Walton and Hersham 0 - 3 Corinthian-Casuals
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 9th April 2016
Attendance: 112
Match report: Cameron Smith. Photos: Stuart Tree (full set here)
A slick Corinthian Casuals side cruised past relegation-stricken Walton & Hersham with a 3-0 victory at sunny Stompound Lane, their fifth win in five games.
After the vital midweek win at home to Carshalton Athletic, Casuals marched to the Sports Ground, home to third-from-bottom Walton & Hersham. Five points from safety, Walton were on the edge of relegation after nine consecutive games without a point; their last win being in early January. Meanwhile, Casuals were on the hunt for promotion. Play-offs in sight, James Bracken had piled pressure onto fellow promotion-seeking clubs. Bracken made one change to his Carshalton-conquering starting XI, with Josh Uzun replacing Brandon Johnson in midfield.
A first-half which was dominated by random bounces, misjudged passes and embarrassing falls, it seemed like both sides were attempting to get used to the rough surface of the Sports Ground. Liam Beech, the Hersham goalkeeper, was put through his paces and constantly had his eye on the action as Casuals controlled the right-flank with the speedy Warren Morgan and trickster Emil Salama linking up multiple times.
The hosts’ defence kept strong and combatted the aerial ability of Jamie Byatt and Shaun Okojie. The ball was in the back of the net after Okojie leapt high into the air from a pinpoint Ben King cross and beat keeper Beech to head home for Casuals. Jubilance was drowned out as the linesman’s flag was silently raised; the score-line remained goal-less.
Entering the second-half, goals were imminent as Shaun Okojie scored his fifteenth of the season with a conversion into the left-hand corner after intelligent passing play from Salama and Byatt. Okojie has now netted a stunning eight goals in five matches.
A minute later, Emil Salama took advantage of Walton & Hersham’s fallen confidence, dancing in and out of players before selflessly laying the ball off to Sekou Kaba, who slotted home.
The two-goal cushion let Casuals relax as substitute James Cottee took his time to beautifully place the ball into the net after a slip from the previously-solid centre-back Van Sullivan. The score was 3-0 and Walton had lost all hope. They were lucky to keep it at three when Cottee plucked the ball from the air brilliantly before unleashing a fire-cracker which nearly broke the crossbar.
Fellow substitute Juevan Spencer was somehow not awarded a penalty as the winger charged into the area before being upended. However, the Corinthian spirit showed as Spencer picked himself up and continued with the game. The dying embers of the match sparked a free-kick on the edge of the area as Uzun stood over it. The midfielder curled a delightful effort into the top corner before being denied by a spectacular Beech save. Casuals fans punched the air at full-time, celebrating a well-deserved three points.
Corinth leave the Swans on the verge of relegation, with a home fixture against second-placed Dorking Wanderers deciding their fate. Bracken’s side will be disappointed to see that play-off neighbours Faversham Town thrashed Walton Casuals 7-0, Hastings Utd beat Molesey 4-2 and Hythe Town won 2-0 away at Sittingbourne. After a week’s rest, Casuals travel to Merstham to face the other Walton - Walton Casuals are the next opponents and it is another must-win game.
Manager James Bracken spoke of how ‘unlucky’ it would be to not make the playoff stages with the points total accumulated this season by the Amateurs.
Casuals sit on 79 points, one point off the crucial fifth spot with two games left. Last season, 81 points was good enough to make the playoffs and the season before, just 78 points.
However, a competitive season sees Faversham Town (80 points), Hastings (80 points) and Casuals effectively vying for the final place.
“We’d be extremely unlucky if we were to get 85 points and not make the playoffs,” said Bracken.
“We still believe. All we can do is approach the seven games positively and win all of them. We’ve won five in a row with four clean sheets and two games left. If we achieve the seven wins but don’t get into the playoffs, then clearly it’s still not been good enough. But it’d be very unlucky not to be good enough.
“You couldn’t foresee that in the position we’re in, if we won all seven, we wouldn’t make it. Realistically, if we won all seven games, we’d get there. I still think we will after the last two games. We’re reliant on other results and when you look at how they went today – a 7-0 and a 5-1, teams are obviously under performing at this stage of the season that shouldn’t be.”
Bracken reflected on the 3-0 win, which virtually condemns Walton and Hersham to the final relegation spot.
“The pitch was impossible today. As long as Walton were in the game, we knew it’d be tight because the pitch dictated that we couldn’t play the kind of football that we’d like. We tried to bring the ball down but it bobbled around so much, we got caught and control was bad because of it.
“It became a case of putting the ball forward with as much quality as we can, putting pressure on a side that’s shipped a fair few goals. We knew we’d get a breakthrough and once we had, we knew they’d lose a bit of desire to hang on into a game and we’ve been able to finish off the job.”
