Margate 3 - 1 Corinthian-Casuals
Pitching In Isthmian League Premier Division
Saturday 22nd January 2022
Report and Photos: Stuart Tree (full set here)

10-man Corinthian-Casuals succumbed to a 3-1 reverse at Margate on Saturday in the Isthmian League Premier Division.

A Ken Feyi header fifteen minutes from time was swiftly followed by a red card for Ola Williams in a double blow for the Casuals, leaving them with little chance of a comeback.

Manager James Bracken would’ve felt confident going into this match having lost just once in the previous twelve games and also achieving a 3-1 win over opponents Margate back in November.

However, he was hampered with vital absentees of Jack Strange and Ben Cheklit (injuries) and Peter Ojemen (suspension). In came the experienced Jerry Nnamani for his league debut for the Casuals and Mo Diallo was preferred up top to the benched Bobby Mills.

Casuals had to weather a bright Margate, out of the blocks quicker than their visitors but Corinth soon grew into the contest enjoying good possession even if it wasn’t particularly threatening. The biggest challenge for Margate’s back line was Mani Mensah operating with guile down the right.

The crowd were brought to life on 26 minutes when Gate’s Vance Bola looped a through ball over the Casuals defence for Sam Blackman to latch onto and finish past the advancing Danny Bracken – not the result the captain wanted on his 31st birthday.

As Casuals did against Cray the week before, they looked to get back into the contest before half time and the best chance came on the stroke of the whistle when a Nnamani header was beaten off the line by keeper Billy Johnson.

The fact didn’t matter post team talk as two minutes after the break, a marauding Casuals, with fresh impetus levelled. 16 year old Alfie Bendle’s shot could only be parried back to him before he made no mistake in following up. Casuals were in the ascendancy and continually knocked on the door of Margate’s defence.

But then something strange occurred. That momentum disappeared. Unlike last week, James Bracken had praised the increasing intensity and ‘never give up’ attitude that his side possessed in the last quarter of the match at Cray. But it just as easily disappeared here as the threat diminished.

Despite this, Margate had rarely threatened themselves. A shot into the side netting was as good as it had got for them. But with fifteen minutes remaining, the match would be decided. Gate won a free kick in a wide position, close to the corner flag. Ben Greenhalgh whipped in the cross and Feyi pounced with a free header at the back post to regain the lead.

Things went from bad to worse for Casuals just two minutes later. A scuffle in the middle of the park resulted in a yellow card to Ola Williams for dissent. Not backing down, the defender quickly talked himself into another yellow and was dismissed. Casuals were down to ten.

The final blow was dealt in stoppage time when Greenhalgh converted a penalty to seal the three points for Jay Saunders side.

“The turning point of the match was the red card,” admitted James Bracken after the match. “That was the point where the game became more difficult to get something out of.

 “Up until then, I was pleased with the performance and I thought we were the better team. We found ourselves 2-1 down despite the fact that the second half was pretty much all us on the attack. They’ve scored from a soft set piece, which we need to do better from.

“Straight after that, we’ve had the red card shown and that made life very difficult for us.

“It was a game that just got away from us. Two moments decided the outcome in an otherwise tight game. I was pleased with a lot of the football we played. I believe we had the better of possession and a better tempo about us.

“But we’ve killed ourselves and I’m not going to hide behind anything – we’ve undone ourselves out there. That’s a shame because nine of the players have put in a good, honest shift, playing relatively well. A couple of mad moments and we find ourselves going home with nothing. The players that are responsible, they’re aware that they are. We do win as a team and we do lose as a team, together but you also have to remind lads that they are culpable for their actions. Sadly, a couple of them got it wrong and it’s cost us.

“Obviously, we had no Strangey and no Peter today. So we were missing two of our back three so-to-speak. But we still managed to get that calibre of defence out there. We’ll be okay even if we miss two or three of our key players.

“This is why we have a squad. We’re in a position where we might have 20 players available some weeks. You pick your starting eleven, you pick your best cover on the bench and then you make four difficult phone calls. If and when we get everyone fit, we’ll be in that position and that’s where we’ll want to be. That’s why we have a squad and why the boys must understand why some days they’ll play and other days they’ll have to be patient for an opportunity.

“That’s why they have to perform at their best. Because if you’re not performing then your position will come under threat.

“We’ve lost a game of football today and that happens. But we’ve killed ourselves out there. But we’re a good team. We’ll be the same good team on Tuesday and again on Saturday. We’ll be the same good team we were last Saturday and the Saturday before that and as far back as you’re going to the start of the season.

