Folkestone Inv 4 - 0 Corinthian-Casuals
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 12th March 2016
Attendance: 404
Report: Cameron Smith. Pics. Stuart Tree (full set here)
On a mild Saturday afternoon in Kent, the demoralised Corinthian Casuals were slammed 4-0 by the sensational Folkestone Invicta, who are almost guaranteed to finish as Ryman Divison One South champions.
After the thrilling encounter with Hastings United on Tuesday, Casuals looked to shock the league leaders with the attacking trio of James Cottee, Sekou Kaba and the influential re-signing Jamie Byatt.
Club captain Danny Bracken returned to the starting lineup after midweek illness saw him sit on the sidelines against Hastings. Meanwhile, the hosts hoped to extend their remarkable unbeaten record to twelve games and bounce back with a win after a 1-1 wobble against the ever-improving Walton Casuals. Seventy-six goals this season, high-flyers Folkestone were likely to utilise Ian Draycott, who had converted twenty-six of those seventy-six. The stage was set as Casuals walked out onto the pristine pitch in the impressive Fullicks Stadium.
Seven minutes in, talisman Kaba produced a trademark, bustling run into the area, which fortunately fell for Jamie Byatt. The no.9 was determined to maintain his ‘a goal a game’ record but a stunning reflex save from Tim Roberts denied the Englishman.
A promising start from Casuals soon depleted after Invicta reminded everyone why they are the best in the league with a diving header narrowly missing the empty net. On twenty minutes, Folkestone’s speedy left-back Nat Blanks hit the crossbar with a looping effort. It had seemed that the no.3 had actually intended to deliver a cross to one of his lurking team-mates.
The majority thought that Casuals had taken the lead minutes later after a threatening Warren Morgan cross ended in Roberts spilling the ball into the direction of the net. However, centre-back Terry Murray attempted to write his name on the scoresheet with a diving header. The outlandish try was one to forget for the defender as it bounced off the no.5’s head and wide.
Unclear if the chance given was offside, it was still one to rue for the visitors. In the forty-third minute, the valiant performance against the leaders was undone as Ashley Miller dropped his shoulder to round a pink shirt before delivering the first goal on a plate for the clinical Draycott. The 400 or so crowd disassembled for half-time, Casuals 1-0 behind but still in the tight contest.
The half-time team-talk did not manage to inspire the players as a volley into the top corner condemned Casuals. Stylish technique from substitute Ronnie Dolan gave Invicta a two goal cushion.
Struggling to keep up with the tempo of the hosts, Casuals had keeper Bracken to thank. No chances were created and the combination of Kaba, Cottee and Byatt did not manage to keep the Folkestone defence busy. The third was shortly added, Draycott catching Bracken out of position to slot home the rebound. Despite the score-line, the Casuals faithful behind the goal did not stop singing, and singing and singing! Perhaps shocked by the marvellous support from Casuals, the Folkestone faithful kept quiet, resulting in “Shall we sing a song for you?” echoing around for all to hear.
For thirty-minutes, No goals were conceded or celebrated as Casuals brought on Sam Robinson, Shaun Okojie and Josh Uzun in the second-half. The score remained at 3-0 before the 90th minute. Centre-back Frankie Chappell scored a header at the death to make it four. With the goal difference battered, the game ended with players applauding the stoic Casuals contingent at the final whistle.
Now, Corinthians lay in ninth, four points off the play-offs while Invicta deservedly added three more to their outstanding point tally. Casuals now face last-placed Whitstable Town at home on Saturday before a trip to Peacehaven the week after.
After the match, James Bracken spoke to Stuart Tree. “I think we could’ve been two or three goals up before we went one-nil down. We’ve missed two absolute sitters. Terry (Murray) has actually headed one off the line that was going in. It was one of those moments where you can’t decide whether to laugh or cry.
“It’s ended in tears because we haven’t produced in the second half. It was nowhere near good enough.
“First half, up until they’ve scored, we were on an even keel. But goals change games. You score the first, we’d have had something to hang onto… change the shape and get a little more defensive.
“But we didn’t. Folkestone took their chances and that’s why they’ll probably win the league. They’ve got boys there that get half a sniff and score.
“We made a lot of defensive errors today as well and you can’t get away with that here.
“We’ll be right in this playoff push until the last game of the season. That’s where we want to take it. This game today I looked at as a bonus; we’ve had a couple of good results in the week picking up four points against playoff rivals. So I never felt there was any real pressure on us to come and win here. It was a case of ‘if we can win, it’d be a fantastic boost ahead of the final seven games’ but it wasn’t to be.
“All of the games in the run-in look winnable but then teams that were getting beaten heavily are now losing by one goal or getting draws. None of these games will be walkovers. We won’t blitz anyone for free. Some of the sides we’re playing, they’re fighting for survival and won’t just roll-over. We have to apply ourselves and then the quality will show. If we don’t, we’ll get out-battled.
“I’ll be analysing the video footage from today and people will be accountable for their mistakes. I didn’t go mad in the changing room but I’m fed up of saying the same thing to them. Okay, at three-nil down, you make some changes to prevent you conceding again. We got back into it and then they’ve scored from a free header from six yards.
“I’m tired of saying the same things. They’re the basics. It doesn’t matter how well we play or how good we think we are, if we can’t defend set-pieces, we’ll lose 1-0 against Whitstable to a corner. So I’ll be addressing things this week and I’ll be expecting a reaction.”
