Horley Town 4-5 Corinthian-Casuals
Tuesday 3 September
Report: Josh Lamey
Images: Andy Nunn
The New Defence won’t have witnessed many games like that before. It was nothing short of absolute chaos in a nine-goal melodrama, as Corinthian-Casuals started September with a bang.
The West Sussex border provided the stage for a Casuals side blossoming under the leadership of Mu Maan, and the 12 points they now have on the board already speak for themselves. The brilliant blend of Brazilian flair and former club heroes has proven to be Mu’s magic recipe, and he will be hoping it continues to pay dividends for the rest of the campaign.
The player-manager returned to the dugout yesterday, but tasted victory again, albeit in nail-biting circumstances. Coming off the back of a terrific 2-1 success at Tooting & Mitcham, all eyes were on Casuals to see whether they could extend their superb away form and fortunes in front of goal, with 10 goals so far seemingly certain to increase with the arrival of Kieron Cadogan.
The first 15 minutes were to-and-fro, with some wild efforts making it into the fields behind. But it was Casuals who broke the deadlock again, through a majestic turn and finish from Cadogan, for his first strike since his Corinthian homecoming.
The next goal was trademark Cascoe-Rogers, as Shea taunted the Horley defence by twisting and turning his way into the area, before slamming home his side’s second and celebrating a job well done with the jubilant travelling fans.
Clarets’ poacher Lewis Pearch went toe-to-toe with Cadogan for the match ball, and opened his account for the evening when a lofted ball over the top wasn’t dealt with. Pearch was on hand to lift it over Murillo Bernardes and into the back of an empty net, as Horley got the ideal response after a not so ideal start.
Casuals needed to respond, and they did just that. Full backs Jonathon Gjoshe and Emerson Pilonetto have been influential to the free-flowing football introduced by Maan, and it was the latter who made an intelligent overlapping run before crossing it into the danger zone on to the boot of one man. Kieron Cadogan. Who else? 3-1 Casuals.
Just three minutes later and the perfect hat-trick was complete: Gjoshe this time digging out a peach of a cross, and a deft header from Cadogan put the visitors in the driving seat. Not sure what was better, the finish, or the Sussex sunset that descended on another blissful evening in the Combined Counties League.
However, the action wasn’t over for the first half – far from it. Horley gave us something to think about at half-time, after a cool, collected Warren Colman won the ball deep in the Casuals half and finished low and hard to Bernardes’ right, making it 4-2… and game on.
Six goals in 45 minutes is rare, but you’d have been forgiven for predicting a first half as bizarre as this – Horley have been fantastic in front of goal lately with 14 goals in six games, and alongside the recent away record of the visitors, it was always possible that this game might turn out to be a thriller.
It was an end-to-end start to the second period, as both sides looked to regain momentum. However, just after the hour mark, Frazier Osunkoya – who had replaced the injured Diogo da Silva just before half time – latched onto a pinpoint through ball and kept his composure to make it 5-2 with his first goal of the campaign.
Less than a minute after the ball was picked out of the Horley net, they found themselves with a chance once again. It was a carbon copy of Pearch’s first, as he lobbed a stranded Bernardes for the second time to send the Clarets back into the contest.
There were hearts in mouths in the Casuals section right up until the end, as Town got another goal back in the dying moments. Ricochet after ricochet of hopeful headers eventually fell to Pearch who sealed his hat-trick, but the hosts were in pursuit of another. With enough time on the clock for a drastic change in the scoreline, could Casuals cling on to the three points?
The answer was yes, and the referee’s whistle concluded another Combined Counties classic. One of the most dramatic games of the season had a happy ending, as Casuals moved up to fourth place in the league. We look to continue this rich vein of form as we welcome Sandhurst Town to the Armada Group Stadium at King George’s Field on Saturday.
Corinthian-Casuals: Bernardes, Gjoshe, Pilonetto, Adelakun, Blackwell (Dhanipersad h/t), Dos Santos, Cascoe-Rogers, Onovwigun (Castelo 80), Cadogan (Ewerthon 67), Da Silva (Osunkoya 43), Dillon (Brown 62).