“I saw a league table that our Vice President, Brian Phillips put together. It was a table minus just the first four games of the season. It lists us level on points with Enfield Town with a game in hand on them. That’s the level we’ve been at since. Bear in mind, our slow start, Potters Bar Town, we were 1-0 up in the second half and two penalties saw us throw it away. 2-0 up at Wingate, drew 2-2. The Kingstonian game we should’ve won, ended up losing 1-0 to a penalty and Folkestone, another 1-0 loss with a second half of us as the better side. Had those games come now, especially the Wingate and Potters Bar games, we’d have seen them out. Another day, we know we’d have at least drawn with K’s. So we could’ve had seven points more from that poor start.

“We look back at every game and think we could’ve won it, probably with the exception of Cheshunt and Bishop’s Stortford. But two games out of 24 we’ve given ourselves a chance to win. But it shows where we are at when we’ve picked up the same amount of points as Enfield and Cheshunt have since the first four games of the season. And everyone praises Cheshunt and Enfield as great sides this season – and we’re right up there with them on points since the start of September. Yet we’ll get no respect. We’ll still be seen as the side who came away lucky with a win, or the opposition had an off day. But we’ve been ‘lucky’ enough to have picked up the same points as Enfield have over that period. So we’ve been ‘very lucky’ so far this season.

“We’re playing well. We have a good team. We have a good way of playing. Our system gives a lot of teams a lot of problems.
​
“So we’ll just keep doing it. We’ll try for the win again next week. It’ll be a tough game of course. But we’ve played Worthing three times this season and only lost once. We’re certainly not going to fear anything going into it. We’ll attack the game, hopefully get a good crowd and make life very difficult for them.” 

Corinthian-Casuals 3 - 1 Margate
Isthmian League Premier Division
Tuesday 2nd November 2021
Report: Stuart Tree. Pics: Andy Nunn (pics here)

Corinthian-Casuals kicked off November with a bang as they put in an impressive display to defeat Margate on Tuesday night.

A storming first half saw Casuals race into a three-nil lead before Margate pegged one back in the second period.

It was the first win over the Kent seasiders for James Bracken’s Casuals in five attempts, and arguably one of their best performances of the season to date.

There were a number of changes from the 1-0 defeat to Cheshunt at the weekend both in personnel and shape. Intensity was stepped up and a good press maintained throughout the ninety minutes.

It didn’t take long for Casuals to take the lead. Just twelve minutes were on the clock when Bobby Mills took down an exacting pass ‘Bergkamp-esque’ as one supporter described, before calmly slotting into the opposite bottom corner.

Casuals continued to apply pressure and Kieron Cadogan came closest to adding another when his shot from an acute angle was turned off the line. Margate weren’t so lucky the second time as Emmanuel Mensah did the same on the opposite side. His cross on the byline was hit hard and low and Margate’s Lewis Knight had no time to react, bouncing off the defender into the net.

Bracken’s side sniffed blood and went for the kill; Warren Mfula looked to add his name to the scoresheet with a stinger of a shot that was well saved by Pat Ohman. He was also close to scoring from an outrageous scissor kick effort before eventually getting in on the act by rounding an oncoming Ohman and running the ball into an empty net.

If the game hadn’t already been put to bed, perhaps it should’ve been in the second half. Casuals looked for a fourth and the closest chance fell to Mfula who struck the base of the post with one effort.

The game wasn’t quite done when Ben Greenhalgh put in a cross-come-shot that looped over Danny Bracken into the far corner to give the visitors hope. But they had been second best to a lively Casuals all night and rarely threatened for the rest of the match. It was down to Casuals to see out a fine performance and a victory well worthy of the three points.

“It was a good performance,” said James Bracken after the match. “We got out of the blocks quicker than we had in the las couple of games. We all expected a little hangover from the Cup run and finally bowing out of that on penalties. However, we got a good result against Hornchurch immediately after which was great. But realistically, in the games before Margate, we got a few things wrong and it told.

“But we showed a new impetus against Margate. We changed things around. I’d actually had a couple of days off work and allowed me time to really look at the stats – the combinations that work between the boys and when we’ve done things right. I’d also watched the last three games back in their entirety, so we were able to better prepare us.

“For me, it was one of the better performances of the season. We were three-nil up at half time and created more chances in the second half than we had in the first. We didn’t panic even when they’ve scored nor have we had to soak up any sustained periods of pressure.  

