Corinthian-Casuals 1 - 1 Hornchurch
Isthmian League Premier Division
Saturday 7th March 2020
Report and photos: Stuart Tree (full set here)

Corinthian-Casuals earned another vital Isthmian League point on Saturday courtesy of a 1-1 draw with championship chasing Hornchurch.
 
It was another display from James Bracken’s side that pleased the boss following on from the midweek win over East Thurrock United.
 
There was an immediate place in the starting line-up for debutant Kieron Cadogan as Bracken looked to utilise four attacking players, including Nat Pinney, Gabriel Odunaike and Ben Cheklit. On the opposite side was arguably the most formidable strike force in the Isthmian League with Jamie Cureton, Chris Dickson and Adam Cunnington set to test Casuals’ back line.
 
Had it not been for some resolute defending and two superb saves from Danny Bracken, Hornchurch could’ve easily led from early on as they exerted pressure on Corinth. But it was the home side who came closest to breaking the deadlock when Cheklit cut inside his man and unleashed a shot across Joe Wright only for it to rebound off the inside of the far post.
 
With 20 minutes played, Casuals took the lead. Gabriel Odunaike was upended in the box and the referee took his time to deliberate whether it was a foul before correctly awarding the spot kick. Nat Pinney sent Wright the wrong way to make it 1-0.
 
Hornchurch were level 12 minutes later; from a Casuals corner, the Urchins broke up the field in quick fashion with Dickson making most of the running. His pull-back found Jordan Clark (no… not that one) who side-footed it past Bracken in a swift and effective counter.
 
The second half was a cagier affair, though had its moments. Jamie Cureton, a player that’s scored his fair share of excellent goals against Casuals volleyed a wicked shot narrowly over the bar. At the other end, full back Jack Tucker found his way through on goal and riding a clumsy challenge, decided to square the ball rather than take the shot. However, his pass to Odunaike was intercepted and the danger cleared.
 
The full time whistle was welcomed as Casuals had held their lofty opponents for the second time this season to a 1-1 draw. Considering all the other results affecting sides around them (only Merstham picked up a point), the draw was a pleasing outcome from the afternoon as well as how Casuals had applied themselves against strong opposition.
 
Delighted with the performance. Hornchurch have got some fantastic players and they don’t have any obvious weak links,” said Manager James Bracken after the match.
 
“They carry a lot of threat especially with their front three and have decent players to come off their bench. They’re a good team. But we’ve more than matched them today. I don’t just mean we’ve dug in and fought and ground out a point. We arguably had the brighter opportunities throughout the game. Even near the end, we’ve got our right back in their box looking to pull back for someone to tap in.
 
“We had a decent balance to our play. Our defensive shape was good and when we got the ball, we put moves together and played some fantastic football. Some of the moves throughout the thirds would’ve graced any level. Credit to the lads for that. We’re starting to get in the habit of picking up good points and believe we can beat anybody.
 
“We’ve never been also-rans. We know we’ll give anyone a good game. This season, it’s been hard to see wins coming at times. But now, I look at it and we’ve got goals in us, a number of avenues from which we can create chances and we still have the grit and determination to make it hard for sides to score against us.”
 
Looking ahead to the match at Merstham on Tuesday night, Bracken was under no illusion at how important this fixture is.
 
“Merstham have earned a decent draw against Bognor, after leading 2-0, so we have to give their forwards and them in possession a bit of respect. We’ll need to ensure our defensive side matches the levels against Hornchurch, etc. If we do that, and we play like we have this past couple of weeks, they’ll have to play very well to get any points.
 
“We’ll be prepared, and we’ll concentrate on ourselves – I rate these players and I fancy us to go out there, create chances, score and play good football. Why shouldn’t I after what I’ve seen the last few games from us? We’ll just keep it going.”

Corinthian-Casuals 2 - 1 East Thurrock Utd
Isthmian League Premier Division
Tuesday 3rd March 2020
Report: Stuart Tree

Corinthian-Casuals climbed off the foot of the Isthmian League Premier table with a convincing win over East Thurrock United on Tuesday night.
 
