The Corinthian Spirit’. Bognor’s physio generously lent a helping hand before an ambulance was called and assistance arrived. After nearly 20 minutes of stoppage, Oldham was able to walk off the pitch to a standing ovation from everyone in the ground.

Play restarted at the 77th minute mark and the Casuals had new found confidence after a distressing situation. Calls to ‘Do it for Max’ were heard from behind the goal and a few set-pieces nearly saw Casuals equalise. Centre-back Jack Strange was in an unfamiliar position when he hit a decent shot over the bar from 20 yards out. But unfortunately for Casuals, Muitt had a simple yet clean finish to make it 3-1 to Bognor in the 90th minute, therefore concluding the bizarre match.

Max Oldham was treated at hospital and accompanied by the awesome Jon Williams- he is set to make a full recovery. We would like to thank Bognor Regis and their great physio for their help and messages; we wish them well for the rest of the season. Casuals’ three or four key opportunities that would have been dispatched on another day resulted in the first loss of the year, but Bracken looks onto two tough away fixtures next. Hornchuch and Folkestone are pencilled in next week- can Corinth get back on track?

Read James Bracken’s post-match thoughts here. 

I thought I’d bring my super-sub linesman on and get three points. It’s the best substitute we’ve had all season," said James Bracken following the 2-0 win at Enfield Town.

In seriousness, when you get those prolonged breaks in the game, you wonder which team will better adjust to the circumstances. I’ve had both. I’ve had teams come out after a lengthy break and hit the gas like we did today. Likewise, I’ve had sides who never got going again and it’s cost us.

I was grateful we managed to seize the initiative and get on the front foot. I thought the subs had a positive impact on the match and turned it in our favour after Enfield had a good ten-minute spell. We were well worth our win.

Would we have taken a draw when the referee sustained his injury with ten minutes left? No – my stance is always to try and win every game. That’s why we rarely draw.

If we’re 0-0 with ten to go, I’ll always make positive changes in an attempt to win. If you do that in three games and you win one of them, that’s as good as three draws. It’s also what people pay to watch. As a fan, I’d want to see my Manager picking a player off the bench that can win you a game. You have a throw of the dice.

We played the better football. Like last week, we were the only team who tried to play. We got the ball down and played through the thirds. We let the boys express themselves which was nice.

We’re one game away from an unbeaten month in January. That’s now our focus. A third win on the spin would be very welcome but Bognor Regis will be another tough game.

I’ve spoken to the lads about intensity – our training intensity has improved. There’re no excuses. When the games were coming thick and fast, there wasn’t time to prepare for the next match. It’s also physically demanding on players. When you’re winning, you ride it but when you lose, it’s hard to reach those levels again. Now, with a lack of midweek fixtures, we have time to prepare. We’ve now had time to do our research, work at it in training and that’s probably why the results are coming our way again. To be fair to the players, they’ve stepped up when they needed to.
​
It’s great to provide these moments for the likes of Roger (Stringer) and the supporters. Some of these fans have supported the club when it wasn’t in the best of places, struggling most weeks and getting turned over more often than not. These are now the good times and people like Roger deserve that more than most. There’s plenty of supporters that deserve these moments and hopefully they last a lifetime in memories. 

Enfield Town 0 - 2 Corinthian-Casuals
Bostik League Premier Division
Saturday 19th January 2019
Match report: Cameron Smith - Pics: Stuart Tree (full set here)

With only eight minutes remaining, the sturdy and spirited Corinthian-Casuals scored twice to steal three vital points away in numbing conditions at Enfield Town.

2019 had provided two games for the pink and brown army prior to this trip to North London. Despite the stalemate with ten-man Harlow Town feeling like a loss, James Bracken’s side were unbeaten as last week saw Casuals come back from an early Leatherhead goal to stylishly win 2-1. The small but vocal contingent of Corinthians in and around the Queen Elizabeth II stadium had either jumped on a few trains or drove around the M25 to get to the vintage Enfield venue and were surprised to see a new face in the chocolate and pink no.6 shirt. Majed Osman made his first start for the Casuals ahead of the injured Coskun Ekim- it was Bracken’s only change.

There were seven goals in the reverse fixture earlier on in the season; a 6-1 drubbing at King George’s Field had Casuals shuddering at the thought of a repeat. Since then, Enfield have found themselves hovering around the play-offs whilst Corinth are not too far off in 12th. The Blues had a very strong tactic that was apparent from the off, asserting their long-ball football and physicality on their opponents. Casuals tried a more thoughtful approach but the two sides cancelled each-other out for the first-half.

