Corinthian-Casuals 0 - 0 Dorking Wanderers
Bostik League Premier Division
Saturday 23rd March 2019
Report: Cameron Smith and Joshua Doherty. Pics: Stuart Tree (full set here).
You would have had no idea that Corinthian-Casuals and Dorking Wanderers were eighteen places apart in the unpredictable Bostik Premier; an even 0-0 stalemate at King George’s prolonged the visitor’s almost-inevitable title win, and added another point to Casuals’ search for safety.
Thirteen points separated top of the league Dorking from second-placed Haringey Borough, meanwhile only four points separated Corinthians from a spot in the relegation zone. With the mild Saturday afternoon being the seventh-last game of the season, nothing was off the table as two sides at opposite ends of the table geared up in-front of 461 buzzing spectators.
An inexplicably unfortunate 2-0 loss at the hands of Tonbridge last week was out of the minds of the Casuals contingent as, perhaps foreshadowing the performance to come, the sun shone in Tolworth whilst the players walked out. Three changes for Casuals had supporters chattering away, in particular the name of Jack Rudoni, which appeared at no.8. At just seventeen, he was set to start his first game for the Casuals since signing a professional contract at AFC Wimbledon as Hamilton Antonio was benched. Oldham replaced Osman, and Odunaike was in for Aghadiuno.
Before a ball was even kicked it was eventful as the ‘Northern Casuals’ travelled all the way from Preston to cheer on their beloved second-team, and they were in fine voice, like the rest of the support. A minute of applause was also great to see as everyone at King George’s stood and paid tribute to John Balson, a true Corinthian, who passed away last week.
It was a test of who would crack first throughout the game as James Bracken and Marc White cancelled each-other out for the opening 45. Tactics were everything; the middle of the pitch became congested resulting in few moments of quality attacking play as well as wingers finding it difficult to operate. Coskun Ekim had an effort that flew over the bar early on, which was before a full-blooded challenge involving Max Oldham wiped him out of the game. A broken collarbone and fractured jaw, the no.7 was ridiculously unlucky as he only just regained full fitness following concussion versus Bognor in January. Antonio was on after only 16 minutes. Rudoni and Ekim in midfield seemed to work a treat, and even if chances were hard to create, it did not stop the tireless Mfula chasing every loose ball and pressuring the loud but shaky El-Abd and Ray at the back. Signalling to the bench in pain, Odunaike also required attention as he grabbed his hamstring and went down whilst sprinting for the ball. The first-half had been solid but unlucky for Casuals - Jack Tucker was on for the striker.
Dorking may not have had any clear-cut chances, but it was obvious that Buchanan, McShane and Richards could be a real nuisance to the strong pink and brown back four at any point. Dorking’s attacking assets were emphasised when ex-Woking striker Giuseppe Sole was introduced for right-back Philpot at half-time. But in the second-half, it was defending that Dorking should have been focusing on. The ball was fed to Antonio on the edge of the box as he hammered a shot into the gloves of Slavomir Huk, but it was parried away and then cleared. Seeing Huk’s name on the team-sheet was not a good sight for Casuals fans, who had seen him save countless pink and brown efforts in the 2017 play-off final defeat. And he was doing it again as Huk ordered his defence well and unexpectedly came for a few dangerous crosses.
The other no.1 was also busy keeping his sheet clean- Danny Bracken got down low to save a few shots and crosses from the flanks. There was never a moments peace for Huk as the bustling behind-the-goal area were singing non-stop and nearly erupted in celebration as Mfula was allowed clean through on goal. Huk closed the striker down but the no.10 valiantly avoided going down and nodded the bouncing ball past the luminous green shirt. He chose not to shoot, and Huk was back in position when Mfula tried to tee up Antonio, but the opportunity soon dissolved. Set-pieces from both teams nearly resulted in the winner as El-Abd sliced a volley over the bar and Adelakun and Ekim’s corners were punched or cleared every time.
Battling on until the end, Casuals and Dorking could not find a break in the scrappy and inconsistent game so it ended 0-0, something Corinth would be very proud of. Celebrating behind the goal, Casuals fans could not punch the air because they finally broke their winless streak, but were able to sing a bit louder and congratulate their players because of a brilliant display against all-odds versus the runaway leaders. Thirteen point gap at the top turned into eleven for the disappointed visitors, who we wish well for the rest of the season. Jack Rudoni was handed Man-Of-The-Match and deservedly so, the midfield maestro’s first 90 minutes were regarded very highly by Corinth. Casuals had nicked a hard-earned point and managed to dominate patches of the game. A point and a clean sheet for the pink and brown army was very satisfying. A tough clash versus Carshalton was next and only six games remained as four points off relegation turned into five.