Two first half goals were enough to seal three points for James Bracken’s side with Gabriel Odunaike and Ben Cheklit finding the scoresheet.
 
The win was the result of hard work, desire and some very attractive first half football, topped off with resilient defending against a good side in East Thurrock. The Rocks have suffered a slump in form but are nevertheless challenging for a playoff berth.
 
There were two changes to Bracken’s line up from that which narrowly lost to Kingstonian last week. Jack Tucker came in for the departed Juevan Spencer and Kev Serbony took his place in the middle of the field replacing the injured Matty Bakare.
 
It only took two minutes for Casuals to score and Bracken will be delighted that both goals were courtesy of well-worked set pieces. A lofted free kick found the head of Jack Strange who flicked it on to Odunaike tapping home from six yards.
 
It gave confidence to the home side who surged forward with aplomb. Odunaike will feel he should’ve had two when he scuffed a close-range shot just wide. Nat Pinney caused problems all evening and Serbony danced across the edge of the area, consistently drawing fouls from late lunges.
 
Unsurprisingly, the lead was doubled on the half hour mark when Brad Wilson’s corner found Ben Cheklit at the far post who smashed his shot against the keeper and into the roof of the net.
 
The contest should’ve been over early in the second half when Pinney, once again finding good space had two shots, one well saved and the other, blasted just over. As it happens, the last half hour was a nervous one when Thurrock pulled one back. Danny Cossington header from a wide free kick reduced the arrears.
 
The visitors began to impose themselves territorially and held Casuals in their own half for large parts. Casuals began to use the counter attack as their outlet. Into stoppage time and Serbony could’ve ended any fightback, but his run and shot was charged down by Thurrock’s Jack Giddens.
 
With the full time whistle, there was much relief. Casuals had well and truly earned their three points with a fine display that moves them up four places to 18th. They’ll be eyeing up those above, especially Lewes, who are just three points ahead but having played twice more.
 
“Psychologically, it’s a big boost to lift ourselves off the foot of the table but we have another tough game on Saturday against Hornchurch,” said Bracken after the match. “We’d be daft to think we’re out of trouble with that win. We need to come again Saturday with these levels as an absolute minimum.
 
“I don’t question these boy’s desire; I don’t question their effort. That’s backed up by the stats – their GPS vests tells me how much they’re running. We’ve committed everything we’ve needed to commit to in games in the last few weeks. It’s been on point. They’ve been putting their bodies on the line, throwing themselves at crosses, committing to challenges. We’ve had that in abundance. In the position we’re in and what we need to get the job done, that’s exactly what you need.
 
“We’re not going to cruise through games playing pretty football on boggy pitches. We need to put our foot in, put ourselves on the line and battle for every aerial ball. We need that desire to come out on top the majority of times. Tonight, we had the bit between our teeth as a group and that’s fair play to the boys.
 
“I think they’re realising that we really need to put points on the board. They’re going to accept nothing less. That’s the feeling I get from them now. They gave me that feeling against K’s too, where I felt we were worthy of the draw – had we took our chances in the first half, we’d have been 3-0 up and there’s no coming back from that.
 
“We showed tonight that we can defend leads, we can adapt to see games out. That’s evident in that display.
 
“From the supporter’s point of view, if they see that desire then that’s great. It’s my job to get the best out of these players and get them to fight for those fans and get the best results for this club, the badge, the shirt and what it represents.
 
“We’ll give it our best together, we’ll come out of this and we’ll look back at this season as a blip. Whatever happens, it’ll be a season I look back upon with disappointment. There’s a lot of ‘what if’s?’ What if we did get a few more decisions go our way? Losing Shaun Okojie just as we start to get it together with a striker that’ll score most games. The injuries to Danny and the others at the start of the season. The fiasco we had at Potters Bar where we had to play 85 minutes with no goalkeeper. But, we know these are all here to challenge us and we’re up for it and we’ll be ready once again to give it our all on Saturday.