Ashford Town 2 - 0 Corinthian-Casuals
Emirates FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round
Saturday 2nd September 2017
Robert Parker Stadium
Match report: Cameron Smith. Pics: Stuart Tree (full set here)
Two first-half goals in quick succession saw the gritty Ashford Town prevail versus the frustrated 10-man Corinthian-Casuals as the Emirates FA Cup First Qualifying Round journey to Middlesex turned sour in a feisty second-half, in which Reyon Dillon was inexplicably sent off.
James Bracken’s FA Cup campaign did not have the best of starts as Mu Maan’s 88th minute equaliser saved Casuals from exiting in the preliminary round at the mercy of Hythe Town. A replay was in order following the 1-1 result at King George’s, and Casuals put on a terrific performance with a 3-1 win; Corinthians progressed into the next round. Since then, Corinth had netted five to ease past East Grinstead before being losing 4-2 to Carshalton Athletic in the Bostik One South.
As soon as the final whistle blew in the replay at Hythe, the Casuals contingent marked the 2nd September in their diaries as the next round of the FA Cup- they would travel to Middlesex to play against Ashford Town. Not to be confused with the team of the same name in Casuals’ division (that’s Ashford United of Kent), the Tangerines play in the Evo-Stik Southern League and play their home fixtures at the industrial Robert Parker Stadium, near the busy Heathrow Airport.
The white and tangerine stripes of Ashford clashing against the chocolate and pink of Casuals created a brilliantly colourful match as the two sides stepped out onto the green. Bracken had made two changes from the starting eleven that were defeated by Carshalton on Bank Holiday Monday; Malachi Robinson and Reyon Dillon would make way for Gabriel Odunaike and Josh Uzun.
From the off, the hosts always seemed to be one step ahead of their visitors in both defence and attack, so in the 25th minute it wasn’t a huge surprise when Ashford took the lead. Despite a foul against Corinth occurring against Corinth during the build-up that the referee ignored, the Tangerines went 1-0 up thanks to Mark Bitmead, who masterfully fired the ball into the top corner from outside the area.
Before Casuals were able to take a breath, Ashford struck again within five minutes of the opener. Hammering the ball into the roof of the net, Dan Fleming netted the second goal for Ashford after an orange shirt squared the ball perfectly for the no.9 to dispatch. The overall quality of the game deteriorated after the 25th minute second goal; Corinthians seemed to lack the cutting edge despite most of the possession. Half-time soon dawned on the Robert Parker Stadium and Ashford had the two-goal advantage.
Jamie Byatt, who was cautioned inside six minutes, was replaced by Dave Hodges at half-time. The second-half was very frustrating for James Bracken’s army as chances that popped up throughout the second-half could not be converted. Ashford had the golden opportunity with around ten minutes to go as Gabby Odunaike was guilty of tripping Bitmead in the area- the referee gave a penalty. Bitmead was looking to score his second of the game and finally kill off Casuals’ possible comeback, but the midfielder wasn’t able to do so as Danny Bracken managed to save the spot-kick with his legs! Casuals were given a lifeline.
Five minutes after the penalty miss, a long punt upfield saw sub Dillon and no.6 Scott Weight challenge for the loose ball. Dillon won the challenge fair and square, but Weight buckled and fell to the floor in attempt to fool the referee and win a free-kick. Mr Lee Grimsey not only gave the foul to Ashford, but reached for a yellow card, which would mean Dillon (who had already been cautioned) was off. A mix of bewilderment, incredulousness and anger amongst the Casuals contingent, players and staff saw Corinth go down to ten men for the final moments. Incredibly harsh, this decision from the referee ended any chance of Casuals scoring late on as the final whistle blew it was 2-0 to Ashford.
Thank you to Ashford Town for their hospitality, and good luck in the next round. For Corinthians, it was disappointing to crash out of the competition at such an early stage, but it continued the club’s poor streak in the FA Cup- only four wins in fourteen years! James Bracken’s pink and brown army travel to the Channel Islands next, in the Bostik League One South- Guernsey FC on Sunday.
Casuals Boss James Bracken was puzzled as to why his side had limped out of the competition.
“When you think we were one player removed from the team that played last Saturday and won 5-0, the chalk-and-cheese of the performance is startling.
“We’ll try to put our finger on why that is but ultimately I think it comes down to a bit of attitude on the day amongst a few of them. We never got started and we didn’t play well. Our touches were poor and distribution worse. It’s not one to remember for sure.
“It didn’t help that there was a definite foul in the lead up to one of the goals. Their player has climbed all over our centre forward – his arms over the top of the shoulders but the referee tells me there’s no contact! He’s come down on top of our player in a pile.
“It was the type of challenge that he gave to the opposition from the first whistle and we never got them the other way.
“At half time, we had words with the lads and we changed things around. Second half, we were slightly the better side and certainly improved on our first half performance. But we never created much. Gabby (Gabriel Odunaike) will be disappointed he didn’t find the empty net. If we’d have got a goal back, we might have pushed on and got something from the game.
Speaking of Dillon’s dismissal, Bracken wasn’t best pleased with the decision.
“Reyon’s come on to make an impact. But the challenge he got a second yellow card for isn’t even a foul. Reyon’s body is between the centre-back and the ball and the defender has run into him and fallen on the floor. The assistant referee ten yards away didn’t give anything but the referee brandishes a second yellow card from 30-40 yards away.”
“We’re aware of our shortfalls today. Now it’s up to us as a coaching set-up to get that across to the team and to improve.”
