Corinthian-Casuals 1 - 0 Faversham Town
Bostik League South
Saturday 27th January 2018
Report: Cameron Smith. Photos: Stuart Tree (full set here)
With practically the last kick of the game, Jordan Clarke’s composed last-gasp penalty deservedly sealed three points for the dominant Corinthian-Casuals at the soggy King George’s despite a valiant defensive shift from opposition Faversham Town.
Casuals looked to get back to winning ways after dropping points against Hythe Town and Whyteleafe over the past two weeks. Ray Turner’s eleven wanted revenge following Casuals’ 1-0 win in Kent in late September; Bracken unveiled a merciless attacking line-up on the team-sheet as Odunaike, Dillon, Clarke and Antonio started the match.
Whilst referee Steven Scott whistled the fixture into action, gusts of wind and a light shower greeted the chocolate and pink shirts of Casuals and the yellow of Faversham onto the unideal surface. Slipping and sliding from the start, the game was affected by the poor weather with scrappy play from both sides. However, through the mud and rain of the first half, the hosts seemed to adapt quicker as Gabriel Odunaike’s one-on-one opportunity was saved by alert keeper Simon Overland early on. Fabulous flair from the two flanks thanks to the combination of Clarke and Dillon, who swapped wings often, created an entertaining and attacking style of play from Casuals. It was entertainment for the Casuals to an extent as the first half ended with zero goals all-round, which on reflection did not represent Corinthian’s great performance.
Danny Bracken was called into action only once in the first-half, but it was praised by the Casuals contingent as his lightning-fast reflexes saved the home side from Faversham breaking the deadlock. It was attack after attack in the second-half as Corinthians weren’t able to penetrate the Lilywhites’ defence from open play or set-pieces. Clarke remained as involved in the game as he was in the first half: he was the Faversham full-backs worst nightmare on the wing. Chances came via Odunaike and Dillon with the odd McAllister drive too and when Max Oldham and Coskun Ekim entered the fray, the midfield duo seemed to inject a fair bit of confidence in the players and supporters. Despite the domination that lasted the full forty-five minutes, it was in added time in which Casuals would strike.
Three minutes after it was signalled that four minutes would be played after the 90, sub Ekim was fed the ball in the penalty area following sustained pressure in the Faversham half. Intelligently opting to move the ball out wide, the Turk ran towards the by-line with a swift turn, but as he ran towards the ball, a Faversham player stuck his leg out and clearly caught Ekim. As soon as the no.12 fell to the ground, the referee pointed to the spot as Casuals behind the goal, on the pitch and on the bench celebrated. Placing the ball on the centre spot from twelve yards out, Clarke took a deep breath before expertly slotting the ball into his bottom right corner as the keeper dived the wrong way. A cool celebration to match the cool finish, Super Jordan Clarke had finally got his goal and seemed to mimic Eric Cantona when he lifted his arms outwards with a serious expression on his face. The composure was certainly Cantona-esque as the referee soon blew the whistle for full-time. One goal to nil, Faversham had been downed, and Casuals had won.
Unbelievably satisfying, the celebrations at the end of the match were superb as Casuals nicked three points from the defensive Faversham at the death - we wish the visitors all the best for the rest of the season. A trip to Ashford United and a Horsham home fixture is next on the horizon for James Bracken’s army but for now, all the Corinth supporters would have on their minds is Clarke’s coolness.
"Another last minute winner… we like to make sure everyone stays right until the end", said Manager James Bracken joking after the final whistle. "I hate it when you see empty stadiums with fifteen minutes to go, so we make sure we do a bit of business in the last five minutes just to keep people here.
"But seriously, we’ve done it again. Today was a little different. In some games, we’ve left it until the last twenty minutes before we’ve really gone through the gears and put pressure on. There’s been matches, certainly more recent where we’ve drawn games because of that.
"I said to them, we have to start games like we play those last twenty minutes. The last period at Whyteleafe, we’ve done enough to get a draw with the exception of having a goal disallowed for offside. Sadly, on review of video evidence, it wasn’t off, which is two such decisions in the last five games that’s cost us four points.
"Start the first twenty like the last twenty and we might win games before the very end. We played with an increased intensity for the whole 90 minutes and taken us to the last minute to get something. But that’s a product of playing for the whole game at that intensity. The last twenty, Faversham were out on their feet. We penned them into their own box, by just attacking. That’s when something gives. In this case, it’s a penalty because players tire and decision making becomes wayward. That’s because of the work we’ve made them do, and we made them work for the whole ninety.