"Tuesday was back to a good atmosphere. How it should be. It helps when the team are playing as well as they are. The boys on the pitch have to take credit for that. But there’ll be games where we need those in the stands to lift the boys. It works both ways. We done our bit on Tuesday but I’m sure there’ll be instances over the coming weeks where we’re going to need them to be at their very best vocal support. Because that might just be enough for us to drag out a result on the pitch."

Corinthian-Casuals 0 - 3 Margate
Bostik League Premier Division
Saturday 23rd February 2019
Report: Cameron Smith & Joshua Doherty. Pics: Stuart Tree (full set here)

Whilst the clinical Margate ran rampant at the sunny King George’s Field, Corinthian-Casuals chalked up another defeat that makes five on the bounce; conceding three goals and dropping to 17th in the Bostik Premier Division.

This spell of poor form was encapsulated last week when Warren Mfula’s late goal could not spark a comeback versus Merstham and James Bracken’s words after the game were bittersweet. Willing the players to push past a rough patch that might have occurred through injuries or the bettering of teams around them, Bracken knew that a clash with lowly Margate was important.

The grass was green, the sky was blue and, for a change, the sun was shining in Tolworth as the pink and brown locked horns with the blue and white (or in this instance, the change strip of yellow).

The first 34 minutes was full of key moments that, in hindsight, could have changed the game. Majed Osman showed the Casuals contingent his class early on with a powerful effort directed wide of the post by the alert Louis Wells. This chance was after multiple set-pieces that Casuals were gifted due to their work on the flanks but they could not seem to convert. Mfula had an effort comfortably collected after finding space and the occasional attacks by Margate were dangerous but dealt with.

​That was until Kadell Daniel slotted the ball into the bottom corner of Bracken’s net and it was 1-0 to Margate. A commendable turnout from the Gate got to celebrate again in the 39th minute- Noel Leighton’s run and finish was too much to handle for the Casuals defence that was without Reece Hannigan at the back. At half-time, it was 2-0 to Margate.

Mu Maan was replaced by Warren Morgan at half-time, but the full-back/winger’s pace could not be utilised as every Casuals attack was stomped on by the firm Margate. They knew what they wanted to do and via Leighton, a third and decisive goal was dispatched wonderfully. Most of the 337 in attendance on the beautiful February afternoon would have wanted a more open game, but the remainder was dominated by Margate. Debutant Benjamin Aghadiuno was substituted for Hannigan and Uzun for Antonio. As far as luck goes, Corinthians had zero but it should not be said that Margate were anything less than brilliant. Falling short of their five goals they scored against Casuals at home in the season opener, the Gate left Tolworth with three goals and three points.

Thank you to Margate and we wish them the best of luck for the rest of the season. Jay Saunders’ victory makes it five consecutive losses for Casuals, which is far from a pretty statistic to look at. A trip to second-in-the-league Haringey Borough is not the best to follow up with, but with Casuals’ underdog attitude, incredible support and Corinthian Spirit… who knows what could happen?

“It wasn’t a lack of character today. I think we just lacked the know how,"  explained Assistant Manager Dan Pringle after the match.

"I don’t think man-for-man they were a better team than us, but we could just hear them talking throughout, always communicating. They knew how to play the game. They played to their strengths and fully deserved their win.”

He continued, “We kept running, all the way to the end. Even at three nil, we were trying to get back into the game. We could have easily let them gone on and score 4, 5 or 6 and been embarrassed but we didn't. 

"I can’t question the character today, and with the situation at the club, we know it its all about character. We are still very much looking up, rather than down, seeing whats ahead. We are not downbeat at all, we never are. We always stay level after a defeat and we never go in shouting and balling as it is not constructive.

“We have however highlighted some things we need to improve. We’ll watch it back, train next week and work out where we are short. We are all learning; James (Bracken) and I are still learning and we need to look at ourselves before the players. When you are in the position we are now, the only thing you can do is work hard. I don’t think we are here due to a lack of quality, or effort.

“We need to start keeping clean sheets - we've conceded too many goals. We need to get back to basics, keep the ball out of our net. Then we only need one to win the game, rather than conceding two or three and looking to our forward to get more. That is not sustainable way of playing unless you are top of the league with strikers on £6-700 a week. We need some clean sheets and build from there. With no budget, we should be bottom, I think people forget that.

