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Christmas Hampered

28/12/2022

Corinthian-Casuals 1-3 Aveley
Pinney 82     Odelusi 39
         Vaivada 45
         Aileru 71

Pitching In Isthmian Premier League
Tuesday 27 December, 2022
Attendance: 324
Match Report by Zac Welshman
Photo by Andy Nunn

With the country’s festive footballing feast well underway and with Christmas pleasantries exchanged between the players and fans before kick-off, it would be the travelling Aveley side who went home with the gift-wrapped three points as Casuals were unable to capitalise on their recent good form.

After the crowd observed a minute’s silence for the late, great George Cohen, we kicked off on an unseasonably mild Winter afternoon. Boss Justin Fevrier made a couple of changes from the side that ran out 2-1 winners against Billericay Town two weeks ago, Malakai Hyman moved into the middle of the defence, with Kraig McLeod slotting into the left-sided centre-back role, with the injured Reuben Collins observing from the stands. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Callum Coulter was awarded his first start for the club.

It was Coulter that was tested first with a hopeful long ball only half-dealt with by the keeper’s punch, allowing Aveley their first sight of goal, a Blaise Riley-Snow effort from the edge of the box that sailed just wide of the post.

With the Essex-based outfit holding the ball well, Casuals sought to capitalise on the break when Sam Dowridge was released, almost latching onto a through ball before the onrushing Aveley keeper, Jonathan North, was able to clear.

Dowridge wasn’t the only one causing problems as the best chance of the game to that point fell to the ever-dangerous Luke Stokoe in the 20th minute. With Lewis Croal driving into the box, he managed to drill a low ball across the goal to the feet of left wing-back Hakeem Adelakun, who saw the unmarked Stokoe on the penalty spot but with the resulting pass played just too far ahead of him, Stokoe’s scuffed effort trickled wide of the post.

The next 20 minutes saw Aveley stem the flow of Casuals pressure and begin to shift the momentum back in their favour. Ben Allen forced a smart stop from Coulter after pickpocketing Casual’s captain Ricardo Thompson and driving a left-footed effort toward the far post, and a long throw-in saw another opportunity for The Millers to break the deadlock, but the mass of Casuals bodies in the penalty area blocked the resulting efforts on goal.

Aveley managed to take the lead towards the end of the half, however. A speculative free-kick delivered by Allen sailed past the players crowded around the penalty area and found an unmarked Siju Odelusi who did well to head downward at the back post and beat Coulter with the bounce.

That goal began a nightmare end to the first half for Fevrier’s side. Shortly after the opening goal, an Adelakun injury saw him leave the field, with Joe Halsey making his debut as the replacement. But before the Casuals could look to regroup, the visitors doubled their lead. Temi Babalola did well to keep a loose ball from heading past the by-line, hooking it back into play and finding Allen whose touch set-up winger Benas Vaivada who took the opportunity to stab the ball home and make Fevrier’s task of getting something out of this game all the more difficult.

The Casuals manager said after the game that he used the break to let his side know the first-half showing wasn’t good enough, but coupled it with a reminder to his players of their “capacity to score two goals in one half”, something they did in their 2-1 comeback win against Brightlingsea Regent just a few weeks ago.

Following those half-time words, a much-improved Casuals side took the game to Aveley after the break, with substitute Halsey emerging as the hosts’ star man in the second half. After 10 minutes of sustained Casuals pressure that saw another substitute, Jack Mead, drag a gilt-edged chance wide of the post, it was Halsey who would raise the spirits around the ground and begin to spark the whispers of a comeback. Driving down the left wing Halsey teased his two markers into diving in, and after skipping past the challenges, he managed to get the right-footed effort away from the edge of the box and sting the palms of the Aveley keeper for the first time.

Halsey found Dowridge not long afterwards and although his curling effort sailed wide, the mood around the ground remained optimistic as the clock ticked on. Unfortunately for Casuals fans, Aveley’s game management served as a reminder of why they started the day 13 places above their opposition in the table. After holding Casuals at bay and managing to retain the ball, they took the sting out of the game, and the result was all but determined after another Aveley free-kick, this time from a tight angle to the left of the box, saw Coulter produce two brilliant reaction saves before Kenny Aileru poked home to give Aveley a three-goal lead in the 70th minute.

