Corinthian-Casuals 3-5 Sevenoaks Town
Emirates FA Cup Preliminary Round
Saturday 16th August 2025
Report: Josh Lamey
Images: Stuart Tree and Andy Nunn
 
Corinthian-Casuals bowed out of the Emirates FA Cup in style, in an eight-goal thriller in front of an animated Armada Group Stadium.
 
Against step four opposition, in Sevenoaks Town, Casuals put in a performance to be proud of, recovering a three-goal deficit before falling victim to two late goals.
 
The FA Cup fever was setting in around the ground prior to kick off, but unfortunately for Casuals, the bubble of excitement burst just five minutes into the tie. Sevenoaks wrote their name onto the scoresheet first, courtesy of a well-engineered inswinging corner that was headed home by Charlie Dickens.
 
Casuals threatened to amend a slow start in the subsequent minutes. A fluid counter-attack gave them the licence to pounce on a shortage of Sevenoaks centre-halves, and just as Raf Barbosa’s finish trickled into the corner, roars of jubilation shifted to cries of frustration at the sight of the linesman’s raised flag. Then, Andre Coker must’ve thought he had fashioned the equaliser, but following a tantalising ball across the face of goal, the marksman could only strike the foot of the post.
 
The Oaks’ seasoned striker Warren Mfula – formerly a popular figure at Casuals – led a late Sevenoaks charge as half-time approached, rolling it square to James Jeffrey, who forced a crucial save from Sanghyun Baek at his near post.
 
Town began the second half how they started the first, by denting the hosts’ spirits. Dickens continued to alarm the Casuals defence from left-back, and his sweet half volley ricocheted into the path of Tolu Jonah who couldn’t miss. After a reshuffle of the Corinthian pack, the Oaks pulled even further ahead. Mason Doughty sprinted through the final third before opening up his body and curling in a calculated third.
 
However, the noise never faded from the 302-strong Corinthian contingent despite the scoreline. The unwavering support was repaid when substitute Patrick Maia floated in an inviting cross from the right flank which kissed the boot of Raf Barbosa, whose pure first-time volley reignited the cup spirit around the ground.

Corinthian-Casuals 4 – 0 Sevenoaks Town
Emirates FA Cup 1st Round Qualifying
Saturday 7th September 2019
Match report and photos: Stuart Tree (full set here)
 
Corinthian-Casuals earned a place in the next round of the Emirates FA Cup with a resounding 4-0 win over Sevenoaks Town on Saturday.
 
A brace from Nathaniel Pinney was added to with goals either side from Coskun Ekim and Reyon Dillion to give James Bracken his first victory this season.
 
Fans were buoyed in seeing the return of Shaun Okojie – the talismanic striker who received the golden boot for Casuals back in 2017-18 when he notched up 40 goals. The big man was added to the first XI to pair with Nat Pinney. Perhaps the only other person in the ground that could’ve displaced the returning Okojie would’ve been Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha, in attendance to support his friends playing in the chocolate and pink.
 
The game started at a good pace and Sevenoaks showed early endeavour. Frankie Sawyer forcing Danny Bracken into action on a couple of occasions. Casuals soon took control and forcibly imposed themselves on Oaks’ penalty area.
 
But it was a spectacular effort that got Casuals off and running. Nearing the half hour mark, good pressure from Casuals saw a half-cleared ball fall to Ekim who unleashed a 25-yard screamer, leaving keeper Ben Bridle-Card no chance. The purity of the strike would leave you not believing it was Ekim’s first goal in open play for Corinth.
 
Casuals should’ve been two-up shortly after when Kev Serbony linked well with Okojie who slotted under the body of Bridle-Card, with only the Assistant Referee’s flag preventing the lead from doubling.
 
Despite this, the Amateurs still found time to grab a second before the break. Pinney chased down a poor Sevenoaks backpass and calmly slotted home from an angle to put daylight between the two sides.
 
Casuals were always one step ahead of their counterparts throughout the match and once again told leading to the third. Serbony pounced on another under-hit backpass and Bridle-Card felled the midfielder who’d nicked the ball before the keeper could intercept. It was down to Pinney to fire home his penalty kick low into the bottom left corner to effectively seal the tie.
 
The players began to enjoy themselves and free-flowing football was order of the day. Chances continued to stack up. Reyon Dillon and Juevan Spencer both went agonisingly close and Okojie hit the post on a burst through the middle.
 
It was left to Dillon to round off the match, when he cut inside his marker and shot from 18 yards low into the right corner. There was still time for Serbony to grab a fifth, but his effort hit the bar, down onto the line and clear. Was it in? It didn’t really matter – the tie was won and Casuals earn their place in the Second Round Qualifying along with the prize money of £4,500.
 
We’re talking about a win,” said Bracken after the match. “That makes a change from what we’ve had so far this season.
 
“Today, we had a real cutting edge about us. We’ve scored four – though I believe we’ve scored six. The offside given in the first half looks harsh and something tells me, when we watch the replay of Kevant’s header hitting the underside of the bar, looked like it dropped down and was a goal.
 
“We had the edge today. That’s not through anything else apart from the work we’ve put in on the training ground. But we’ve applied that all the way through this season so far. Today, we’ve reaped the rewards.
 
“When we’ve not been scoring goals and winning games, it gets everyone down, but we all know we’re not far off where we need to be.
 
“We had a chat in pre-season asking the centre-midfielders to contribute goals. Last year, we almost relied on one striker. When you looked at how many we scored last season, it wasn’t high enough to compete anywhere other than the bottom half of the table.
 
“So, we’ve looked within the squad as to who can contribute. Can we get other players in certain areas where they can chip in with goals? We’ve asked Mu and Coskun and all our centre-midfielders to keep pressure on opposition and if they get a chance to shoot, then take it. Pull the trigger… hit the target… force a save. It’s only been there in patches up until today but Ekim’s hit one and hopefully that gives him confidence to hit more.
 
“The players have everything here. If you get treated the way they do, they get managed the way they do, then we’ll always make them competitive. When you get all that and you add goals and victories, what’s not to enjoy? We’ve got a great set of fans, a lovely pitch, a great club – everything is here for a footballer. As a person, you can’t come here, win and not go home happy. Of course, when you’re not winning, it can go the other way. But that’s good. We need to be unhappy when we lose.
 
“I honestly don’t mind who we draw in the next round. The tie today could’ve been a lot easier – this was a real banana skin. They might have looked at our start to the season and not rated us – but we showed the difference in levels. We done our job, approached it professionally and applied ourselves in the right manner.”