“We lost 3-0 to Margate today, but it wasn’t so long ago we were losing by three or four to the teams in the leagues below and fighting relegation. It's good that we have changed the mentality, but at the same time we are working with no budget. James and I couldn’t put an ounce more work in if we wanted. We have the players we have and try and improve and go from there. 

"However, we look at the teams in front of us and think we are better, we can climb up the table and now we just need to go on a run and finish strong, which we both think we can do.

“I’m fully confident that we could be sat here next week with six points on the board from the two games, and suddenly we are a bit more comfortable in the table."

​After the Margate Match, Manager James Bracken had these comments...

"I knew it’d be a tough learning curve. What I mean by that is we can play like we did in the first half against a Bostik South side and gone in at the break one-nil down. If we’d have responded like we did in the second half, we’d have come away with the three points.

"However, the learning curve here in this league is we go home with no points, based on the first half performance. That was nowhere near good enough. Some of our defending was suicidal. You give the opposition ten yards of space, they’re going to score every time.

"I said before the season started, if you make it easy for these teams and let in cheap goals, they’ll punish you.

"I don’t need to tell the players that though. They knew it wasn’t good enough.

"First half, I’m sure nerves crept in and decision making went down the pan. The boys were heading balls clear when they had time and space to bring it under control. It was real basic stuff.

"I told them at half time just to play more. All pre-season, we’ve played good football. We’ve got it down, passed the ball well, moved off the ball. Everything you’d want to come and watch.  I said, as far as I am concerned, I’m happy to draw a line under it and put right what we needed to put right. There’s no pressure on us now as the game is done. You’re playing for your shirts on Tuesday night… go and show what you’ve got. We couldn’t get any worse so have a go in the second half and win it, which we did.

"You win or you learn. That’s a common ethos and I honestly believe it. In this league, nothing is expected of us. We got what people expected from this fixture – nothing. But we learned a hell of a lot by the end of the match and if we start the game the way we started the second half, we’ll give Folkestone a right good game on Tuesday. Then the fine margins come into play as to whether you win or you lose.

"Remember, this isn’t our season done. It’s one game in and there’s always funny results on the opening day. We’ll certainly be more prepared for Tuesday. The nerves will be gone and hope to get back to our pre-season performance levels."

Margate 5 - 2 Corinthian-Casuals
Saturday 11th August 2018
Bostik League Premier Division
Report: Cameron Smith. Photos: Stuart Tree (full set here)

Opening their Bostik Premier Division season on a disappointing yet ever-optimistic note, Corinthian-Casuals conceded five goals in the first-half versus Margate, but netted two second half consolations in a 5-2 defeat away from home.

​Pre-season included fixtures against Whyteleafe, Crystal Palace U23, Bristol Rovers, Corinthian FC, Banstead and Staines Town for James Bracken’s squad that is brimming with excitement, hunger and a few new faces. Three wins and three losses from the six friendlies aided fitness after a deserved month off before the 2018/19 season opened with a trip to the seaside in the form of Margate. Select Casuals supporters trekked to Hartsdown Park in October 2017 for a Velocity Trophy clash and those will remember a fantastic penalty shootout win after Jack Strange’s lastgasp equaliser. Would history repeat itself on a sunny August afternoon?

Four new players joined (or re-joined) the Corinth contingent for the first match. Mo Maan, who is the brother of Casuals’ Mu Maan, covered the healing Danny Bracken in goal, former-Phoenix Sports winger Gil Carvalho shifted into no.7, Warren Mfula started upfront and Juevan Spencer returned to left-back after a year hiatus! New campaign, new players and a new kit for Corinthians; the chocolate and pink half-and-half was pimped with a new sponsor in the centre of the shirt… BT Sport! Bracken, Pringle, Williams and now Jamie Byatt took their places on the managerial bench before locking horns with the blue of the Gate.

The starting ten minutes proved bright for the visitors as wingers Carvalho and Oldham created problems for the hosts’ full-backs and forced a few set-pieces that ultimately came to nothing. So when Baselle Aristride nicked the opener for Margate in the 11th minute, it was a shame to see the better side down a goal.

Five-hundred and ten in attendance with the majority celebrating for the blues, a group of resilient away fans behind the goal kept the faith. This faith, however, was tested even further when Gate’s second attack resulted in a second goal - no.6 Wynter tapped in from close range.

All hard-work established in the first ten was undone from then on as the efficient home team took advantaged of a shaky back-four and injured goalkeeper to grab a third, fourth and fifth all before half-time. Alex Brown’s screamer from 25 yards left Mo Maan with no chance and Brown notched another one minutes later from a similar vantage.