However, Casuals’ spirited second half wasn’t dampened. Nat Pinney came on to offer an extra attacking option while Halsey switched to the right, and the two combined in the 82nd minute. Halsey made another brilliant run into the box and his cut-back found Pinney, whose placed, first-time finish left North stranded and put Casuals deservedly on the scoresheet.

Another Pinney strike from the edge of the box just a minute later whistled just over the bar and that was to be the last real action of the day as Aveley saw out the match. It was an unfortunate result that Fevrier’s side will be disappointed with given their recent home form, but an away trip to Kingstonian on 2 January provides another opportunity to pick up points in a local derby that has more than just bragging rights at stake.

Corinthian-Casuals: Coulter; Kudyiwa, Hyman, McLeod; Chislett (Pinney 66), Jackson, Thompson, Adelakun (Halsey 42); Dowridge, Stokoe; Croal (Mead h/t)

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The Only Way Is Up

11/12/2022

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Billericay Town 1-2 Corinthian-Casuals
Stevenson 42 (pen)    Stokoe 30
Croal 53

Pitching In Isthmian Premier League
Saturday 10 December, 2022
Attendance: 634
Match Report by Finlay Stubbs
Photo by Nicky Hayes

Casuals got their first, long-awaited away victory of the season in dramatic style as they ran out 2-1 winners over an organised Billericay Town in a closely fought game in Essex.

Justin Fevrier’s side made the journey east on a day when only two games were played in the Isthmian Premier Division due to frozen pitches. Casuals came into the game looking to build on from a promising performance against Bishop’s Stortford and hoping to end a wretched 12-game winless run away from home this season. Meanwhile, Billericay were looking to climb the table and mount a play-off push.

The two teams walked out to a crowd of 634 people who braved the freezing conditions on a cold mid-December afternoon. The home side started on the front foot, and young goalkeeper Benas Libikas was forced into action early, making a point-blank save to deny Billericay at his near post.

However, Casuals started to grow into the game as the half wore on and Fevrier’s side were unlucky not to go ahead after Luke Stokoe fired an effort from range which hit the post, before the rebound from Sam Dowridge was well saved by Harry Seaden.

The visitors continued to cause problems and, on the half-hour, Stokoe looked to be through on goal after he was tripped on the edge of the box by Montel Agyemang, who received the first yellow card of the afternoon. Stokoe took the resulting free kick himself and fired a curling effort past Seaden and into the top corner to put Casuals ahead.

The goal gave the team confidence and some excellent sequences of passing followed, one of which led to Lewis Croal – making his first Casuals start up front – bursting through on goal, before seeing his effort saved.

Billericay went in hunt of an equaliser before half-time and a massive opportunity came their way when Thomas Jackson caught Brad Stevenson just inside the 18-yard box, forcing referee Tommy Breen to point to the spot. Stevenson hammered home the resulting penalty, sending Libikas the wrong way, and the scores were level going into half-time.

The second half began with the hosts on the front foot, with skipper Michael Chambers heading just wide of goal, but Casuals managed to weather the early storm and regained the lead after a driving run from centre-half Simba Kudyiwa, whose shot was blocked on the edge of the box, before the ball squirmed loose and found its way to Croal in the penalty area. The striker fired home across Seaden to put his new side ahead.

Then came an organised defensive display from Casuals, who limited the hosts to few chances, with Reuben Collins winning everything that came his way in the air and captain Ricardo Thompson breaking up the play with some hard-fought challenges in the centre of midfield.

The pressure continued for Casuals as the game went into the final stages, but they continued to defend resolutely, including a brave and important block from Thompson after a free kick was fizzed in from the left-hand side. More important defending was required again, after a corner was whipped in and a Billericay header looked certain to be the equaliser, only for Thompson to clear off the line in heroic fashion and keep his side ahead.

Shortly afterwards, a header from Matt Price was well saved by Libikas and, as three minutes were added on, the defence dug in, heading clear corners and crosses and refusing to allow any late drama before the full-time whistle.

