Met Police 2 - 1 Corinthian-Casuals
London Senior Cup
Tuesday 24th September 2024
Report: Josh Lamey
Corinthian-Casuals fans have been accustomed to captivating cup ties in the last few months and last night was no different as Met Police squeezed their way into the hat for the next round.
The last two games have been turbulent, putting a slight dent in the club’s promotion ambitions. A 3-0 defeat upon visiting Fleet Town, coupled with a 4-2 away loss at Abbey Rangers means that Casuals occupy 8th place in the league table. But all heads were turned at the mention of the cup which last season bore some fruit for the club, reaching the quarter-final stage before ultimately losing out to a Sutton side playing in League Two at the time.
A short journey to visit Met is always favourable with the travelling fans, despite not having the best of records in East Molesey. The Paul Barnes reign kicked off at Imber Court as Casuals suffered a 3-0 loss to conclude 2023, but despite the two previous defeats, a new-found prosperity about this current side hoped that a cupset was on the cards.
A shuffled pack made the short trip to Imber Court, as a mixture of experience and debutants set out for the first round clash. Amongst them, former Met Police goalkeeper Mo Maan - who guided them Isthmian South glory - began between the sticks for Casuals. Meanwhile, Tareiq Holmes-Dennis came in to replace the absent Emerson Pilonetto.
And they were straight into the thick of things. The night was still young as the Met had the first chance of the game - chief bagsman Sidney Gbla found the ball under his spell in the area but was subsequently hacked down by last man Marcos Dos Santos, who was caught red handed. A second sending off in as many games for Casuals and Dos Santos went for an early bath.
Gbla then had ball-in-hand as he assumed responsibility and stood over the spot for the resulting penalty. However, Casuals got out of jail, as the centre forward fired high and wide from 12 yards.
30 minutes in, and after an inspired spell of stern defending being a man down, Met Police did break the deadlock. A calculated flick around the corner found Gbla one-on-one with Maan, and the 74 in attendance were greeted with a fine finish low to Maan’s left. A well-executed finish, but where next for Casuals?
The answer came five minutes later; the away side had their say in the tie. Frazier Osunkoya's clever ball across found Reyon Dillon on the edge of the area, who took a touch to beat his defender. AFC Wimbledon loanee keeper Max Foulkes was favourite to snatch the resulting touch but a collision with Dillon saw the ball run loose and with Josh Uzun lurking, the returning midfielder calmly finished to get Casuals back in the contest.
Despite having a man disadvantage, it appears that Casuals have gotten used to playing with 10 as they continued to play well and bang on the door for more.
This included a window of opportunity midway through for Dillon, forcing his way between defenders, and unleashing a bullet across the face that fell just wide of the mark. However, the hosts too had ambitions of a winner and would’ve got one themselves if it hadn’t been for the outstretched Maan… a heroic hand to keep the tie alive.
As added time ticked on, penalties loomed large. Dejarhn Grant burst into the penalty one final time try to manoeuvre a way into round two and after being brought to ground by Ezri Ikebuasi, cries for a last gasp penalty fell upon deaf ears.
Seconds passed, and Met found themselves charging down the other end with numbers and with intent to take custody of a lead. Nobody thought that when Ayoub Enajar picked up the ball in Casuals territory and let fire a scorcher of a winner. A goal worthy of winning any cup tie.
An unfortunate result but plenty of positives to take from the match, where Casuals held their own with ten men against Isthmian League opposition. Attention turns now to next Tuesday’s away clash with Chipstead as we return to league action again.
Corinthian-Casuals: Mo Maan, Gjoshe, Holmes-Dennis (Masikini 61), Adelakun, Dhanipersad, Dos Santos, Osunkoya, Cheklit, Dillon (Brown 76), Uzun (Allchurch 54), Cascoe-Rogers (Grant 76)
London Senior Cup
Tuesday 24th September 2024
Report: Josh Lamey
Corinthian-Casuals fans have been accustomed to captivating cup ties in the last few months and last night was no different as Met Police squeezed their way into the hat for the next round.
The last two games have been turbulent, putting a slight dent in the club’s promotion ambitions. A 3-0 defeat upon visiting Fleet Town, coupled with a 4-2 away loss at Abbey Rangers means that Casuals occupy 8th place in the league table. But all heads were turned at the mention of the cup which last season bore some fruit for the club, reaching the quarter-final stage before ultimately losing out to a Sutton side playing in League Two at the time.
A short journey to visit Met is always favourable with the travelling fans, despite not having the best of records in East Molesey. The Paul Barnes reign kicked off at Imber Court as Casuals suffered a 3-0 loss to conclude 2023, but despite the two previous defeats, a new-found prosperity about this current side hoped that a cupset was on the cards.
A shuffled pack made the short trip to Imber Court, as a mixture of experience and debutants set out for the first round clash. Amongst them, former Met Police goalkeeper Mo Maan - who guided them Isthmian South glory - began between the sticks for Casuals. Meanwhile, Tareiq Holmes-Dennis came in to replace the absent Emerson Pilonetto.
And they were straight into the thick of things. The night was still young as the Met had the first chance of the game - chief bagsman Sidney Gbla found the ball under his spell in the area but was subsequently hacked down by last man Marcos Dos Santos, who was caught red handed. A second sending off in as many games for Casuals and Dos Santos went for an early bath.
Gbla then had ball-in-hand as he assumed responsibility and stood over the spot for the resulting penalty. However, Casuals got out of jail, as the centre forward fired high and wide from 12 yards.
30 minutes in, and after an inspired spell of stern defending being a man down, Met Police did break the deadlock. A calculated flick around the corner found Gbla one-on-one with Maan, and the 74 in attendance were greeted with a fine finish low to Maan’s left. A well-executed finish, but where next for Casuals?
The answer came five minutes later; the away side had their say in the tie. Frazier Osunkoya's clever ball across found Reyon Dillon on the edge of the area, who took a touch to beat his defender. AFC Wimbledon loanee keeper Max Foulkes was favourite to snatch the resulting touch but a collision with Dillon saw the ball run loose and with Josh Uzun lurking, the returning midfielder calmly finished to get Casuals back in the contest.
Despite having a man disadvantage, it appears that Casuals have gotten used to playing with 10 as they continued to play well and bang on the door for more.
This included a window of opportunity midway through for Dillon, forcing his way between defenders, and unleashing a bullet across the face that fell just wide of the mark. However, the hosts too had ambitions of a winner and would’ve got one themselves if it hadn’t been for the outstretched Maan… a heroic hand to keep the tie alive.
As added time ticked on, penalties loomed large. Dejarhn Grant burst into the penalty one final time try to manoeuvre a way into round two and after being brought to ground by Ezri Ikebuasi, cries for a last gasp penalty fell upon deaf ears.
Seconds passed, and Met found themselves charging down the other end with numbers and with intent to take custody of a lead. Nobody thought that when Ayoub Enajar picked up the ball in Casuals territory and let fire a scorcher of a winner. A goal worthy of winning any cup tie.
An unfortunate result but plenty of positives to take from the match, where Casuals held their own with ten men against Isthmian League opposition. Attention turns now to next Tuesday’s away clash with Chipstead as we return to league action again.
Corinthian-Casuals: Mo Maan, Gjoshe, Holmes-Dennis (Masikini 61), Adelakun, Dhanipersad, Dos Santos, Osunkoya, Cheklit, Dillon (Brown 76), Uzun (Allchurch 54), Cascoe-Rogers (Grant 76)
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