Chessington & Hook Utd 0  - 1 Corinthian-Casuals
Pre-Season Friendly
Tuesday 8th July 2025
Report and Photos: Stuart Tree (full set here)
Additional photos from Andy Nunn here.

Mu Maan was delighted in the continued progress of Corinthian-Casuals’ preparations for the new season as his side defeated Chessington & Hook, keeping a clean sheet in the process.

Speaking of the defensive performance, Mu quipped “You work from the back. If we don't concede goals, we won't lose games.”

That’s not to take away from the attacking threat Casuals maintained throughout the ninety minutes. The game had ‘glorified training session’ written all over it, played within the setting of Chessington’s back pitch. Golden sun cast long shadows across a good gathering of Casuals fans, holding plastic pint refreshments and fending off the gnats and nasties – summer vibes.

As local an opposition as Casuals can get, this was the ‘Skip It Derby’ – commented by more than one onlooker on the night, due to the fact that both team’s shirts are sponsored by Mu and Mo’s waste removal company. A testament to how much the brothers support local sport.

Chessington, who play a step lower and now coached by ex-Casuals boss Tony Reid, proved a tough defensive challenge with their back four and keeper putting in a decent display. And they had to work hard to keep the score down. Though they themselves mustered a decent chance at the end of the first half, forcing a fine first save from the Corinth keeper.

Changes aplenty for both sides in the second half once again muted the finesse of what we saw in the first half, but Casuals struck home courtesy of one of Mu’s recent additions. All three goals in this campaign so far, coming from new faces.

The home side came closest tapping in, only to see the Assistant Referee’s flag up for offside. Theo Soman also had the ball in the net for Casuals, but that too, was ruled out due to an infringement in the build-up.

Despite the park football feel, it was an important run-out for the squad ahead of two tougher tests in the next seven days; first at home to a Sutton United XI and then away to Step 3 Basingstoke Town on Tuesday night.

​Burnham 3-2 Corinthian-Casuals
Wednesday 2nd July 2025
Pre-Season Friendly
Report: Josh Lamey
Images: Stuart Tree

Anticipation emerged from the off-season tranquility as Corinthian-Casuals’ pre-season preparations commenced in rural Buckinghamshire against fellow Step 5 outfit, Burnham.

With the dawn of the 2025/26 Combined Counties campaign on the horizon, Mu Maan’s men were put through their paces by The Blues, yet it was a performance full of promise with a combination of familiar faces and trialists taking the game down to the wire.

Having had the best part of two months to digest the thrills and the spills of the 2024/25 season, many will agree that the main target was achieved: ensuring stability for this grand old club, as Mu Maan was tasked with steadying the ship following back-to-back relegations. It seemed as though Corinth had adapted perfectly to life in Step 5, with four victories on the bounce propelling them into early play-off contention. However, post-Christmas inconsistencies hindered any chance of a top-five finish, as Casuals ended in 13th place.

Attention has now turned to Maan’s second year at the helm, and there were some encouraging early signs despite a 3-2 reverse at Burnham.

Two months away from the action had left the Casuals faithful hungry for goals, and they witnessed a first-half stalemate, as both teams went stride-for-stride early doors. The retained Shea Cascoe-Rogers came the closest in a cagey opening 45, but he couldn’t direct a narrowly angled volley home after good work from Trey Masikini on the opposite flank.

Despite a dormant start, the game erupted into action in the second period. On the hour mark, the hosts dispatched the opener from 12 yards after a shoulder-to-shoulder in the area resulted in a spot kick, despite Corinthian protests. Burnham then grabbed a prompt second, after their winger arrived at the far post and nestled his first-time finish into the back of the net.

Corinthian-Casuals found their feet again and, taking the fighting spirit from one season to the next, were able to fashion a comeback, with two goals from trialist forwards, both of which were coolly dispatched – one a smart swivel and finish, the other a smart counterattack.

However, a deserved draw was snatched away from Maan’s men approaching the final whistle, as the referee blew for another penalty for the hosts. The striker, placing his penalty the opposite corner to his first, made no mistake in sealing pre-season victory for his side.

“They were a good side, so it was important to see our fitness levels,” reflected Masikini. “But Mu [Maan], Gabs [Odunaike] and Rich [Blackwell] have been running us into the ground so it was good to see where we were at.”

Following Corinthian-Casuals’ first pre-season outing at Burnham on Wednesday, Manager Mu Maan spoke to Stuart Tree following the match, where off-field events (a catastrophic fire at his business premises) had overshadowed the gaffer’s week. But in his eyes, it wasn’t going to deter him…

“Football takes my mind off it. It’s what I love,” said Maan at full time. “When I’m here, doing what I love, I don’t think about anything else.

Despite a 3-2 loss on paper to fellow Step 5 side Burnham, Mu found the early run-out productive.

“Pre season is about fitness, sharpness and getting the boys to understand how we want to play. We achieved some of that. There was some good football at times. I thought we were the better team.

“The play started to break up a little when we made all those substitutions, but from my point of view, as a management team, we got exactly what we needed to get out of tonight.

“I was saying to Gabs (Gabriel Odunaike – Asst Manager), that the boys performed well. We looked solid, especially in the first half. I know we conceded three goals, but two of those were penalties. One was debatable, the other was a penalty to be fair. But overall, we played some nice football.”

“We had a few missing tonight who’ll be involved in the Chessington and Hook match next Tuesday. That’ll be about finding the right balance. Two of the new signings, Tommy and Quincy weren’t playing, but will be involved next week, I’m sure. We actually had a few youngsters in tonight. I thought Theo (Soman) played especially well. We’ve got some talented boys in there and we’ll head to Chessington on Tuesday in a positive mood.”