It was a magnificent Casuals performance, across the pitch, to break their winless run on the road. Everyone dug in as a defensive unit, while 16-year-old Libikas once again played with maturity and calmness in goal. In possession, the team moved the ball with purpose and scored two very well-taken goals to move up to 19th in the table. The atmosphere among the squad is starting to take shape and the results are looking up too for Fevrier’s side.

Corinthian-Casuals: Libikas; Kudyiwa, Collins, Hyman; Chislett, Jackson, Thompson (c), Adelakun; Dowridge (Vetterlein 86), Stokoe (Masikini 71); Croal (Pinney 71)

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Brave Benas Eventually Beaten By Bishop’s

7/12/2022

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Corinthian-Casuals 0-1 Bishop’s Stortford
Henshaw 73

Pitching In Isthmian Premier League
Tuesday 6 December, 2022
Attendance: 112
Match Report by Gabriel Radulescu

A hard-fought win on Saturday against Brightlinsea Regent appears to have reignited hope that Casuals can pull off a great escape this season.

The opposition on Tuesday night were Bishop’s Stortford, one of the top teams in the league, so it was fair to anticipate a slightly tougher game than the one at the weekend. Less predictable, however, was the fact that, only a few hours before the game, Justin Fevrier would be given the news that goalkeeper Taylor Seymour had been recalled by Eastbourne Borough, with whom we have a dual registration agreement. In the circumstances, the gaffer gave a debut to 16-year-old Benas Libikas, who will certainly remember this night which ended with him being serenaded by the fans at full-time.

The game started abruptly, with a header from Bishop’s striker Donell Thomas hitting the crossbar in the fifth minute. From here on, Casuals played a very good game, the defence showing great composure and not conceding any more chances to the opponents until the end of the first half, with the exception of a long-distance shot from Frankie Merrifield that flew over a few minutes before half-time.

At the other end of the pitch, the Casuals’ efforts led only to a couple of half chances, the most significant being a shot from the edge of the area by Zac Chislett which went wide.

The prospect of dropping points at one of the bottom teams looked to have motivated the guests, who start the second half on a more aggressive note, with patient build-up that led to some dangerous balls into our area. Four minutes into the half, Ryan Henshaw had a header that Libikas caught at the very last and, although the Blues players insistently claimed that it had crossed the line, the referee did not change his mind.

Casuals became more defensively organised after that scare, but did not manage to keep hold of the ball enough when they gained possession, which meant the pressure from the opposition was almost constant. Despite that, clear chances were absent until the 73rd minute, when a long, high cross found Henshaw in space on the edge of our area and this time the skipper managed to loop his header inside the back post to make it 1-0 to the visitors.

The attempts from Fevrier’s men to create some chances were punished by quick counters from the guests, who had opportunities to kill the game. Libikas saved one-on-one against Brandon Adams, while shots from Jonny Giles (not that one!) and another for Adams went narrowly wide.

However, in the last minute of regular time, Luke Stokoe had the opportunity to score a surprise equaliser after a nicely worked attack from Casuals, but his shot from inside the area was saved by Jack Giddens.

And so the game ended in a narrow defeat against a strong team, but for the hardy few supporters that left the comfort of their homes on a World Cup night the game showed that Casuals are on a good path and there are reasons to hope for the future, provided of course no more falling trees or other disasters strike!

Corinthian-Casuals (3-4-2-1): Libikas; Kudyiwa, Collins, Adelakun; Chislett, Jackson (Diaby 85), Thompson, Dowridge; Stokoe, Masikini (81 Vetterlein); Pinney (68 Croal)

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Comeback Casuals Earn Crucial Three Points

4/12/2022

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Corinthian-Casuals 2 Brightlingsea Regent 1
Pinney 60 Woodward 21
Collins 70

Pitching In Isthmian Premier League
Saturday 3 December, 2022
Attendance: 244
Match Report by Zac Welshman
Photo by Andy Nunn

With the Fiel Londres returning to King George’s Field to support their trans-Atlantic brothers in football, the home fans played a key role as Corinthian-Casuals fought back from a goal down against relegation rivals Brightlingsea Regent to keep Justin Fevrier’s perfect home record intact.

On a biting winter’s afternoon at the bottom of the Isthmian Premier League table, fans at the UBG Stadium were treated to a hot-blooded encounter right from the off with the visitors’ early tenacity indicating that if the Casuals wanted a result, they’d have to work for it.

