South Park 1 - 6 Corinthian-Casuals
Bostik League South
Tuesday 14th November 2017
​Match report: Stuart Tree

Call it commentator’s curse. You know? The one where the expert pundit confidently makes a statement only for the exact opposite to unravel in front of their eyes.

Think Tim Lovejoy’s ubiquitous, ‘it’s only Ray Parlour’ before the Romford Pele belted the winner past his beloved Chelsea in the FA Cup final. Or when Hernan Crespo put AC Milan 3-0 up against Liverpool in the 2005 Champions League final... cue Andy Gray: “Game well and truly over, and I hate saying that.”

For 99.9% of matches at the eighth tier of English football, this propensity isn’t a factor. Games at this level are rarely broadcast but with the Bostik League’s deal with broadcasters ‘Back of the Net’, those who couldn’t make the trip to Reigate on a cold November night were able to tune into their live radio broadcast. Tune in like a certain programme editor who is writing this report despite being holed up at home making the decision to finish Saturday’s edition rather than have a late night (yes – I am writing a report based on what was broadcast, twitter feeds and messaging those who actually weren’t fair-weather fans like myself).

Pundits Ben Eltham and Mick Sullivan do an excellent job but commentator’s curse isn’t reserved for only the ost well known broadcasters. Sullivan was adamant that there was no way Malcolm Porter’s South Park side was going to succumb to the same kind of drubbing that Casuals gave them back in September, where James Bracken’s boys lampooned the Sparks by five goals to nil. No way!

Porter’s side was too good for that. It was an anomaly. A blip. No way were Casuals good enough to produce that kind of performance again and no way Porter would allow his side to be walked all over again. In fact, Sullivan tipped South Park to take the contest, ignoring Casuals fine form which saw them sit second in the league.

Within twenty five minutes of the contest, the analysis had bitten them truly on the behind. Gabriel Odunaike had given Casuals the lead with their first attack after 10 minutes. Max Oldham doubled the lead on 22 minutes and Danny Cunningham had added to Park’s woes on 25. 3-0 within half an hour was a blitz that few had predicted. It could’ve been worse for the home side as ex-Casual Josh Gallagher was lucky to stay on the field following a rash challenge on Kevant Serbony. Unsurprisingly, Gallagher wasn’t to last the 90 minutes.

South Park were given a lifeline on the stroke of half time when Chris Smith stepped up to the penalty spot and sent Danny Bracken the wrong way after Corinth had sloppily conceded a penalty. Eltham and Sullivan lamented that they expected Porter to lay into his side but perhaps Bracken would be the one more disappointed going into the changing rooms following the generosity of gifting a penalty.

Despite the setback, Casuals remained in control for the most part and their task was made easier when Gallagher was issued a second yellow and received his marching orders, leading to the chant “you should’ve stayed with the Casuals.”

Despite only 88 given as the attendance, you could hear the noise of the Corinth faithful across the airwaves. Amongst their ranks was Albert and Caio (pictured). Corinthians fans who’d flown in from Sao Paulo on Saturday only to arrive straight from the airport at the 92nd minute – suitcases and all in tow. Gutting. They had tickets to see Brazil bore their way to a 0-0 draw against England at Wembley on this night. Instead, they chose to head down to the nether regions of Reigate to finally get to see the Casuals in action. Brandishing their £45 tickets, they never stopped singing and even taught the rabble how to ‘Poropopo’ – a famous chanting dance found on the terraces of Arena Corinthians. They certainly made the right choice.

They had more to cheer about following Gallagher’s dismissal. It opened the floodgates for Corinthian-Casuals to surge forward and Just two minutes later, Odunaike bagged his second. Oldham, not to be outdone, matched him on 84 minutes before Odunaike got the final say by poking home in time added on. Final score: 6-1.

Eltham and Sullivan were bewildered and their prediction couldn’t have been further from the truth. The resounding win puts Casuals joint top with Lewes on points and remarkably, despite no player hitting double figures in the scoring charts, Bracken’s side are currently the league’s top scorers with 40 goals. Putting over a quarter of those goals past Park will help!