Tuesday 3 September
Report: Josh Lamey
Images: Andy Nunn
The New Defence won’t have witnessed many games like that before. It was nothing short of absolute chaos in a nine-goal melodrama, as Corinthian-Casuals started September with a bang.
The West Sussex border provided the stage for a Casuals side blossoming under the leadership of Mu Maan, and the 12 points they now have on the board already speak for themselves. The brilliant blend of Brazilian flair and former club heroes has proven to be Mu’s magic recipe, and he will be hoping it continues to pay dividends for the rest of the campaign.
The player-manager returned to the dugout yesterday, but tasted victory again, albeit in nail-biting circumstances. Coming off the back of a terrific 2-1 success at Tooting & Mitcham, all eyes were on Casuals to see whether they could extend their superb away form and fortunes in front of goal, with 10 goals so far seemingly certain to increase with the arrival of Kieron Cadogan.
The first 15 minutes were to-and-fro, with some wild efforts making it into the fields behind. But it was Casuals who broke the deadlock again, through a majestic turn and finish from Cadogan, for his first strike since his Corinthian homecoming.
The next goal was trademark Cascoe-Rogers, as Shea taunted the Horley defence by twisting and turning his way into the area, before slamming home his side’s second and celebrating a job well done with the jubilant travelling fans.
Clarets’ poacher Lewis Pearch went toe-to-toe with Cadogan for the match ball, and opened his account for the evening when a lofted ball over the top wasn’t dealt with. Pearch was on hand to lift it over Murillo Bernardes and into the back of an empty net, as Horley got the ideal response after a not so ideal start.
Casuals needed to respond, and they did just that. Full backs Jonathon Gjoshe and Emerson Pilonetto have been influential to the free-flowing football introduced by Maan, and it was the latter who made an intelligent overlapping run before crossing it into the danger zone on to the boot of one man. Kieron Cadogan. Who else? 3-1 Casuals.
Just three minutes later and the perfect hat-trick was complete: Gjoshe this time digging out a peach of a cross, and a deft header from Cadogan put the visitors in the driving seat. Not sure what was better, the finish, or the Sussex sunset that descended on another blissful evening in the Combined Counties League.
However, the action wasn’t over for the first half – far from it. Horley gave us something to think about at half-time, after a cool, collected Warren Colman won the ball deep in the Casuals half and finished low and hard to Bernardes’ right, making it 4-2… and game on.
Six goals in 45 minutes is rare, but you’d have been forgiven for predicting a first half as bizarre as this – Horley have been fantastic in front of goal lately with 14 goals in six games, and alongside the recent away record of the visitors, it was always possible that this game might turn out to be a thriller.
It was an end-to-end start to the second period, as both sides looked to regain momentum. However, just after the hour mark, Frazier Osunkoya – who had replaced the injured Diogo da Silva just before half time – latched onto a pinpoint through ball and kept his composure to make it 5-2 with his first goal of the campaign.
Less than a minute after the ball was picked out of the Horley net, they found themselves with a chance once again. It was a carbon copy of Pearch’s first, as he lobbed a stranded Bernardes for the second time to send the Clarets back into the contest.
There were hearts in mouths in the Casuals section right up until the end, as Town got another goal back in the dying moments. Ricochet after ricochet of hopeful headers eventually fell to Pearch who sealed his hat-trick, but the hosts were in pursuit of another. With enough time on the clock for a drastic change in the scoreline, could Casuals cling on to the three points?
The answer was yes, and the referee’s whistle concluded another Combined Counties classic. One of the most dramatic games of the season had a happy ending, as Casuals moved up to fourth place in the league. We look to continue this rich vein of form as we welcome Sandhurst Town to the Armada Group Stadium at King George’s Field on Saturday.
Corinthian-Casuals: Bernardes, Gjoshe, Pilonetto, Adelakun, Blackwell (Dhanipersad h/t), Dos Santos, Cascoe-Rogers, Onovwigun (Castelo 80), Cadogan (Ewerthon 67), Da Silva (Osunkoya 43), Dillon (Brown 62).
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