Spirited pressing from the first whistle meant the opening minutes comprised of a stop-start game with neither team managing to get into much of a rhythm. With the middle of the pitch congested, both teams looked to work the ball out wide to create opportunities.

It was Casuals who had the first real sight of goal, when Sam Dowridge beat his man and got a smart, driven shot away from the edge of the box which Charlie Turner did well to get down to and palm away from his near post.

Regent were equally impressive down their right flank, with Jermaine Anderson and Samuel Jeremiah linking up well to keep Casuals’ left-sided centre-back Ricardo Thompson busy as the first half progressed. But the warning signs soon became clear for the Casuals as a lapse in concentration on the ball allowed a sharp Suleyman Zuhdu to gain possession and try his luck from range, his looping effort smacking the crossbar after leaving an unsuspecting Taylor Seymour stranded.

Seymour’s goal was worked again shortly after when a well-hit half-volley from Luke Woodward saw the Casuals’ keeper forced into a brilliant diving save to his right. But it wouldn’t be long until the visitors capitalised on their prolonged pressure as, in the 20th minute, another gifted opportunity from a loose ball allowed Woodward to break behind the line and coolly beat the onrushing Seymour.

The opening goal appeared to be a much-needed wake-up call for Casuals, and as we approached 30 minutes on the clock the home side began to carve out a foothold in the game. Some improved hold-up play by Nat Pinney was key to the change in fortunes, and with Gucci Soulya-Osekanongo looking to dictate the tempo from deeper in midfield, a few smart passages of play showed that the hosts could still turn the game around if given the opportunity. The half-time whistle provided a necessary moment of reflection for Fevrier and his side as they sought to build on some moments of quality in an otherwise disappointing opening act.

Upon the restart, and with the rest of the ground now under cover of darkness, the illuminated pitch played host to some short spells of possession for both sides which produced some neat passages of play in a more engaging second half. Despite being a goal down, Casuals fans would have been pleased to see the imprint of Fevrier’s philosophy on the pitch, a short passing system that once again showed glimpses of becoming a defining style for this side.

It was on the 60th minute that one of those glimpses provided a return, with Luke Stokoe getting the ball to feet and delicately feinting pasting his man before his dragged-back ball found Pinney on the edge of the six-yard box. The number nine looked to have missed the opportunity to get a shot away, but still managed to find an ever-narrowing gap down to the keeper’s right and bring the hosts level.

With the game now more open, both managers made changes to keep their sides fresh. Thomas Jackson replaced Merrick James-Lewis in a like-for-like midfield switch for Casuals, and it was the home side’s change that seemed that seemed to be having the most impact, with Regent pegged back into playing long, loose balls back into the hands of their opposition.

That dominant spell came good for Casuals as, 10 minutes after the equaliser, another Stokoe-made goal came in form of a corner fizzed in from the right-hand side, and after some confusion in the stands as to who poked home the resulting goalmouth scramble, the goal was awarded to centre-back Reuben Collins.

After seeing their team take the lead for the first time with 20 minutes left on the clock, the home fans made themselves heard from both ends of the field. The banging of the Fiel Londres drum was gleefully met at the far end by chants of “We are staying up!” But the newly buoyant atmosphere quickly shifted once again though as an on-field scuffle broke out in the 76th minute with players and staff from both sides feeling the fervour before referee Teddy Osborn restored order.

Play resumed with an elevated level of grit and some well-worked football from the visitors might have undone this Casuals side in the first half, but the newly compact and composed hosts remained steadfast as Brightlingsea threw bodies forward. Zack Littlejohn was sent up to operate as a makeshift striker for the visitors, and with goalkeeper Turner operating from well outside his box to launch any recycled balls back into the Casuals half, it was the resolute defensive performances of the home back three that restricted Regent to only a smattering of half-chances and long-range efforts before the full-time whistle blew.

It was clear to see that the Casuals players knew the impact the home fans had made on the result as Fevrier and his team immediately made their way over to the crowd to pay homage to their brilliant support. Another three points at home and with Casuals now leapfrogging the visitors in the league table, it’s another important stop on the long road to safety for this youthful side and their new manager.

