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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