"There wasn’t a minute of the game where they got a foothold. There was a five minute period at the end of the first half where we just come off the pace a little, allowing them a little more space. Other than that, they’ve had to rely on trying the counter attack.
"They’re a good side. The front four that they have are effective and lively. They’ve got two lads on loan from the league above and are good players. But we made sure they had nothing left in the tank for the last fifteen. That’s a product of our hard work rather than their fitness.
"We had two training sessions this week which is a massive plus. Tuesday, we had an evening where I did nothing but work on play around the box. That told today. In the first half, we created two absolute sitters through good movement, good passing and it was evident. I was delighted with it.
"Had we even drawn today, I wouldn’t have been angry with them. Fair play to the boys as they gave everything. If we hadn’t got the three points, I’d have trouble dealing with it but I could accept what they gave out there. The goal was our reward.
"We have gone from one extreme to the other. We were winning games 4-3, 3-2. We tightened up the defence and we’ve conceded just three goals in the last eight games. We’re not letting many in but we need to go and take a few more of our chances. We keep clean sheets and that gives us a platform to go and win games. If we can add a few more goals to the mix, we’ll win every match.
"There’s something good here at the minute and we need to build on it. The extra training makes a massive difference. We came into the game today not on the back of a win, loss or draw. We came into the game on the back of two training sessions which had focus on this match and our play around the box. We created enough and on another day, we win that three or four-nil.
"We haven’t had an in-form player this season. That’s no disrespect to any of them. We haven’t had a player who’s played well from the first match to where we are now. Every player has had dips. Every player has been at sixty-seventy percent with the odd good game here and there. We’ve gone through the season so far without having a player where you say, ‘he’s on fire again… and again.”
"If they turn up with fire in their belly and hit their top form, we’ll take some stopping. Whether that’s for playoffs, competing for automatic promotion or whatever, we need to keep that fire. We had that today. Nathan Daly showed that at the end, gathering the players around. I’ve got a lot of time for that. I’m not telling him to do that. That’s a mark of a man that pulls boys together and feels he want’s to say something. I know they’ll respond to that. We just need to keep bringing it every training session, every matchday. Simple. "
Bostik League South
Saturday 27th January 2018
Report: Cameron Smith. Photos: Stuart Tree (full set here)
With practically the last kick of the game, Jordan Clarke’s composed last-gasp penalty deservedly sealed three points for the dominant Corinthian-Casuals at the soggy King George’s despite a valiant defensive shift from opposition Faversham Town.
Casuals looked to get back to winning ways after dropping points against Hythe Town and Whyteleafe over the past two weeks. Ray Turner’s eleven wanted revenge following Casuals’ 1-0 win in Kent in late September; Bracken unveiled a merciless attacking line-up on the team-sheet as Odunaike, Dillon, Clarke and Antonio started the match.
Whilst referee Steven Scott whistled the fixture into action, gusts of wind and a light shower greeted the chocolate and pink shirts of Casuals and the yellow of Faversham onto the unideal surface. Slipping and sliding from the start, the game was affected by the poor weather with scrappy play from both sides. However, through the mud and rain of the first half, the hosts seemed to adapt quicker as Gabriel Odunaike’s one-on-one opportunity was saved by alert keeper Simon Overland early on. Fabulous flair from the two flanks thanks to the combination of Clarke and Dillon, who swapped wings often, created an entertaining and attacking style of play from Casuals. It was entertainment for the Casuals to an extent as the first half ended with zero goals all-round, which on reflection did not represent Corinthian’s great performance.
Danny Bracken was called into action only once in the first-half, but it was praised by the Casuals contingent as his lightning-fast reflexes saved the home side from Faversham breaking the deadlock. It was attack after attack in the second-half as Corinthians weren’t able to penetrate the Lilywhites’ defence from open play or set-pieces. Clarke remained as involved in the game as he was in the first half: he was the Faversham full-backs worst nightmare on the wing. Chances came via Odunaike and Dillon with the odd McAllister drive too and when Max Oldham and Coskun Ekim entered the fray, the midfield duo seemed to inject a fair bit of confidence in the players and supporters. Despite the domination that lasted the full forty-five minutes, it was in added time in which Casuals would strike.