Corinthian-Casuals 5 - 0 South Park
Bostik League South
Tuesday 26th September 2017
​Match report and photos: Stuart Tree (full set of pics here)

Danny Cunningham bagged himself a hat-trick as Corinthian-Casuals put in a five-star performance beating South Park 5-0 in the Bostik League South on Tuesday Night.

And Manager James Bracken has his eyes set on winning the league after the result leaves Casuals one point off the top, having gone undefeated in the last six games.
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“A point off the top now. We’ve got to work hard to stay there,” said Bracken following the win.

“Third in the league is okay but we want that top spot. It’s first or nothing. I want to be in first, I want to open up gaps in the table and want to be looking down on the rest and not worrying about results because we’ll just keep winning. We’re good enough to keep winning.”

Following on from the solid 1-0 win at Faversham Town on Saturday, Casuals came into the match unbeaten in five, winning four and conceding only two goals in that period. South Park – usually a bogey side for Corinth sat in 3rd knowing a win would take them to the top of the league standings.

Proceedings got off to the perfect start for Casuals as Danny Cunningham met a Warren Morgan cross just three minutes into the match. His header looped up over Callum Thomas in goal and found the opposite corner. Thomas was called into action again soon after saving well from another Cunningham drive.

A contentious moment occurred when ex-Casual Josh Gallagher tussled with Gabriel Odunaike and was lucky not to have been dismissed by the match official – a caution given to both players.

Scoring at right times in the match can be crucial for any victory as seen at Salters Lane at the weekend. The same can be said of this fixture. Starting the second half as bright as the first, Cunningham doubled the score six minutes into the second period. Kevant Serbony this time the provider of the cross from the right found Cunningham who pounced just yards out.

The striker had his hat-trick on the hour mark. Odunaike’s pace was too hard to contend with and played in Cunningham for the striker to bag his seventh of the season. Game over.

Max Oldham added a fourth when Jack Strange provided a delightful ball for the pacy substitute to slot home from the edge of the box.

And Josh Uzun capped off a fine performance after dispatching a penalty into the top right corner following a foul in the box.

The win puts Casuals up to third in the table just one point off the top.

“We were fantastic and that’s been coming,” continued Bracken.

“One of my criticisms in all of my time here is that we’ve not bashed enough teams. We have the potential to get our noses in front, grab a second and then capitalise from there. To go on and punish teams.

“We had the quality to do it tonight and we showed it. We were thoroughly dominant from the first whistle to the last.

“South Park had plenty of possession in their own half but played side-to-side. I think they only got into our box three times in the whole game. I don’t remember my brother having to make a good save on a night where you want to be having shots on a zippy pitch.

“Credit to the boys. It was defensively great, applied pressure at the right times and had the composure to play football. We’re very happy with that.

Bracken also praised the supporters too, claiming that they’re the ‘twelfth man’ for the side.

“The fans were fantastic too. We need them. I will categorically say that. We need them here at home, we need them away. We don’t just need them in numbers and standing there. We need them singing the player’s names, singing their hearts out.

“They were our twelfth man last season and they’ll be exactly that this season. We’ll give everything we can. If we all do that, giving everything, we won’t be far off as a club. Credit to them, they were great. Repaid them with a fine performance and everyone goes home having a good night.”

Casuals host second from bottom side Shoreham on Saturday.

Corinthian-Casuals 0 - 1 South Park
Ryman League Division One South
Tuesday 18th October 2016
Match report: Cameron Smith. Pics: Andy Nunn (full set here).

On a brisk Tuesday evening at King George’s, Corinthian Casuals succumbed to a narrow 1-0 loss versus the gritty South Park in a rough Ryman Division One South clash.

Hungover from the unsatisfactory 0-0 draw against Faversham on Saturday, Casuals returned home for a Surrey-based rivalry in midweek. The opposition were South Park, who sat in ninth place in the table. The Sparks successfully took four points from Casuals last season in a 1-1 draw in Reigate before a 2-1 win in Tolworth. South Park possess a squad which has become familiar in the past few years of competition. They include: a trio of former-Corinthians (Ben King, Jake Gill and James Cottee), veteran goalkeeper James Wastell, centre-back Dylan Merchant (goalscorer in last season’s game) and Kieran Lavery, a clinical number 9.