Corinthian-Casuals (3-4-2-1): Seymour; Kudyiwa, Collins, Thompson (c); Chislett, Soulya-Osekanongo, James-Lewis (Jackson 65), Dowridge; Stokoe (Diaby 90), Caton; Pinney (Di Bonito 75)

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Casuals Haunted by Strange Curse of the Ex

1/12/2022

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Kingstonian 3 - 1  Corinthian-Casuals
Strange 18    Pinney 81
Bobomurodov 25
Owen 60

Surrey Senior Cup 1st Round
Wednesday 30 November, 2022
Attendance: 115
Match Report by Gabriel Radulescu
Photo by Stuart Tree

Appointed not long ago as the Corinthian-Casuals manager, Justin Fevrier has the most difficult task of rebuilding the team in mid-season, while needing to gather the points needed for survival. A Surrey Senior Cup game in such circumstances could be seen mostly as a chance to test new players or settle in the ones that arrived only recently. On the other side, our hosts, Kingstonian, were the finalists of the last edition of this cup – lost dramatically against National League side Dorking – so they clearly put a different emphasis on this competition. However, on a World Cup evening, which was also probably the coldest one since last winter, not even their fans were attracted too much by this encounter, and the Casuals supporters seemed to be the majority at Imperial Fields, or at least in the bar, pre-match.

With several new faces, especially in defence, Casuals struggled at the beginning of the game, and Kingstonian were the first to create a threat at the opposition goal, but our debutant keeper Mohammed Otuyo responded well to a couple of close-range shots early on.

Then Casuals started to make their work count in the opposition half, as Mo Cisse fired a shot wide from outside the area. Just after a quarter-hour into the game, Kingstonian made a recovery deep inside our half, and Otuyo made a great save in front of Bobomurodov, one of four ex-Casuals in the hosts’ starting eleven. However, the resulting corner was sent in low and found our defence unprepared, allowing former Casuals hero Jack Strange to tap in from a few yards and make it 1-0.

Nathaniel Pinney had the ball in the net for Casuals on 22 minutes, but the linesman had his flag up, and a potential equaliser was ruled out. Otuyo then denied Kieron Cadogan a clear shot, but lost the ball in his own area a minute later, and from the resulting cross, Bobomurodov scored another easy goal: 2-0.  

Corinthian-Casuals started to enjoy more of the ball in the opposition half at this point, helped in part by the fact that Kingstonian looked content with the existing score. Our new addition Thomas Jackson showed quality in midfield and had a good long-distance shot that went wide. Then, in the last attack of the first half, we had a double chance from inside the area, with Sam Dowridge’s low shot being deflected by the keeper to Cisse, who in turn had his shot blocked.

The second half started with four substitutions for Casuals, who showed renewed energy and continued to press and threaten. Kingstonian goalkeeper Rob Tolfrey made an excellent intervention in front of Pinney and then managed to deflect a very good low shot from outside the area from Jackson. Then, against the flow of the game, Kingstonian scored with probably the first chance they created in the second half, with Tyreece Owen converting a cross from the left side.

Changes followed on both sides, with Gucci Osekanongo coming on for Jackson as Casuals kept pushing, with one of our half-time subs Tyler Caton impressing on our right side.

With 10 minutes remaining, Caton first had a shot denied by the keeper and then, a minute later, robbed the ball from a defender and sent a great cross for Pinney to push the ball in from three yards: 3-1.

Soon afterwards, Jean-Pascale Masikini went close to scoring a second for the Casuals, but Tolfrey was there again there to deny a goal that would certainly have made the final minutes interesting. However, it ended 3-1, though not before the referee trying to replicate the lengthy extension times seen at the World Cup. All thoughts turn now to the crucial league on Saturday against Brightlingsea Regent.

Corinthian-Casuals (3-4-2-1): Otuyo; Kudyiwa (Collins h/t), Diaby, Adelakun; Chislett (James-Lewis h/t), Jackson (Osekanongo 67), Thompson (Caton h/t); Masikini; Dowridge, Cisse (Stokoe h/t); Pinney

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Christmas Hampered

The Only Way Is Up

Brave Benas Eventually Beaten By Bishop’s

Comeback Casuals Earn Crucial Three Points

Casuals Haunted by Strange Curse of the Ex

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