Three minutes after it was signalled that four minutes would be played after the 90, sub Ekim was fed the ball in the penalty area following sustained pressure in the Faversham half. Intelligently opting to move the ball out wide, the Turk ran towards the by-line with a swift turn, but as he ran towards the ball, a Faversham player stuck his leg out and clearly caught Ekim. As soon as the no.12 fell to the ground, the referee pointed to the spot as Casuals behind the goal, on the pitch and on the bench celebrated. Placing the ball on the centre spot from twelve yards out, Clarke took a deep breath before expertly slotting the ball into his bottom right corner as the keeper dived the wrong way. A cool celebration to match the cool finish, Super Jordan Clarke had finally got his goal and seemed to mimic Eric Cantona when he lifted his arms outwards with a serious expression on his face. The composure was certainly Cantona-esque as the referee soon blew the whistle for full-time. One goal to nil, Faversham had been downed, and Casuals had won.
Unbelievably satisfying, the celebrations at the end of the match were superb as Casuals nicked three points from the defensive Faversham at the death - we wish the visitors all the best for the rest of the season. A trip to Ashford United and a Horsham home fixture is next on the horizon for James Bracken’s army but for now, all the Corinth supporters would have on their minds is Clarke’s coolness.
"Another last minute winner… we like to make sure everyone stays right until the end", said Manager James Bracken joking after the final whistle. "I hate it when you see empty stadiums with fifteen minutes to go, so we make sure we do a bit of business in the last five minutes just to keep people here.
"But seriously, we’ve done it again. Today was a little different. In some games, we’ve left it until the last twenty minutes before we’ve really gone through the gears and put pressure on. There’s been matches, certainly more recent where we’ve drawn games because of that.
"I said to them, we have to start games like we play those last twenty minutes. The last period at Whyteleafe, we’ve done enough to get a draw with the exception of having a goal disallowed for offside. Sadly, on review of video evidence, it wasn’t off, which is two such decisions in the last five games that’s cost us four points.
"Start the first twenty like the last twenty and we might win games before the very end. We played with an increased intensity for the whole 90 minutes and taken us to the last minute to get something. But that’s a product of playing for the whole game at that intensity. The last twenty, Faversham were out on their feet. We penned them into their own box, by just attacking. That’s when something gives. In this case, it’s a penalty because players tire and decision making becomes wayward. That’s because of the work we’ve made them do, and we made them work for the whole ninety.
"There wasn’t a minute of the game where they got a foothold. There was a five minute period at the end of the first half where we just come off the pace a little, allowing them a little more space. Other than that, they’ve had to rely on trying the counter attack.
"They’re a good side. The front four that they have are effective and lively. They’ve got two lads on loan from the league above and are good players. But we made sure they had nothing left in the tank for the last fifteen. That’s a product of our hard work rather than their fitness.
"We had two training sessions this week which is a massive plus. Tuesday, we had an evening where I did nothing but work on play around the box. That told today. In the first half, we created two absolute sitters through good movement, good passing and it was evident. I was delighted with it.
"Had we even drawn today, I wouldn’t have been angry with them. Fair play to the boys as they gave everything. If we hadn’t got the three points, I’d have trouble dealing with it but I could accept what they gave out there. The goal was our reward.
"We have gone from one extreme to the other. We were winning games 4-3, 3-2. We tightened up the defence and we’ve conceded just three goals in the last eight games. We’re not letting many in but we need to go and take a few more of our chances. We keep clean sheets and that gives us a platform to go and win games. If we can add a few more goals to the mix, we’ll win every match.
"There’s something good here at the minute and we need to build on it. The extra training makes a massive difference. We came into the game today not on the back of a win, loss or draw. We came into the game on the back of two training sessions which had focus on this match and our play around the box. We created enough and on another day, we win that three or four-nil.
"We haven’t had an in-form player this season. That’s no disrespect to any of them. We haven’t had a player who’s played well from the first match to where we are now. Every player has had dips. Every player has been at sixty-seventy percent with the odd good game here and there. We’ve gone through the season so far without having a player where you say, ‘he’s on fire again… and again.”
"If they turn up with fire in their belly and hit their top form, we’ll take some stopping. Whether that’s for playoffs, competing for automatic promotion or whatever, we need to keep that fire. We had that today. Nathan Daly showed that at the end, gathering the players around. I’ve got a lot of time for that. I’m not telling him to do that. That’s a mark of a man that pulls boys together and feels he want’s to say something. I know they’ll respond to that. We just need to keep bringing it every training session, every matchday. Simple. "
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