Despite the neutral score-line, James Bracken has kept ten of the players who faced Faversham on Saturday, replacing one. Jordan Clarke was benched for Jamie Byatt.

Early warning signs flashed in the face of Casuals in the form of red shirts as they dominated the penalty area from the off. An ambitious thirty yard effort from Ben King tested Danny Bracken but it was a relatively easy save for the keeper to make. Casuals also experimented in attack, Josh Uzun forcing a low save from Wastell.

However, the visitors remained superior in possession and created a goal out of it. The dangerous Lavery superbly weaved in and out of defenders before efficiently finding the net with a neat shot. It was 1-0 to the away side on the 20 minute mark. Nevertheless, Lavery wanted more. Taking advantage of the overwhelmed Casuals defence, the striker would have scored a second if it weren’t for the staggering reflexes of Bracken, who tipped the ball over the bar. Failing to create any note-worthy chances into goals, Casuals left the pitch at half-time a goal down, lacking of creativity.

As the temperature continued to drop, the quality of the game dropped too as both sides struggled to attack. Finally in the 66th minute, Casuals were brought to life again via Mahrez Bettache. The referee awarded the hosts a free-kick on the edge of the area and despite having usual free-kick taker Uzun on the pitch, Bettache stood over it. A curling, accurate free-kick slammed against the crossbar as the chocolate and pink shirts put their hands on their heads in unison. Jack Strange’s header flew over the bar late on during many inconclusive set-pieces as the final whistle blew.

It was a deserved victory for South Park who advance a position higher in their charge for a play-off spot. A trip to Chatham is on the cards before the FA Trophy game at Chalfont St Peter. Will James Bracken’s pink and brown army bounce back on Saturday?

Corinthian-Casuals 1 - 2 South Park
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 27th February 2016
Attendance: 156
Match report: Cameron Smith. Photos: Stuart Tree (full set here)

​Corinthian-Casuals were dealt an enormous blow to their chances of a play-off spot with a narrow 2-1 defeat to South Park on a crisp afternoon at the King George’s Arena.

Positional changes were the subject of most conversation around Tolworth as established attacker Juevan Spencer was drafted into right-back while Matt Reece and James Cottee were given starts. After a week’s rest since their fantastic away victory at Herne Bay, Casuals were looking to edge ahead of potential play-off rivals in the table with a win today against South Park, who had conceded eight goals in their last two fixtures.

A scrappy affair from the start, the visitors carved out more chances than the hosts in the first 45 as centre-backs Murray and Dudley were always on the back-foot, struggling to catch-up with the pace of the lively Kofi Quartey.

Casuals did have a few opportunities as a thunderbolt from Niall Wright whistled a few inches over the bar. Just as the first half was destined to end goal-less, a defence-splitting ball was perfectly weighted for the oncoming Quartey, who slotted the ball into the far left corner with ease.

Reverting to his natural right-wing position for the second half, Spencer was replaced by Wright at full back.Manager Bracken hoped to tire the legs of the Sparks by using Spencer’s lightning speed. However, attention was required when Dylan Merchant met a corner with a tricky header which blasted off the post before the linesman raised his flag for offside. Casuals could breathe again but they lost concentration at another corner and let Merchant have a second chance. The centre-back lost his marker and doubled South Park’s lead with a bullet header.

Casuals looked dejected as they limped to re-start play but did not give up. A Spencer cross fell to Reece at the back-post and the forward tested goalkeeper James Wastell for the first time of the afternoon. It had promise to be the start of a comeback. Quartey had different ideas as the striker was unleashed only to hit the post. In the 66th minute, Casuals’ Shaun Okojie emphatically thumped the ball into the top corner from 12 yards. Good fortune was involved as Cottee’s blocked effort found Okojie before the striker netted his seventh of the season. The goal had given Casuals hope but it soon diminished as the home side failed to create chances late on. Substitutes Emmanuel Akokhia, Sekou Kaba and Cherno Mendy could not conjure an equaliser and it ended in a 1-2 loss.