Danny Bracken was tested when he dived to his left and parried a good effort away from danger. Meanwhile down the other end, Hakeem Adelakun and Jordan Clarke stood over a free-kick, won after a cynical Enfield challenge. Teed up by the left back, Clarke’s low shot was swallowed by keeper Joe Wright. This was the start of a flurry of chances late on in the first 45. Osman burst through on the right hand side of the box and belted an effort that bounced off the post agonisingly. But perhaps most agonisingly, Clarke controlled the rebound and just before releasing was unfairly pushed off his feet. Protests for a penalty were to no avail and Casuals went into half-time without a goal under their belt.

A second half that was destined to end like the first, the most notable highlight was Enfield’s close encounter with breaking the deadlock as Sam Youngs hit the post in the 75th minute. Moments later, something quite inexplicable happened. Referee Jeffrey Aldous replicated something he had seen hundreds of times before in his career… sit on the floor and signal to the bench in agony! Limping off the pitch (with the help of an Enfield and Casuals player), the future of the game was in limbo. Luckily for both sides, Enfield found one of their fans to run the line whilst one of the original linesmen grabbed the whistle and took over from his injured friend.

Maybe it was the introduction of Oldham and Serbony just before, or the ten minute delay that had pumped some energy into the fatigued visitors. Oldham whipped in a genius corner in the 82nd minute straight onto the head of Adelakun at the back post. Delightfully directing it to the crowded front post, the assist was touched down by poacher Odunaike, who did what he does best and poke the ball home and cause an eruption behind the goal. The resilience to push past on-field battles and off-field battles was encapsulated in the opening goal of the game.

After celebrations died down and chanting resumed, the chocolate and pink were determined to do more than just hold out for a narrow 1-0 victory… Substitute Max Oldham carved a delicious ball for the hidden Mfula in injury time, and remarkably slotted the ball past the oncoming Wright. The clinical pass, the tight angle, the perfect finish- Mfula was mobbed by his teammates as they celebrated with the jubilant travelling support. At full-time, Corinth had done the unthinkable and nicked three points from a seemingly dead-end match at the expense of the distraught Enfield Town.

Thank you to Enfield Town for their always warm hospitality and a good game of football- we wish them well for the remainder of the season. James Bracken made two games unbeaten three with the 2-0 victory and now Casuals look onto next Saturday for a fourth. Play-off hopefuls Bognor Regis Town visit King George’s Field in the Bostik Premier.

Read James Bracken's post-match thoughts here.

​“Deeply frustrating to only get a point,” said James Bracken after the 0-0 draw against Harlow Town. “We give everyone in this league respect but when you look at the league table, we had earmarked this for three points.

“They went down to ten men and you get that added pressure, where you should be taking advantage. However, there are no givens in football. We did what we could by penning them in, controlling the majority of the play, and had plenty of 2-on-1 opportunities out wide.

“We had 26 touches in their box but I can’t remember their keeper having to make any meaningful saves. Our final ball let us down too often and we made poor decisions in and around their area. We need to get that right more often. Our attacks fizzled out into nothing and we couldn’t find the quality required. We sustained pressure, kept the tempo up and didn’t let them off the hook but just couldn’t get the goal that surely would’ve won it for us.

“We didn’t give the front two enough to thrive on. When we did, we took extra touches and when we got in excellent positions, we pulled balls back which should be played for tap-ins. We gave Harlow weak passes to defend against. The attitude was fine, the work-rate was fine but the quality, when it mattered, wasn’t there.

“That’s rumbled on for a few games now, so we need to look at that and get better in the final third. The boys have got to find it within themselves to produce or else I must look elsewhere to find that quality, which isn’t easy. I’m a loyal person and have been to the players here in all my time. I don’t have a big turnover in players and always maintained that these are the best lads I can get on the limited resources we have.

“Positives are that it stops the rot. We’ve got a point which ends the losing streak. It gives us a clean sheet with which we can build upon next week.

“Having two training sessions a week will now help massively. This’ll be the first time since pre-season that I can call on having two sessions to work on things. That’ll help us build confidence, get some fitness levels up, increase competition for places and get back to winning ways.

Looking forward to next Saturday, at home to Leatherhead, Bracken was not counting on evoking the memory of the 2-1 win at Fetcham Grove in November.
​
“That win at Leatherhead in November seems a long time ago now. We need to concentrate on where we’re at right at this moment in time. We’re not doing anything drastically different. Bear in mind that the draw against Harlow, we just lacked that little bit of class at the end. We’re usually better than that and I’ll expect more from the lads next time out. That’s not a dig at them but they’ll need to look at themselves and ask if they did enough. We’ll work hard at it, be positive and take that into the Leatherhead game.”

Corinthian-Casuals 0 - 0 Harlow Town
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.