Faversham Town 1 - 2 Corinthian-Casuals
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 5th March 2016
Attendance: 192
Match report and photos: Stuart Tree (full set of pics here)
“It’s great to be back” hailed returning hero Jamie Byatt as his 48th minute strike helped Corinthian-Casuals defeat playoff rivals Faversham Town in a thrilling contest.
Byatt’s deft lob was complimented by Shaun Okojie’s eighth goal in eight starts for the Amateurs in a 2-1 win that sees Casuals within touching distance of the playoff places.
At the other end, a crucial Danny Bracken penalty save kept the Casuals in the game before Luke Harvey gave the home side a lifeline back into the contest. However, Corinth held on for the last ten minutes to claim a third successive victory over the Lilywhites.
Byatt was immediately introduced to the starting line-up following his move back to King George’s Arena in the week. New signing Sam Robinson also made the squad, taking a place on the bench. Brandon Johnson welcomed a return to action after serving his five match suspension.
Whether the game would even start came into question after two particularly bad patches on the playing surface gave cause for concern. However, the match officials deemed it playable much to the relief of all in attendance.
Both sides started lively and made for an open game. Faversham looked dangerous on the break though Casuals had chances to take the lead early on. Warren Morgan’s back post header looked to have found the target but ruffled the wrong side of the net. Morgan was then up-ended on the very edge of the penalty box. Ben King’s resulting free kick was scooped away by Faversham’s stopper Will Godmon.
With supporters still exiting the clubhouse for half-time refreshment, Byatt gave Casuals the lead. A neat pass from Terry Murray played in Byatt who found himself free. With Godmon advancing, Byatt’s slick lob left the Faversham keeper stranded and the ball fell just under the crossbar, much to the delight of the small band of travelling fans.
Seven minutes later, Byatt’s strike partner, Shaun Okojie doubled the lead; Byatt turned provider as his pass found Okojie bearing down on goal and the striker showed maturity beyond his age to shrug off Faversham captain Ryan Cooper and strike low past Godmon.
Casuals looked the more likely to score again, however Faversham had a golden chance to half the defecit when Brandon Johnson was adjudged to have handled the ball in the penalty box after the midfielder stumbled and fell. Yet again, Danny Bracken proved his worth by expertly saving from Charley Robertson's spot kick.
Faversham began to probe more and more and got their rewards with ten minutes left. A corner whipped in found Luke Harvey at the near post who duly snuck the ball past Bracken and the defence.
Faversham pressed for an equaliser but Casuals held on for a fine victory which sees them just two points out of the playoff places.
“We’ve got the best possible start to the three games that we’re attacking this week. We’ll look to get another six points out of the next two”, said Manager James Bracken after the match.
“I’m pleased with today. Everything that we know is there was on show. Fighting spirit, the ability to dig in and scrap. Even when we conceded at 2-0 up, we soaked up a lot of pressure, didn’t give Faversham a lot of chances and saw the game out.
“Jamie will always score on his return. I might get rid of him and bring him back next week just so he can score again.
“I didn’t want Jamie to leave in the first place. He decided that he wanted to try something new. But we had a two-second conversation about him coming back and he’s here – and I knew he’d score.
“I knew Shaun (Okojie) would score too. They’ll hopefully bring the best out in each other as they make a nice pairing. But to supplement that, we’ve got James Cottee knocking on the door.
“We’ve got a lot of players. Now is really the time where I’ll be keeping a close eye on selection. We’ve rotated the squad throughout the season to keep them together, but now I’ll make sure I put boys on the pitch that I know are ready to fight for every point between now and the end of the season.
“There’s only nine games to go so players that want to be involved need to fight for their place.
Speaking about Danny Bracken’s pivotal penalty save, James Bracken said “A bit of homework paid off. I watched the highlights of Faversham’s game last week and Charley Robertson took two penalties and put them both in the same place.
“I said to my brother, ‘if they get a penalty next week and Robertson takes it, you dive low to your left.’ He’s remembered and subsequently dived low to his left and of course has saved it."
Speaking of his goal and return to the club, Jamie Byatt commented, “It was a great through ball from Terry (Murray) and I saw the keeper off his line so I gave the ball a little dink. I thought it was going over at first but it hit the back of the net.
“The boys played really well. Bracks made a great save from the penalty. We dug in, sat back a bit in the second half and let them come at us. But we held our own and come away with the victory.
“It’s great to be back. I missed it here. I went away to try a few different things. They didn’t work out for me and now I’m back. Hopefully I can help Casuals carry on what the team have been doing all season and get us in the playoffs.
“If we play the way we have today then we’ve got a good chance of making the playoffs, especially if we win against Hastings on Tuesday night. To come here and get three points, that’s a good start and we’ll kick on and look to win as many as possible.”
Corinthian-Casuals line up: Bracken (c), Morgan, Hodges, Dudley, Murray, King, Serbony (Robinson), Johnson, Byatt, Okojie (Cottee), Wright (Spencer). Subs not used: Uzun, Davies.