Manager James Bracken spoke to Stuart Tree after the match:
 
“That was certainly not what we were looking for today. It’s back to the same old problem of being inconsistent.
 
“The goals that we’ve conceded, they’re the moments we have to look at.
 
“Our second half performance was better than the first where we’ve had a few shots and probably had the better of possession. However, we’ve conceded just before half time, off the back of one of our attacks where we’ve been sloppy, not taken care of it and got caught out. Then just after half time, you can’t expect to mark them at a set-piece the way we did and not concede.
 
“You can’t go two down and expect to win a game of football. It’s just too much.
 
Asked if he had a theory as to why Casuals could defeat those higher in the league but struggle against lower-ranked teams, Bracken added, “I think the games that we deem are winnable, we see the opposition turning up here motivated knowing they’ll be in a tough match. The teams at the top might still look at us as a bit of a softer touch.
 
“But I also think it’s down to us and how we approach the games. We’ve shown what we can do against higher league opposition like Leiston and Grays and just last week away at Herne Bay. We’ve had plenty of good wins this season against top sides. We’re up for it.
 
“When we play sides lower down the table, we don’t seem to be able to get ourselves to the same level. It’s about hitting a consistent level every game. It’s solely a mentality thing. The lads are young and they’ll learn.
 
When asked if injuries were a concern, Bracken answered, “At the moment, this is probably the time we’ve had the least injury worries throughout our squad in the course of the season. We had eight or nine injured every week for the first four months of the campaign but it wasn’t a problem because we put a good squad in place.
 
“Yes – we have a few injuries and you could argue that we’re missing one or two regulars but I’m more than comfortable of the sides we’re putting out but in terms of the performance and result today, obviously, we’re not happy.
 
“Of course we’re still in the playoff race. I said to the boys in the changing rooms that if we’d won today, they should take five points from the next three games. A win and a couple of draws would be good against tough opposition.
 
“Okay – we didn’t get the three points today so now we need to pick up six from the next three. If we do that, then we’re still in with a shout.
 
“I said earlier in the season that if we’re three to six points outside the playoffs with seven games to go and if we can get up for the games that maybe aren’t so big on paper, then we’ll be in with a good chance.” 

South Park 1 - 1 Corinthian-Casuals
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 23rd January 2016
Attendance: 85
Match report and photos: Stuart Tree (full set of photos here)

Corinthian-Casuals and South Park not only shared the points but also four red cards with both sides feeling aggrieved at how the game played out.

The decisions made by referee Mr Damith Bandara left many at South Park’s King George’s Field wondering how so many bookings and dismissals had been dished out. Supporters of both sides jokingly questioned whether they themselves had found their way into the official’s book.

Kevant Serbony had given Casuals the lead in the eighth minute before Kieran Lavery equalised midway through the second half – his 150th goal in under 300 appearances for the club.

Casuals named a largely unchanged line up to that which had defeated Faversham. Only Dave Hodges was replaced by Ben King at left back. South Park, though behind Casuals in the table, had not lost in five outings, drawing the previous four.

Corinth started brightly and took charge after just eight minutes; A Josh Uzun free kick lofted into the penalty box failed to be cleared and the ball fell invitingly to Kevant Serbony who smashed home from ten yards.
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Shouts for a penalty a few minutes later were turned away after Shaun Okojie looked to have been felled by James Wastell in the South Park goal. However, the striker had started from an offside position and was thus penalised for the infringement.

As the half progressed, the home side grew into the game pushing Casuals onto the back foot. James Bracken made a fine save low to his left from Dan Moody’s shot.  Ben King fizzed a shot past Wastell’s right post but aside from that, there was little else of note attacking-wise for both sides.

The second half initially started the way the first had ended but Casuals pushed on seeking to find that all-important second goal. Joe Hicks, once again looking strong in the middle of the park laid off a decent incisive ball to Juevan Spencer but the winger could only blast at Wastell.

