'BOUNCERS'

Corinthian-Casuals 2 – 0 Fleet Town
Combined Counties League Premier South
Saturday 22nd November 2025
Report: Stuart Tree (with photos here). Photos: Andy Nunn
 
“I don’t recall a performance that I’ve been prouder of.”

“Magnificent performance from the lads. Chased everything, blocked, created, worked for each other in awful conditions. Utterly superb.”

“Missing Andre due to suspension today was tricky enough but to go down to 10 men inside the first 30 minutes as well and to go on and get the 3 points is superb, against a play off chasing team. Everyone battled so well and one of our best team performances I’ve seen”

What better way to open this report than with comments from fans on social media. For anyone not in attendance today, you get a feel for the performance put in by Corinthian-Casuals against a good Fleet Town side.

As the last comment alluded to, top scorer Andre Coker was missing for this tough matchup thanks to an accumulation of yellow cards. In stepped Kieron Scantlebury and Patrick Maia to provide the attacking threat on what was a tricky afternoon, weather-wise.

Casuals have no lack of footballing talent; that’s evident to anyone who’s seen Mu Maan’s side. Always noted by opposition as playing good football, sometimes the side lacked a real drive and tenacity to graft out hard-fought results.

But yesterday felt like a turning point; since Scott Day’s arrival, the midfielder has added bite to the centre of the park. It’s freed up Arsenii Protsyshyn to thrive in his role. Returning to social media’s comments “ Arsenii and Day in the middle won the battle like a couple of bouncers on a Saturday night.”

It’s also no surprise that Casuals have kept three clean sheets in the past four games and not conceded from open play in that time.

Consider that the latest of these shut-outs was with just ten men for over an hour. In his post match interview, Day explained that “with ten men, everyone works a little harder.”

Casuals were down a man when Diogo Da Silva was uncharacteristically dismissed for violent conduct. It was deemed that he’d struck a Fleet player on the back in a melee that resulted in the surprising red card.

Despite the handicap, it was the home side who took the lead. Shea Cascoe-Roger’s layoff to Day in the box saw the midfielder curl one over the keeper and under the bar for 1-0.

And Casuals dug in, battening down the hatches in every sense on a day when even the far-side flags had soddenly given up. And while Fleet pushed for an equaliser, it was left to Day’s partner, Protsyshyn to put the game to bed. Following a Clayton Afonso interception, the defender fed George Hockey who kept a cool head to square for an unmarked Protsyshyn to finish.
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The steam, the soaking shirts, the mud on the floor of the changing rooms was the evidence of leaving everything out on the pitch on this wintery afternoon. Casuals have fight in them. It was pleasing to see. And it was a message to all sides in the Combined Counties – just like those bouncers on a Saturday night – ‘you ain’t coming in.’