Corinthian-Casuals 2 - 3 Carshalton Athletic
Isthmian League Premier Division
Saturday 24th August 2019
Report and Photos: Stuart Tree (pics here)
There were goals galore at King George’s on Saturday as Corinthian-Casuals will rue a slow start in the 3-2 loss to neighbours Carshalton Athletic in the Isthmian League Premier Division.
Manager James Bracken will take heart in the second-half fightback but once again, a tepid opening ten minutes ultimately cost the Amateurs any chance of points.
Nat Pinney returned to the starting line-up in place of the injured Ollie Sitch, whilst Hakeem Adelakun, who picked up a knock at Cray, was side-lined with Warren Morgan slotting in at left-back. Ever present in goal was Danny Bracken who was presented with an award for making 400 competitive appearances in a Casuals shirt.
Before much of the 271 in attendance could settle, Carshalton had taken the lead. Casuals looked slow to react to a swift Robins move which ended with Ernold Haxhiu sidefooting his effort past Bracken.
It was to get worse for Casuals, reeling from the initial shock. A poor judgement of a long ball allowed Ricky Korboa through and from inside the area, slotted past a helpless Bracken to make it 2-0 after just six minutes.
It could’ve been worse had Bracken not pulled off a smart save, tipping Jerry Amoo’s effort onto the post and to safety. Casuals were in danger of letting the game slip out of their hands within the first quarter of an hour.
The pace of the game slowed in the heat and Casuals gradually grew into the half, though chances were at a premium. Closest was Mike Dixon who raced onto a ball, beating an onrushing Pat Ohman in goal, but couldn’t convert after defender Luke Read cleared the lines.
But a lifeline was given to Casuals in the dying moments of the half, with Referee Andy Bennett awarding the first of three penalties in the match. Nat Pinney stepped up and notched Casuals first goal of the season.
An injured Jack Strange was replaced at half time with midfielder Coskun Ekim taking up a central defensive role. But it was Ekim who conceded a penalty, coming together with Korboa. Amoo fired to Bracken’s left, just out of reach of the keeper.
But Casuals weren’t done. A change of shape and added attacking options saw Morgan upended in the box after an impressive mazy run. However, Ohman was equal to Pinney’s spot kick and the scores remained the same.
That was until the 79th minute when substitutes Reyon Dillon and Leon Lalor-Dell combined to see the latter neatly finish from 15 yards to give Casuals hope. With wind in their sails, Corinth pushed forward. Serbony’s spectacular bicycle kick from 20 yards was sweetly struck but whistled inches over. Despite the late surge, Carshalton held on and take the three points back to Colston Avenue.
“We’ve had to thrash it out in the changing rooms after, because it’s not good enough,” lamented James Bracken after the match.
“We looked at the stats last season and we conceded three times more goals in the first half than the second. And that’s coupled with the fact we’ve scored twice as many in the second half as we had the first half. That’s frightening statistics.
“We’re a team who comes on strong due to good fitness levels, but when we’re conceding in the first half as we are, we’re always chasing games.
“Their penalty was soft. I didn’t think it was a spot-kick. It’s shoulder to shoulder and the lad threw himself on the floor as he did all afternoon. That’s not the way to play football. It was relentless. The referee got wise to it in the end, booking one of them for a dive, but by then, it’s too late.
“In a crazy way, we should’ve got something out of the game. At half time, I said ‘thank your lucky stars that we’re still in this game’. The way we played in the first half was appalling. We didn’t do anything right. But we’ve improved in the second and could’ve got a point had we not missed a penalty.”
Casuals travel to Cheshunt on Bank Holiday Monday.
Isthmian League Premier Division
Saturday 24th August 2019
Report and Photos: Stuart Tree (pics here)
There were goals galore at King George’s on Saturday as Corinthian-Casuals will rue a slow start in the 3-2 loss to neighbours Carshalton Athletic in the Isthmian League Premier Division.
Manager James Bracken will take heart in the second-half fightback but once again, a tepid opening ten minutes ultimately cost the Amateurs any chance of points.
Nat Pinney returned to the starting line-up in place of the injured Ollie Sitch, whilst Hakeem Adelakun, who picked up a knock at Cray, was side-lined with Warren Morgan slotting in at left-back. Ever present in goal was Danny Bracken who was presented with an award for making 400 competitive appearances in a Casuals shirt.
Before much of the 271 in attendance could settle, Carshalton had taken the lead. Casuals looked slow to react to a swift Robins move which ended with Ernold Haxhiu sidefooting his effort past Bracken.
It was to get worse for Casuals, reeling from the initial shock. A poor judgement of a long ball allowed Ricky Korboa through and from inside the area, slotted past a helpless Bracken to make it 2-0 after just six minutes.
It could’ve been worse had Bracken not pulled off a smart save, tipping Jerry Amoo’s effort onto the post and to safety. Casuals were in danger of letting the game slip out of their hands within the first quarter of an hour.
The pace of the game slowed in the heat and Casuals gradually grew into the half, though chances were at a premium. Closest was Mike Dixon who raced onto a ball, beating an onrushing Pat Ohman in goal, but couldn’t convert after defender Luke Read cleared the lines.
But a lifeline was given to Casuals in the dying moments of the half, with Referee Andy Bennett awarding the first of three penalties in the match. Nat Pinney stepped up and notched Casuals first goal of the season.
An injured Jack Strange was replaced at half time with midfielder Coskun Ekim taking up a central defensive role. But it was Ekim who conceded a penalty, coming together with Korboa. Amoo fired to Bracken’s left, just out of reach of the keeper.
But Casuals weren’t done. A change of shape and added attacking options saw Morgan upended in the box after an impressive mazy run. However, Ohman was equal to Pinney’s spot kick and the scores remained the same.
That was until the 79th minute when substitutes Reyon Dillon and Leon Lalor-Dell combined to see the latter neatly finish from 15 yards to give Casuals hope. With wind in their sails, Corinth pushed forward. Serbony’s spectacular bicycle kick from 20 yards was sweetly struck but whistled inches over. Despite the late surge, Carshalton held on and take the three points back to Colston Avenue.
“We’ve had to thrash it out in the changing rooms after, because it’s not good enough,” lamented James Bracken after the match.
“We looked at the stats last season and we conceded three times more goals in the first half than the second. And that’s coupled with the fact we’ve scored twice as many in the second half as we had the first half. That’s frightening statistics.
“We’re a team who comes on strong due to good fitness levels, but when we’re conceding in the first half as we are, we’re always chasing games.
“Their penalty was soft. I didn’t think it was a spot-kick. It’s shoulder to shoulder and the lad threw himself on the floor as he did all afternoon. That’s not the way to play football. It was relentless. The referee got wise to it in the end, booking one of them for a dive, but by then, it’s too late.
“In a crazy way, we should’ve got something out of the game. At half time, I said ‘thank your lucky stars that we’re still in this game’. The way we played in the first half was appalling. We didn’t do anything right. But we’ve improved in the second and could’ve got a point had we not missed a penalty.”
Casuals travel to Cheshunt on Bank Holiday Monday.
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