The breakthough almost came in the 65th minute. A goalmouth scramble in the South Park area saw the ball dangerously close to crossing the line. In the resulting melee, Wastell was wounded with a severe gash to the face which saw the keeper leave the field of play and attend hospital. He would later need 26 stitches to close the wound.

With no substitute goalkeeper, outfield player Dan Moody donned the keeper’s shirt and gloves. Sensing a real chance for victory, Casuals imposed themselves more. Terry Murray’s hooked shot from yards out somehow evaded the goal, much to the disbelief of the supporters behind the goal.

The task was made even harder for South Park after Alex Penfold was the first to be dismissed for a foul on Spencer.

Despite the setbacks, on 70 minutes, the scores were level. From a whipped in corner, Kieran Lavery  perfectly met the ball at the near post, steering it past Bracken for an unlikely equaliser. Since they had gone down to ten men, Park looked the more dangerous. Tactical changes from Manager James Bracken changed the impetus with forwards Stef Joseph and Emmanuel Akokhia entering the fray.

Making the extra man tell, Okojie broke down the left and facing Moody one-on-one in goal, the striker dithered before crossing to Joseph who smashed his effort over the bar. Minutes later, Okojie missed a free header from yards out, flying just inches over the bar.

In what had been a competitive game which had also seen Casuals Assistant Manager Dan Pringle sent to the stands, things descended into a farce. The referee failed to control what seemed to be a minor fracas on the floor.

When it was all sorted out, Bandara had no hesitation in brandishing red cards to seemingly whoever was in his vicinity. South Park were down to nine men and Casuals’ Brandon Johnson was also dismissed. It was an unsavoury end to what had ultimately been an entertaining encounter.

From all at Corinthian-Casuals, we wish James Wastell all the best and hope he makes a full recovery from his nasty injury.

The draw leaves Casuals in eleventh place, five points off the playoff places but with games in hand.

After the match, James Bracken spoke to Stuart Tree.

“We’re disappointed as we were one-nil up. Okay – first half we’ve not played particularly well although we’ve scored. Second half, we’ve got back on the front foot, playing relatively well but didn’t kill the game off.

“They went down to ten men, lost their goalkeeper and at that point, it becomes a game that we have to win. And yet we haven’t so we’re bitterly disappointed with not getting the points.

“It’s another game unbeaten and we’re not in bad form but we just need to score a few more goals. We’ve created chances today. If we’re not creating chances, you really have to look at things, but we are and we have to learn how to kill a game off.

“Two free headers inside the six yard box and we’ve missed the target with both. South Park then get a set piece goal, which to be fair is a fantastic header. Both of our chances were much easier than that but not scored.

“We blazed a couple of shots over and we’ve made poor decisions in the final third where the ball played hasn’t been good enough.

“They’re the fine margins where we’ve got to tighten up and just make sure we get these opportunities to score the extra goals, just like we did against Faversham. There, we had three chances in the first half, scoring two goals. We then added another early in the second half and it was job done. It should’ve been the same today.

“But it’s that old cliché where one goal is never enough. Against ten men, when they get set pieces, they know it’s an opportunity to nick one. They wanted it a little bit more and the lad has put together a good header.

“Four red cards in a game where it was competitive? I’m no referee but I’m pretty sure I could’ve managed that game better. Maybe I would’ve given one red card out of those… but four!?

“There’s a problem with referees at this level . There’s just no common sense. They’re influenced by shouts and calls. They just don’t seem to manage the game the way I feel they should. They’re very rarely in control.

“The referee’s influenced the game all the way through and there were just a lot of wrong decisions.

“When referees start changing their mind, you set yourself up for a bad game. They should be in control. They have to stick with what they see and that’s all I’ll ever ask of any of them. Just give what you see… don’t give what you hear, what you think you see or what you’re told has happened.

“If you get it wrong, then okay… fair enough. But when they change their minds and give decisions that I don’t believe they see but end up throwing red cards about, then that’s poor.

“Every one of our upcoming games is massive. The only plus point from today is we’ve stopped South Park getting a few points, which is going to be the case in every game now.

“If you don’t win the game, then at least you stop the opposition getting three points away from you.