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 12th March 2016
Attendance: 404
Report: Cameron Smith. Pics. Stuart Tree (full set here)
On a mild Saturday afternoon in Kent, the demoralised Corinthian Casuals were slammed 4-0 by the sensational Folkestone Invicta, who are almost guaranteed to finish as Ryman Divison One South champions.
After the thrilling encounter with Hastings United on Tuesday, Casuals looked to shock the league leaders with the attacking trio of James Cottee, Sekou Kaba and the influential re-signing Jamie Byatt.
Club captain Danny Bracken returned to the starting lineup after midweek illness saw him sit on the sidelines against Hastings. Meanwhile, the hosts hoped to extend their remarkable unbeaten record to twelve games and bounce back with a win after a 1-1 wobble against the ever-improving Walton Casuals. Seventy-six goals this season, high-flyers Folkestone were likely to utilise Ian Draycott, who had converted twenty-six of those seventy-six. The stage was set as Casuals walked out onto the pristine pitch in the impressive Fullicks Stadium.
Seven minutes in, talisman Kaba produced a trademark, bustling run into the area, which fortunately fell for Jamie Byatt. The no.9 was determined to maintain his ‘a goal a game’ record but a stunning reflex save from Tim Roberts denied the Englishman.
A promising start from Casuals soon depleted after Invicta reminded everyone why they are the best in the league with a diving header narrowly missing the empty net. On twenty minutes, Folkestone’s speedy left-back Nat Blanks hit the crossbar with a looping effort. It had seemed that the no.3 had actually intended to deliver a cross to one of his lurking team-mates.
The majority thought that Casuals had taken the lead minutes later after a threatening Warren Morgan cross ended in Roberts spilling the ball into the direction of the net. However, centre-back Terry Murray attempted to write his name on the scoresheet with a diving header. The outlandish try was one to forget for the defender as it bounced off the no.5’s head and wide.
Unclear if the chance given was offside, it was still one to rue for the visitors. In the forty-third minute, the valiant performance against the leaders was undone as Ashley Miller dropped his shoulder to round a pink shirt before delivering the first goal on a plate for the clinical Draycott. The 400 or so crowd disassembled for half-time, Casuals 1-0 behind but still in the tight contest.
The half-time team-talk did not manage to inspire the players as a volley into the top corner condemned Casuals. Stylish technique from substitute Ronnie Dolan gave Invicta a two goal cushion.
Struggling to keep up with the tempo of the hosts, Casuals had keeper Bracken to thank. No chances were created and the combination of Kaba, Cottee and Byatt did not manage to keep the Folkestone defence busy. The third was shortly added, Draycott catching Bracken out of position to slot home the rebound. Despite the score-line, the Casuals faithful behind the goal did not stop singing, and singing and singing! Perhaps shocked by the marvellous support from Casuals, the Folkestone faithful kept quiet, resulting in “Shall we sing a song for you?” echoing around for all to hear.
For thirty-minutes, No goals were conceded or celebrated as Casuals brought on Sam Robinson, Shaun Okojie and Josh Uzun in the second-half. The score remained at 3-0 before the 90th minute. Centre-back Frankie Chappell scored a header at the death to make it four. With the goal difference battered, the game ended with players applauding the stoic Casuals contingent at the final whistle.
Now, Corinthians lay in ninth, four points off the play-offs while Invicta deservedly added three more to their outstanding point tally. Casuals now face last-placed Whitstable Town at home on Saturday before a trip to Peacehaven the week after.
After the match, James Bracken spoke to Stuart Tree. “I think we could’ve been two or three goals up before we went one-nil down. We’ve missed two absolute sitters. Terry (Murray) has actually headed one off the line that was going in. It was one of those moments where you can’t decide whether to laugh or cry.
“It’s ended in tears because we haven’t produced in the second half. It was nowhere near good enough.
“First half, up until they’ve scored, we were on an even keel. But goals change games. You score the first, we’d have had something to hang onto… change the shape and get a little more defensive.
“But we didn’t. Folkestone took their chances and that’s why they’ll probably win the league. They’ve got boys there that get half a sniff and score.
“We made a lot of defensive errors today as well and you can’t get away with that here.
“We’ll be right in this playoff push until the last game of the season. That’s where we want to take it. This game today I looked at as a bonus; we’ve had a couple of good results in the week picking up four points against playoff rivals. So I never felt there was any real pressure on us to come and win here. It was a case of ‘if we can win, it’d be a fantastic boost ahead of the final seven games’ but it wasn’t to be.
“All of the games in the run-in look winnable but then teams that were getting beaten heavily are now losing by one goal or getting draws. None of these games will be walkovers. We won’t blitz anyone for free. Some of the sides we’re playing, they’re fighting for survival and won’t just roll-over. We have to apply ourselves and then the quality will show. If we don’t, we’ll get out-battled.
“I’ll be analysing the video footage from today and people will be accountable for their mistakes. I didn’t go mad in the changing room but I’m fed up of saying the same thing to them. Okay, at three-nil down, you make some changes to prevent you conceding again. We got back into it and then they’ve scored from a free header from six yards.
“I’m tired of saying the same things. They’re the basics. It doesn’t matter how well we play or how good we think we are, if we can’t defend set-pieces, we’ll lose 1-0 against Whitstable to a corner. So I’ll be addressing things this week and I’ll be expecting a reaction.”
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