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 9th April 2016
Attendance: 112
Match report: Cameron Smith. Photos: Stuart Tree (full set here)
A slick Corinthian Casuals side cruised past relegation-stricken Walton & Hersham with a 3-0 victory at sunny Stompound Lane, their fifth win in five games.
After the vital midweek win at home to Carshalton Athletic, Casuals marched to the Sports Ground, home to third-from-bottom Walton & Hersham. Five points from safety, Walton were on the edge of relegation after nine consecutive games without a point; their last win being in early January. Meanwhile, Casuals were on the hunt for promotion. Play-offs in sight, James Bracken had piled pressure onto fellow promotion-seeking clubs. Bracken made one change to his Carshalton-conquering starting XI, with Josh Uzun replacing Brandon Johnson in midfield.
A first-half which was dominated by random bounces, misjudged passes and embarrassing falls, it seemed like both sides were attempting to get used to the rough surface of the Sports Ground. Liam Beech, the Hersham goalkeeper, was put through his paces and constantly had his eye on the action as Casuals controlled the right-flank with the speedy Warren Morgan and trickster Emil Salama linking up multiple times.
The hosts’ defence kept strong and combatted the aerial ability of Jamie Byatt and Shaun Okojie. The ball was in the back of the net after Okojie leapt high into the air from a pinpoint Ben King cross and beat keeper Beech to head home for Casuals. Jubilance was drowned out as the linesman’s flag was silently raised; the score-line remained goal-less.
Entering the second-half, goals were imminent as Shaun Okojie scored his fifteenth of the season with a conversion into the left-hand corner after intelligent passing play from Salama and Byatt. Okojie has now netted a stunning eight goals in five matches.
A minute later, Emil Salama took advantage of Walton & Hersham’s fallen confidence, dancing in and out of players before selflessly laying the ball off to Sekou Kaba, who slotted home.
The two-goal cushion let Casuals relax as substitute James Cottee took his time to beautifully place the ball into the net after a slip from the previously-solid centre-back Van Sullivan. The score was 3-0 and Walton had lost all hope. They were lucky to keep it at three when Cottee plucked the ball from the air brilliantly before unleashing a fire-cracker which nearly broke the crossbar.
Fellow substitute Juevan Spencer was somehow not awarded a penalty as the winger charged into the area before being upended. However, the Corinthian spirit showed as Spencer picked himself up and continued with the game. The dying embers of the match sparked a free-kick on the edge of the area as Uzun stood over it. The midfielder curled a delightful effort into the top corner before being denied by a spectacular Beech save. Casuals fans punched the air at full-time, celebrating a well-deserved three points.
Corinth leave the Swans on the verge of relegation, with a home fixture against second-placed Dorking Wanderers deciding their fate. Bracken’s side will be disappointed to see that play-off neighbours Faversham Town thrashed Walton Casuals 7-0, Hastings Utd beat Molesey 4-2 and Hythe Town won 2-0 away at Sittingbourne. After a week’s rest, Casuals travel to Merstham to face the other Walton - Walton Casuals are the next opponents and it is another must-win game.
Manager James Bracken spoke of how ‘unlucky’ it would be to not make the playoff stages with the points total accumulated this season by the Amateurs.
Casuals sit on 79 points, one point off the crucial fifth spot with two games left. Last season, 81 points was good enough to make the playoffs and the season before, just 78 points.
However, a competitive season sees Faversham Town (80 points), Hastings (80 points) and Casuals effectively vying for the final place.
“We’d be extremely unlucky if we were to get 85 points and not make the playoffs,” said Bracken.
“We still believe. All we can do is approach the seven games positively and win all of them. We’ve won five in a row with four clean sheets and two games left. If we achieve the seven wins but don’t get into the playoffs, then clearly it’s still not been good enough. But it’d be very unlucky not to be good enough.
“You couldn’t foresee that in the position we’re in, if we won all seven, we wouldn’t make it. Realistically, if we won all seven games, we’d get there. I still think we will after the last two games. We’re reliant on other results and when you look at how they went today – a 7-0 and a 5-1, teams are obviously under performing at this stage of the season that shouldn’t be.”
Bracken reflected on the 3-0 win, which virtually condemns Walton and Hersham to the final relegation spot.
“The pitch was impossible today. As long as Walton were in the game, we knew it’d be tight because the pitch dictated that we couldn’t play the kind of football that we’d like. We tried to bring the ball down but it bobbled around so much, we got caught and control was bad because of it.
“It became a case of putting the ball forward with as much quality as we can, putting pressure on a side that’s shipped a fair few goals. We knew we’d get a breakthrough and once we had, we knew they’d lose a bit of desire to hang on into a game and we’ve been able to finish off the job.”
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