“There’s thirteen teams still in it. We have to be wary now because there’s little gaps starting to open up in the table. The top three look like they’re breaking clear, so it looks as though we’re playing for fourth and fifth and we just need to make sure we stay in the hunt for that.”

Corinthian-Casuals line up: Bracken, Morgan, King (Baker), Dudley, Murray (Joseph), Johnson, Hicks, Serbony (Akokhia), Okojie, Uzun, Spencer. Subs not used: Wright, Mendy.

Corinthian Casuals 4-0 South Park
Ryman League Division One South
Tuesday 18th August 2015
Att: 67
Report by Darren Pasley.

James Bracken's men made light work of South Park as Casuals eased into Round 2 of the Robert Dyas League Cup.

Seldom does this round of the cup come so soon in the season but it gave both managers the opportunity to give competitive game time to those yet to start this season. An opportunity both took advantage of.

The home side took an early lead in the 7th minute with the games first real opening. Dave Hodges volleying in a cross back into the centre from out on the left and the arriving Juevan Spencer guided home his side-foot volley to continue his midweek scoring spree.

Matt Reece starting for the first time was causing the visiting backline problems with his pace and movement, however he maybe should have doubled the lead on 12 minutes when he shot weakly wide following Spencer’s measured cut back.

The chances continued to come for the home side with Spencer at the heart of most of it. Firstly setting up Reece for a blocked effort before seeing the resulting corner headed off the line from Danny Dudley's attempt. South Park were desperately clinging on to stay in the match.

Kieron Lavery headed his sides first attempt at goal well over in the 22nd minute before Danny Bracken was called into action for the first and ultimately only time of the evening minutes later as he got down well to smother Jack Watts effort from outside the box.

The lead was doubled 4 minutes before the break as Brandon Johnson was caught by the dive of keeper Oscar and Josh Uzun slammed home his second spot kick in as many matches.

There was still time for South Park to threaten just before the whistle but the flying Lavery saw a header just flash the other side of the near post.

Young Reece continued to impress and 3 minutes after the interval fashioned a chance out of nothing from 20 yards but the half volley was just wide of Oscars right hand upright.

Substitute Ben Cotton showed a deft touch to beat his marker before driving into the box but his effort was beaten away by Oscar as Casuals attempted to rack up the pressure required to finish the match.

Midway though the second half Spencer came close to a second consecutive midweek brace when again he latched onto a Dave Hodges cross and although his first touch left the ball behind him he did well to swivel and get away a shot which flew just over.

Leading scorer Emmanuel Akokhia was introduced for the final 20 minutes and he immediately linked up with Diego Maradona with the later having a shot deflected away by he legs of Oscar.

The tie was finally put to bed in the 76th minute when Cotton deservedly scored his first Casuals goal when he calmly slot home after Maradona had been foiled by the Banks when clean through on goal.

3 soon became 4 when another substitute Akokhia smashed home low across the keeper from the right hand side after weaving past Hatfield. 

Brandon Johnson was inches from adding a 5th deep into stoppage time when his 35 yard drive dipped just over the bar.

Assistant Manager Dan Pringle spoke to Stuart Tree after match.

“Tonight was a fantastic response to how we performed on Saturday. The result against Hythe wasn’t terrible after we got a 94th minute equaliser away from home with a new team.

“Maybe we were a little bit over-critical of ourselves because we want to win every game, but the way we’ve bounced back tonight was fantastic.

“We couldn’t ask any more of them… the work-rate, the way they kept the ball, took their chances. We controlled it from start to finish and never looked in trouble. Danny Bracken hasn’t had a save to make. We looked fantastic!


“Matt Reece came in and did fantastic. Ben Cotton had 45 minutes and in that time looked like a seasoned pro.

“We have a great bunch of players here and we’re spoilt for choice. But we’d rather have the problem of selecting from all good players than scratching around for those decent enough to play at this level.