Emirates FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round
Saturday 2nd September 2017
Robert Parker Stadium
Match report: Cameron Smith. Pics: Stuart Tree (full set here)
Two first-half goals in quick succession saw the gritty Ashford Town prevail versus the frustrated 10-man Corinthian-Casuals as the Emirates FA Cup First Qualifying Round journey to Middlesex turned sour in a feisty second-half, in which Reyon Dillon was inexplicably sent off.
James Bracken’s FA Cup campaign did not have the best of starts as Mu Maan’s 88th minute equaliser saved Casuals from exiting in the preliminary round at the mercy of Hythe Town. A replay was in order following the 1-1 result at King George’s, and Casuals put on a terrific performance with a 3-1 win; Corinthians progressed into the next round. Since then, Corinth had netted five to ease past East Grinstead before being losing 4-2 to Carshalton Athletic in the Bostik One South.
As soon as the final whistle blew in the replay at Hythe, the Casuals contingent marked the 2nd September in their diaries as the next round of the FA Cup- they would travel to Middlesex to play against Ashford Town. Not to be confused with the team of the same name in Casuals’ division (that’s Ashford United of Kent), the Tangerines play in the Evo-Stik Southern League and play their home fixtures at the industrial Robert Parker Stadium, near the busy Heathrow Airport.
The white and tangerine stripes of Ashford clashing against the chocolate and pink of Casuals created a brilliantly colourful match as the two sides stepped out onto the green. Bracken had made two changes from the starting eleven that were defeated by Carshalton on Bank Holiday Monday; Malachi Robinson and Reyon Dillon would make way for Gabriel Odunaike and Josh Uzun.
From the off, the hosts always seemed to be one step ahead of their visitors in both defence and attack, so in the 25th minute it wasn’t a huge surprise when Ashford took the lead. Despite a foul against Corinth occurring against Corinth during the build-up that the referee ignored, the Tangerines went 1-0 up thanks to Mark Bitmead, who masterfully fired the ball into the top corner from outside the area.
Before Casuals were able to take a breath, Ashford struck again within five minutes of the opener. Hammering the ball into the roof of the net, Dan Fleming netted the second goal for Ashford after an orange shirt squared the ball perfectly for the no.9 to dispatch. The overall quality of the game deteriorated after the 25th minute second goal; Corinthians seemed to lack the cutting edge despite most of the possession. Half-time soon dawned on the Robert Parker Stadium and Ashford had the two-goal advantage.
Jamie Byatt, who was cautioned inside six minutes, was replaced by Dave Hodges at half-time. The second-half was very frustrating for James Bracken’s army as chances that popped up throughout the second-half could not be converted. Ashford had the golden opportunity with around ten minutes to go as Gabby Odunaike was guilty of tripping Bitmead in the area- the referee gave a penalty. Bitmead was looking to score his second of the game and finally kill off Casuals’ possible comeback, but the midfielder wasn’t able to do so as Danny Bracken managed to save the spot-kick with his legs! Casuals were given a lifeline.
Five minutes after the penalty miss, a long punt upfield saw sub Dillon and no.6 Scott Weight challenge for the loose ball. Dillon won the challenge fair and square, but Weight buckled and fell to the floor in attempt to fool the referee and win a free-kick. Mr Lee Grimsey not only gave the foul to Ashford, but reached for a yellow card, which would mean Dillon (who had already been cautioned) was off. A mix of bewilderment, incredulousness and anger amongst the Casuals contingent, players and staff saw Corinth go down to ten men for the final moments. Incredibly harsh, this decision from the referee ended any chance of Casuals scoring late on as the final whistle blew it was 2-0 to Ashford.
Thank you to Ashford Town for their hospitality, and good luck in the next round. For Corinthians, it was disappointing to crash out of the competition at such an early stage, but it continued the club’s poor streak in the FA Cup- only four wins in fourteen years! James Bracken’s pink and brown army travel to the Channel Islands next, in the Bostik League One South- Guernsey FC on Sunday.
Casuals Boss James Bracken was puzzled as to why his side had limped out of the competition.
“When you think we were one player removed from the team that played last Saturday and won 5-0, the chalk-and-cheese of the performance is startling.
“We’ll try to put our finger on why that is but ultimately I think it comes down to a bit of attitude on the day amongst a few of them. We never got started and we didn’t play well. Our touches were poor and distribution worse. It’s not one to remember for sure.
“It didn’t help that there was a definite foul in the lead up to one of the goals. Their player has climbed all over our centre forward – his arms over the top of the shoulders but the referee tells me there’s no contact! He’s come down on top of our player in a pile.
“It was the type of challenge that he gave to the opposition from the first whistle and we never got them the other way.
“At half time, we had words with the lads and we changed things around. Second half, we were slightly the better side and certainly improved on our first half performance. But we never created much. Gabby (Gabriel Odunaike) will be disappointed he didn’t find the empty net. If we’d have got a goal back, we might have pushed on and got something from the game.
Speaking of Dillon’s dismissal, Bracken wasn’t best pleased with the decision.
“Reyon’s come on to make an impact. But the challenge he got a second yellow card for isn’t even a foul. Reyon’s body is between the centre-back and the ball and the defender has run into him and fallen on the floor. The assistant referee ten yards away didn’t give anything but the referee brandishes a second yellow card from 30-40 yards away.”
“We’re aware of our shortfalls today. Now it’s up to us as a coaching set-up to get that across to the team and to improve.”
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