Speaking to Joshua Doherty after the match, James Bracken explained that he was pleased with his side's performance, reserving special praise for Rudoni.
“It was a great result today, and I think anyone in the bottom half would take a point against Dorking. It was a positive result considering how many points clear they are at the top, so we have to be happy with that,” Bracken explained.
He added: “We are of course fighting to get the wins we need, but this is one of those games where you see a clean sheet against them ,no soft goals and no individual errors, and be pleased with our day's work.
“Jack [Rudoni] was great as well, he deserved man of the match. I only introduced him to the boys on Thursday, and in my opinion he will play, at the minimum, League 1 level in the future. I think he is that good. He doesn't make poor decisions, and for a 17 year old to get through 90 minutes like that in a game against a team top of the league, and actually influence the game was fantastic. It is nice for him as well as it means he will get the respect from the rest of the players. Sometimes when you bring a 17 year old in from nowhere, some players may think ' why is he bringing in a kid at this stage?', but for him to go out there and do what he did, he now knows he has the confidence from the other players as well, not just myself.”
With the Tolworth-based club strictly amateur, meaning they can't pay their players, recruitment for the club has been difficult. Bracken added that he hopes having Rudoni at the club will send a good message to AFC Wimbledon, but also urged more players from professional clubs to come to the club to get first team football.
Bracken continued: “Wimbledon are happy with the move, and this is good from our part as we are happy to do right by the player to get him men's experience, it will be great for his development to get out and play 90 minutes. He will learn far more playing in these last seven or so games for us than he will playing youth football, so it is fantastic for him, great for Wimbledon, and hopefully it is a relationship we can nurture . If we do right by Rudi, and they can see he's in a good environment, hopefully this will open up some doors in the future.
“Other pro-clubs should be open-minded to this, we can't pay wages, but we can provide them a platform to continue their development in what I would feel is the right environment for a young player to develop.”
The game was slightly marred however by a serious injury suffered by Max Oldham, who appeared to break his collarbone and fracture his jaw in a first half collision, having only recently returned from a head injury which kept him out for the last two months.
Backroom staff are raising money to support the Max during recovery, details of which can be found here:
htps://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/mend-max?utm_id=60&utm_term=bZPq6gnrR
Bostik League Premier Division
Saturday 23rd March 2019
Report: Cameron Smith and Joshua Doherty. Pics: Stuart Tree (full set here).
You would have had no idea that Corinthian-Casuals and Dorking Wanderers were eighteen places apart in the unpredictable Bostik Premier; an even 0-0 stalemate at King George’s prolonged the visitor’s almost-inevitable title win, and added another point to Casuals’ search for safety.
Thirteen points separated top of the league Dorking from second-placed Haringey Borough, meanwhile only four points separated Corinthians from a spot in the relegation zone. With the mild Saturday afternoon being the seventh-last game of the season, nothing was off the table as two sides at opposite ends of the table geared up in-front of 461 buzzing spectators.
An inexplicably unfortunate 2-0 loss at the hands of Tonbridge last week was out of the minds of the Casuals contingent as, perhaps foreshadowing the performance to come, the sun shone in Tolworth whilst the players walked out. Three changes for Casuals had supporters chattering away, in particular the name of Jack Rudoni, which appeared at no.8. At just seventeen, he was set to start his first game for the Casuals since signing a professional contract at AFC Wimbledon as Hamilton Antonio was benched. Oldham replaced Osman, and Odunaike was in for Aghadiuno.
Before a ball was even kicked it was eventful as the ‘Northern Casuals’ travelled all the way from Preston to cheer on their beloved second-team, and they were in fine voice, like the rest of the support. A minute of applause was also great to see as everyone at King George’s stood and paid tribute to John Balson, a true Corinthian, who passed away last week.
It was a test of who would crack first throughout the game as James Bracken and Marc White cancelled each-other out for the opening 45. Tactics were everything; the middle of the pitch became congested resulting in few moments of quality attacking play as well as wingers finding it difficult to operate. Coskun Ekim had an effort that flew over the bar early on, which was before a full-blooded challenge involving Max Oldham wiped him out of the game. A broken collarbone and fractured jaw, the no.7 was ridiculously unlucky as he only just regained full fitness following concussion versus Bognor in January. Antonio was on after only 16 minutes. Rudoni and Ekim in midfield seemed to work a treat, and even if chances were hard to create, it did not stop the tireless Mfula chasing every loose ball and pressuring the loud but shaky El-Abd and Ray at the back. Signalling to the bench in pain, Odunaike also required attention as he grabbed his hamstring and went down whilst sprinting for the ball. The first-half had been solid but unlucky for Casuals - Jack Tucker was on for the striker.