Frannie Collin hit a free-kick in stoppage time and following an unfortunate deflection, resulted in five goals in the first 45 minutes for the jubilant Margate.

Five minutes after the referee started the second half, Casuals seemed to place the first-half thrashing aside in an attempt to regain some pride. Max Oldham’s side-footed finish did fly safely over the bar, but the build-up from the pink & brown’s strong midfield was their best passage of play so far. A simply sensational run from Gate’s Bernard nearly made it six, but his shot fizzled out for a corner.

Whilst Mo, suffering with his back was not having the ideal Casuals competitive debut, brother Mu entered the fray in the 58th minute. Edging towards the final twenty and Bracken’s eleven ever pushing for at least one goal to bring home, newbie Mfula was tripped in the penalty area during an attack in which the referee pointed to the spot. Mfula won the penalty, so he took it, though haplessly booting the ball over the bar.

However, he then composed himself in the 69th minute and forgot the 12-yard blunder to coolly slot home after Margate’s keeper Newcombe failed to properly distribute the goal-kick. Enjoyable to finally see the net ripple in the Casuals end, Mfula’s strike put Casuals 5-1 down overall… but 1-0 up in the second-half!

Despite a solid Morgan effort and Antonio’s quick feet around the opposition defence, it wasn’t until the 88th minute when a second goal was achieved. Whipped into the compact six yard box, Callum McAllister’s corner was met by centre-back Strange before debutant Carvalho scored his first Casuals goal by forcing it past the baffled keeper.

​Blowing for full-time before a rightful third was added, the referee halted proceedings with the score at 5-2. James Bracken’s pink and brown army may have lost 5-2, but showed real character to monumentally improve on a dreary first-half performance. We wish Margate the best of the luck for the rest of the season. Folkestone Invicta arrived to King George’s for the league’s first home game on Tuesday before Casuals hosted another on Saturday- against Merstham. 

Read James Bracken's post match comments >>

Margate 2 - 2 Corinthian-Casuals
(Casuals win 5-3 on penalties)
Velocity Trophy 2nd Round
Tuesday 24th October 2017
Report: Cameron Smith. Pics: Stuart Tree (full set here)

Following a hugely-satisfying equaliser from Jack Strange in the dying minutes, Corinthian-Casuals players and supporters were able to celebrate again moments later when Ben Cheklit netted from the spot to win an exhilarating penalty shootout at Margate FC to progress into the next round of the Velocity Trophy in style.

Five penalty kicks. Five conversions. The perfect penalty shootout. As the Casuals contingent jogged to the other end of Hartsdown Park at full-time, James Bracken gathered his pink and brown army in a huddle and discussed the penalty-taking order. It was a surreal moment for the away support whilst the majority of the away fans shuffled to the home end to get a closer look at the action. About ten minutes ago they had been accepting defeat at the hands of the well-organised and sturdy Margate. But now, thanks to Strange’s superb header, Casuals had a 50/50 chance of advancing. And oh did they take that chance!

It was a two hour drive- a 183 mile round trip- to the seaside town of Margate, who sit 14th in the Bostik Premier Division and play their games at the artificial surface of Hartsdown Park. A 2-1 win over East Grinstead Town in the middle of September sealed Margate a second round home tie in the Velocity Trophy, whilst in Tolworth, Corinthians also bagged a 2-1 result, but for Casuals it was an away-from-home victory at Whyteleafe.

Three changes to the Casuals side that came back to defeat Hastings United 3-2 on Saturday included Ike Robertson-Feehi, Ben Cheklit and Gabriel Odunaike, who grabbed a spot the starting line-up. Meanwhile, an announcement that echoed across the ground brought bad news for Margate fans - their first-choice goalkeeper had been injured in the warmup, so centre-back Tom Wynter took his place in-between the sticks. The Gate were wearing their classic blue home strip and Casuals were in their natural chocolate and pink shirts. Inside ten minutes, Casuals seemed to be second to everything as the collected Blues took the lead with a Jack Bray header from a corner. 

However, Corinth picked themselves up after the 9th minute opener with a more structured approach to the match - the attacking midfield trio of Josh Uzun, Jordan Clarke and Ben Cheklit attempted to slip sly balls in behind the Margate defence at any opportunity. An improved performance from the visitors payed off when no.10 Clarke found himself 25 yards out before curling a pinpoint screamer into the bottom left corner of the keeper. It was level again in Kent, all thanks to Clarke’s effort that left Margate’s back four and no.1(3) for dead.