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 5th March 2016
Attendance: 192
Match report and photos: Stuart Tree (full set of pics here)
“It’s great to be back” hailed returning hero Jamie Byatt as his 48th minute strike helped Corinthian-Casuals defeat playoff rivals Faversham Town in a thrilling contest.
Byatt’s deft lob was complimented by Shaun Okojie’s eighth goal in eight starts for the Amateurs in a 2-1 win that sees Casuals within touching distance of the playoff places.
At the other end, a crucial Danny Bracken penalty save kept the Casuals in the game before Luke Harvey gave the home side a lifeline back into the contest. However, Corinth held on for the last ten minutes to claim a third successive victory over the Lilywhites.
Byatt was immediately introduced to the starting line-up following his move back to King George’s Arena in the week. New signing Sam Robinson also made the squad, taking a place on the bench. Brandon Johnson welcomed a return to action after serving his five match suspension.
Whether the game would even start came into question after two particularly bad patches on the playing surface gave cause for concern. However, the match officials deemed it playable much to the relief of all in attendance.
Both sides started lively and made for an open game. Faversham looked dangerous on the break though Casuals had chances to take the lead early on. Warren Morgan’s back post header looked to have found the target but ruffled the wrong side of the net. Morgan was then up-ended on the very edge of the penalty box. Ben King’s resulting free kick was scooped away by Faversham’s stopper Will Godmon.
With supporters still exiting the clubhouse for half-time refreshment, Byatt gave Casuals the lead. A neat pass from Terry Murray played in Byatt who found himself free. With Godmon advancing, Byatt’s slick lob left the Faversham keeper stranded and the ball fell just under the crossbar, much to the delight of the small band of travelling fans.
Seven minutes later, Byatt’s strike partner, Shaun Okojie doubled the lead; Byatt turned provider as his pass found Okojie bearing down on goal and the striker showed maturity beyond his age to shrug off Faversham captain Ryan Cooper and strike low past Godmon.
Casuals looked the more likely to score again, however Faversham had a golden chance to half the defecit when Brandon Johnson was adjudged to have handled the ball in the penalty box after the midfielder stumbled and fell. Yet again, Danny Bracken proved his worth by expertly saving from Charley Robertson's spot kick.
Faversham began to probe more and more and got their rewards with ten minutes left. A corner whipped in found Luke Harvey at the near post who duly snuck the ball past Bracken and the defence.
Faversham pressed for an equaliser but Casuals held on for a fine victory which sees them just two points out of the playoff places.
“We’ve got the best possible start to the three games that we’re attacking this week. We’ll look to get another six points out of the next two”, said Manager James Bracken after the match.
“I’m pleased with today. Everything that we know is there was on show. Fighting spirit, the ability to dig in and scrap. Even when we conceded at 2-0 up, we soaked up a lot of pressure, didn’t give Faversham a lot of chances and saw the game out.
“Jamie will always score on his return. I might get rid of him and bring him back next week just so he can score again.
“I didn’t want Jamie to leave in the first place. He decided that he wanted to try something new. But we had a two-second conversation about him coming back and he’s here – and I knew he’d score.
“I knew Shaun (Okojie) would score too. They’ll hopefully bring the best out in each other as they make a nice pairing. But to supplement that, we’ve got James Cottee knocking on the door.
“We’ve got a lot of players. Now is really the time where I’ll be keeping a close eye on selection. We’ve rotated the squad throughout the season to keep them together, but now I’ll make sure I put boys on the pitch that I know are ready to fight for every point between now and the end of the season.
“There’s only nine games to go so players that want to be involved need to fight for their place.
Speaking about Danny Bracken’s pivotal penalty save, James Bracken said “A bit of homework paid off. I watched the highlights of Faversham’s game last week and Charley Robertson took two penalties and put them both in the same place.
“I said to my brother, ‘if they get a penalty next week and Robertson takes it, you dive low to your left.’ He’s remembered and subsequently dived low to his left and of course has saved it."
Speaking of his goal and return to the club, Jamie Byatt commented, “It was a great through ball from Terry (Murray) and I saw the keeper off his line so I gave the ball a little dink. I thought it was going over at first but it hit the back of the net.
“The boys played really well. Bracks made a great save from the penalty. We dug in, sat back a bit in the second half and let them come at us. But we held our own and come away with the victory.
“It’s great to be back. I missed it here. I went away to try a few different things. They didn’t work out for me and now I’m back. Hopefully I can help Casuals carry on what the team have been doing all season and get us in the playoffs.
“If we play the way we have today then we’ve got a good chance of making the playoffs, especially if we win against Hastings on Tuesday night. To come here and get three points, that’s a good start and we’ll kick on and look to win as many as possible.”
Corinthian-Casuals line up: Bracken (c), Morgan, Hodges, Dudley, Murray, King, Serbony (Robinson), Johnson, Byatt, Okojie (Cottee), Wright (Spencer). Subs not used: Uzun, Davies.
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