Dorking may not have had any clear-cut chances, but it was obvious that Buchanan, McShane and Richards could be a real nuisance to the strong pink and brown back four at any point. Dorking’s attacking assets were emphasised when ex-Woking striker Giuseppe Sole was introduced for right-back Philpot at half-time. But in the second-half, it was defending that Dorking should have been focusing on. The ball was fed to Antonio on the edge of the box as he hammered a shot into the gloves of Slavomir Huk, but it was parried away and then cleared. Seeing Huk’s name on the team-sheet was not a good sight for Casuals fans, who had seen him save countless pink and brown efforts in the 2017 play-off final defeat. And he was doing it again as Huk ordered his defence well and unexpectedly came for a few dangerous crosses.
The other no.1 was also busy keeping his sheet clean- Danny Bracken got down low to save a few shots and crosses from the flanks. There was never a moments peace for Huk as the bustling behind-the-goal area were singing non-stop and nearly erupted in celebration as Mfula was allowed clean through on goal. Huk closed the striker down but the no.10 valiantly avoided going down and nodded the bouncing ball past the luminous green shirt. He chose not to shoot, and Huk was back in position when Mfula tried to tee up Antonio, but the opportunity soon dissolved. Set-pieces from both teams nearly resulted in the winner as El-Abd sliced a volley over the bar and Adelakun and Ekim’s corners were punched or cleared every time.
Battling on until the end, Casuals and Dorking could not find a break in the scrappy and inconsistent game so it ended 0-0, something Corinth would be very proud of. Celebrating behind the goal, Casuals fans could not punch the air because they finally broke their winless streak, but were able to sing a bit louder and congratulate their players because of a brilliant display against all-odds versus the runaway leaders. Thirteen point gap at the top turned into eleven for the disappointed visitors, who we wish well for the rest of the season. Jack Rudoni was handed Man-Of-The-Match and deservedly so, the midfield maestro’s first 90 minutes were regarded very highly by Corinth. Casuals had nicked a hard-earned point and managed to dominate patches of the game. A point and a clean sheet for the pink and brown army was very satisfying. A tough clash versus Carshalton was next and only six games remained as four points off relegation turned into five.
Speaking to Joshua Doherty after the match, James Bracken explained that he was pleased with his side's performance, reserving special praise for Rudoni.
“It was a great result today, and I think anyone in the bottom half would take a point against Dorking. It was a positive result considering how many points clear they are at the top, so we have to be happy with that,” Bracken explained.
He added: “We are of course fighting to get the wins we need, but this is one of those games where you see a clean sheet against them ,no soft goals and no individual errors, and be pleased with our day's work.
“Jack [Rudoni] was great as well, he deserved man of the match. I only introduced him to the boys on Thursday, and in my opinion he will play, at the minimum, League 1 level in the future. I think he is that good. He doesn't make poor decisions, and for a 17 year old to get through 90 minutes like that in a game against a team top of the league, and actually influence the game was fantastic. It is nice for him as well as it means he will get the respect from the rest of the players. Sometimes when you bring a 17 year old in from nowhere, some players may think ' why is he bringing in a kid at this stage?', but for him to go out there and do what he did, he now knows he has the confidence from the other players as well, not just myself.”
With the Tolworth-based club strictly amateur, meaning they can't pay their players, recruitment for the club has been difficult. Bracken added that he hopes having Rudoni at the club will send a good message to AFC Wimbledon, but also urged more players from professional clubs to come to the club to get first team football.
Bracken continued: “Wimbledon are happy with the move, and this is good from our part as we are happy to do right by the player to get him men's experience, it will be great for his development to get out and play 90 minutes. He will learn far more playing in these last seven or so games for us than he will playing youth football, so it is fantastic for him, great for Wimbledon, and hopefully it is a relationship we can nurture . If we do right by Rudi, and they can see he's in a good environment, hopefully this will open up some doors in the future.
“Other pro-clubs should be open-minded to this, we can't pay wages, but we can provide them a platform to continue their development in what I would feel is the right environment for a young player to develop.”
The game was slightly marred however by a serious injury suffered by Max Oldham, who appeared to break his collarbone and fracture his jaw in a first half collision, having only recently returned from a head injury which kept him out for the last two months.
Backroom staff are raising money to support the Max during recovery, details of which can be found here:
htps://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/mend-max?utm_id=60&utm_term=bZPq6gnrR
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