“Even the Reserves can quite easily come in and do as well as what we’ve put out there tonight. It gives us options… if you looked at our bench tonight, we’ve had Kevant (Serbony) who’s has played every minute in the league so far, Mani (Emmanuel Akokhia) who’s scored four already and Ben Cotton who looked the part. So you’d much rather have that headache than scratching around looking for decent players.

“Hopefully, as the season progresses, everyone sticks together and the Reserves can get involved, it should be a good season.

“Unbeaten in four… and we only lost to Hampton and Kingstonian in pre-season too. And with the K’s, that was after playing on the Saturday just 48 hours before, which I put down to tired legs more than anything. Taking away that result, we’re looking good. We’ve got to be careful not to get ahead of ourselves. We’re only four games in but we are on a high, so let’s keep it going.

“It was a blip at the weekend (vs Hythe) but going there and nicking a point in the last minute could turn out to be vital come the end of the season if we’re looking to get promotion or the playoffs. Let’s just keep looking up… keep positive… keep going the way we have so far and I’m sure if we carry on with that approach it could be a very exciting season.”

South Park 4 – 1 Corinthian-Casuals
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 8th November 2014
Report and Pics by Stuart Tree

Casuals chief Matt Howard feared for a long hard winter as Corinthian-Casuals suffered their third defeat in four games after their visit to South Park saw the hosts run out 4-1 winners.

With six regulars out of the side… Jamie Byatt, Niall Wright, Carl Wilson-Denis, Lee Hall, Jason Turley and Danny Green all unavailable, it was a major reshuffle in the Casuals ranks as Howard tried to patch a side together. The returning Danny Dudley was placed in the unfamiliar right-back role. There was also rare starts for Cisse Bamoussa and Michael Salako with Jake Gill and Dan Bedford only having a handful of first team experience between them.

On a cold and wet afternoon, Casuals started well and had the first chance for Casuals after his volley fired just wide of South Park’s post. Michael Salako also missed a decent opportunity to score but with only the Campbell, the keeper to beat, couldn’t find the target as Park’s stopper was forced into a good save.

Casuals were to rue the missed opportunities and on 32 minutes, Joe Jackson was able to finish off a neat move which saw the South Park striker fire home from close range. Just two minutes later, Jackson made it two after connecting with a cross from the right wing. By this point, Danny Bracken in the Casuals goal had already made a host of good saves but was not enough to see Corinth go into the break two down.

It was more of the same in the second half with Kieran Lavery adding a third, slotting home under the Casuals keeper after some slick passing play. The nearest Casuals came to anything that looked like mustering a chance was Michael Salako’s looping header which was expertly tipped over by Campbell.

Howard made three changes together, introducing Ross Defoe, Mason Welch-Turner and Joel Thompson to the match. It was the latter that gave Casuals a glimmer of hope; heading home from a corner to make it 3-1.

However, with time running out, South Park finished off the game as Dave Smith added a fourth deep into injury time.

The rain lashed down as the players trudged back into the changing rooms capping off a miserable afternoon for the men in Chocolate and Pink. After the match, Matt Howard commented.

“We should’ve gone 2-0 up. Cisse Bamoussa has missed a good chance as has Michael Salako which could’ve seen us two goals up. We haven’t taken them and they’ve gone up the other end and punished us.

“I’m not going to be too critical. Maybe my expectations was I expect too much of the players.

“Let’s be honest; we struggle every year. We got off to an absolutely flying start this season and maybe everyone got a little bit carried away with it. Over the course of thirty-odd games, which is how long I’ve been here for now, maybe the true colours are showing… maybe we just aren’t good enough.

“I don’t care whatever club you are at, whatever level you play, if you miss four, five or six of your starting eleven, you’re going to struggle. Niall Wright, Carl Wilson-Denis, Jamie Byatt and Lee Hall would start every week without a doubt. Plus you could make an argument for Jason Turley and Danny Green, who both could be starting at the minute… of course we’re going to struggle.

“In all honesty, at half time and two-nil down, the game was over. We didn’t have enough quality to turn that around today.  

“I’ve said to the lads, I’m not going to scream and shout at them. Maybe they just aren’t good enough. Maybe it is going to be a long hard winter and we are going to be struggling. That might get a reaction from them.”