For the remainder of the half, possession dabbled between the sides, as did the chances. A Max Oldham strike from the left flank was parried away hastily whilst Danny Bracken was kept on his toes by a few tame shots from the Blues. But after 45 minutes, it was 1-1 on a windy evening by the seaside.

The next 45 would provide agony, anxiousness and amusement for every spectator in the ground. The Gate were consistently drilling the Casuals defence for a good twenty minutes when they finally struck. Matt Bodkin was the man to calmly tuck a one-on-one opportunity away in the 81st minute as rare cheers from Margate supporters were soon drowned out by the disappointed, but ever-resilient Casuals contingent.

Albeit over, James Bracken allowed brother Danny to race upfield towards a crowded penalty area for a corner in the dying embers of the match that Jordan Clarke would take. As the goal-scorer delivered a beautiful, floating cross into the box, Jack Strange managed to peel away from his hands-on marker and nod past the keeper to equalise in superb fashion! Rapturous celebrations behind the goal from the always-vocal fans, Casuals had shocked everyone in Hartsdown Park- including themselves- as they pegged Margate back at the death… it was 2-2!

Following three minutes of injury time, Margate and Casuals would have to settle the fixture with a penalty shootout and no extra-time. The lively Jordan Clarke was the first player to take a spot-kick, and he netted to put Casuals 1-0 up. The hosts scored to level proceedings, before Max Oldham’s confident, low strike edged Casuals ahead. Margate’s second penalty of the night was taken by midfielder Lee Prescott, who was too audacious with his kick and fired the ball high over the crossbar; almighty celebrations from the Casuals supporters ensued. However, nothing was final yet. Substitute Omari Delgado-Hibbert played it safe and slotted home to make it 3-1, but the Margate taker also scored; it was 3-2. Danny Bracken switched saving penalties to scoring penalties when he composed himself to fire home Casuals’ fourth penalty. A brilliant finish from a Margate player made it 4-3, which meant that if Ben Cheklit scored, Casuals had won. Cheklit seemed calm and collected during the run-up, and his lack of nerves helped him expertly guide a fantastic penalty kick into the top right-hand corner. The pink & brown army mobbed Cheklit whilst the supporters were in ecstasy, and chanted throughout the night.

Casuals’ success in this penalty shootout seemed to wash off the shootout taboo that came with the gut-wrenching loss at Dorking Wanderers in the play-off final last year. Thank you to Margate FC for their hospitality, and we wish them good luck for the rest of the season. The advancement into the third round left an extremely sweet taste in the mouth of Casuals supporters and players- who would be next to stand in the way of James Bracken’s pink and brown army?

“I thought we were the better side for most of the game but we didn’t have enough shots on target”, said Manager James Bracken after the final whistle.

“If we had, with their stand-in keeper, we’d have obviously scored more. I have the same gripe with set pieces too, where we needed to stick more on him. That’s probably the main reason why we went to penalties.

“However, it gave us the opportunity to show spirit. Being 2-1 down away from home with ten minutes remaining gave us the chance to show our resolve. From there, we went on and scored five out of five penalties.

“I’m sure that a penalty shootout will happen again this season – whether it’s in the Cup or playoffs. Now we can go into that with this experience in mind. If those five boys are on the pitch, they should be confident stepping up again and the others can also be confident knowing we’re a side that can win from the penalty spot.

“You come into these games knowing both sides will make a few changes, which we both did. Margate still had a good side. We didn’t make wholesale changes. We gave one or two a game from the bench and a few others a chance to get into the squad who haven’t been involved for a few weeks.

“But when you travel this far on a Tuesday night, I want to be fair to not only the players, giving them a real chance to win the game, but to be fair to our supporters. We’ve had a good turnout again tonight and they’ve sung and chanted all evening. We didn’t want to come along, put out a disjointed side, lose 3-0 and waste an evening. Hopefully they enjoyed it and had a good night.

Asked about his preferences for the draw in the next round, Bracken commented, “I don’t want Bury, Leiston, Lowestoft… anyone miles away. We’ll give them a swerve. It’d be nice if this competition was local like they claimed it was supposed to be. Coming here to Margate on a Tuesday night is in no way shape or form, local.

“One of the local sides would be my preference just for the team’s sake, the supporter’s sake and my sake in terms of travelling, getting time off work, etc. Other than that, I have no real preference. I want games that we can win and we can beat anybody. Let’s see how far we can go.”