Alton 1 - 1 Corinthian-Casuals
Combined Counties League Premier South
Saturday 23rd November 2024
Report and Photos - Stuart Tree (full set here)
Storm Bert played its part in a very wet and windy draw at Alton on Saturday.
Diogo Da Silva’s first half strike was cancelled out by Jamie Hoppitt’s equaliser on the hour.
And with both teams looking for a winner, neither would be ultimately happy with a solitary point.
For Casuals, it was a missed opportunity to slip into the playoff places, hot on the heels of Cobham who could only draw with Camberley Town. But it’s only one loss in seven for Mu Maan’s side who, by and large, are picking up far more positive results than not.
Without Alton’s all-weather playing surface, the fixture would’ve likely been postponed due to the weather. Howling gales and driving rain constricted supporters to the very back row of the seated stand or take shelter in the opposite covered terracing. Those foolhardy enough to brave it in the elements behind the goal didn’t last too long before retreating.
Despite Alton’s lowly league position, they set out their intentions early, putting Casuals under pressure from the off. But with five attacking forwards on the pitch, Corinth was to strike first. Jerson Dos Santos broke down the left channel and fired at Theo Rust in goal, who could only parry the ball into the path of Da Silva who couldn’t miss for his seventh of the campaign.
Casuals looked to make it two, with Rust tipping a fierce shot onto the post and Cadogan spotting the keeper off his line but firing just wide. Ultimately, the two sides would retreat from the weather just a goal apart.
And it was Alton who looked the more lively after the break. Their pressure told in a period that many could see what was coming. Jamie Hoppitt’s header squirmed over the line with Nabaad unable to scoop it away in time and the home side had a deserved equaliser.
Despite the horrendous weather, both sides looked to play football rather than descending into hoof-it-and-hope with Casuals coming back into the fray to find another late winner. Da Silva’s free kick whistled over the bar and in stoppage time, Johnno Gjoshe’s cross looked destined to land on Kieron Cadogan’s head, but the wind caught it and the chance was gone.
Honours even on a tough afternoon, with weather often billed as a ‘leveller’. Whilst Casuals, with playoff ambitions will feel aggrieved that they didn’t pick up all three points at a side with ony three wins all season, they’ll also be grateful that a potential ‘banana skin’ was avoided and another valuable point picked up on the road. In fact, that point gives Casuals a better away record than at home, with 17 earned on their travels, opposed to 16 at home (albeit playing two less at King George’s).
Combined Counties League Premier South
Saturday 23rd November 2024
Report and Photos - Stuart Tree (full set here)
Storm Bert played its part in a very wet and windy draw at Alton on Saturday.
Diogo Da Silva’s first half strike was cancelled out by Jamie Hoppitt’s equaliser on the hour.
And with both teams looking for a winner, neither would be ultimately happy with a solitary point.
For Casuals, it was a missed opportunity to slip into the playoff places, hot on the heels of Cobham who could only draw with Camberley Town. But it’s only one loss in seven for Mu Maan’s side who, by and large, are picking up far more positive results than not.
Without Alton’s all-weather playing surface, the fixture would’ve likely been postponed due to the weather. Howling gales and driving rain constricted supporters to the very back row of the seated stand or take shelter in the opposite covered terracing. Those foolhardy enough to brave it in the elements behind the goal didn’t last too long before retreating.
Despite Alton’s lowly league position, they set out their intentions early, putting Casuals under pressure from the off. But with five attacking forwards on the pitch, Corinth was to strike first. Jerson Dos Santos broke down the left channel and fired at Theo Rust in goal, who could only parry the ball into the path of Da Silva who couldn’t miss for his seventh of the campaign.
Casuals looked to make it two, with Rust tipping a fierce shot onto the post and Cadogan spotting the keeper off his line but firing just wide. Ultimately, the two sides would retreat from the weather just a goal apart.
And it was Alton who looked the more lively after the break. Their pressure told in a period that many could see what was coming. Jamie Hoppitt’s header squirmed over the line with Nabaad unable to scoop it away in time and the home side had a deserved equaliser.
Despite the horrendous weather, both sides looked to play football rather than descending into hoof-it-and-hope with Casuals coming back into the fray to find another late winner. Da Silva’s free kick whistled over the bar and in stoppage time, Johnno Gjoshe’s cross looked destined to land on Kieron Cadogan’s head, but the wind caught it and the chance was gone.
Honours even on a tough afternoon, with weather often billed as a ‘leveller’. Whilst Casuals, with playoff ambitions will feel aggrieved that they didn’t pick up all three points at a side with ony three wins all season, they’ll also be grateful that a potential ‘banana skin’ was avoided and another valuable point picked up on the road. In fact, that point gives Casuals a better away record than at home, with 17 earned on their travels, opposed to 16 at home (albeit playing two less at King George’s).
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