Haringey Borough 2 - 2 Corinthian-Casuals
Bostik League Premier Division
Saturday 2nd March 2019
Report: Cameron Smith & Joshua Doherty. Pic: Dan Harris
Fantastic strategy from James Bracken and his management, a spirited performance from the team and the unwavering support away from home rattled second-place Haringey Borough as Corinthian-Casuals broke a five game losing streak to draw 2-2 at the Coles Park Stadium.
Bognor, Hornchurch, Folkestone, Merstham and Margate were the teams that left Casuals only five points above the relegation zone after a promising start to the season. Three goals conceded last week was harrowing for the supporters, but seven days later… all was forgotten as the ever-hopeful contingent made their way to Haringey, in the north of London. Coincidentally, the last time Corinthians saw any points at all was in North London- Haringey’s rivals Enfield Town were struck with two in the last ten minutes.
There were nine points in between top-of-the-league Dorking Wanderers and second-placed Borough, so every game was vital for the promotion pushers. For Casuals, it was smash and grab as any points they could get were valuable in staying in the Bostik Premier. As the players lined up in the cage on the side-line, it was clear that the two sets of supporters would be vocal all game, no matter what. Haringey’s faithful were in fine voice (despite the drum) and the small Corinth support were equally loud and proud.
Eleven minutes into the game, the successful defensive partnership established under manager Tom Loizou was put to the test by the eager Casuals attack. No.5 Mark Kirby and no.8 Joseph Staunton miscommunicated and misplaced the ball, in which Hamilton Antonio played a perfect pass for Gabriel Odunaike to pounce and then pace. Releasing a delightful left-footed strike that slipped through the Haringey keeper’s mitts, Odunaike was responsible for the underdog's opening goal. Scenes behind the goal quickly subsided and the daunting fact that 79 minutes remained did not cease the singing of Odunaike’s name. Kevant Serbony’s appearance on the wing had a big impact on the game as his determination and ability was a breath of fresh air. An audacious flick from Antonio let Odunaike clean through again but keeper Valery Pajetet rushed to collect it, whilst a goalmouth scramble down the other end saw Danny Bracken save the day.
Heading down the tunnel 1-0 up was the target for Bracken and his side, but Georgios Aresti, who plays for the Cyprus national team, showed his class and levelled the game. After Hannigan conceded a corner in strange circumstances, a corner was booted towards the crowd of players but rolled perfectly for Aresti. A terrific curling effort into the top left hand corner summed up Casuals’ recent luck as the great effort had the seated Haringey fans up and cheering. It took only two minutes for them to cheer again. Majed Osman’s tackle in the area was adjudged a foul by the referee, who pointed to the spot. To use the cliché term ‘football is a cruel mistress’ would be apt in this situation as Joel Nouble converted from the spot and Haringey went 2-1 up against the run of play. Despite the penalty incident, Osman had been as energetic and creative as usual with a low effort that was just wide of the post before half-time.
Knowing another goal would albeit seal the deal for Haringey, Casuals returned in the second 45 and gave it their all. Both defensively and offensively, it was a brilliant performance from a completely different team than that of the past five matches. The equaliser was nearly through Majed Osman as Gabriel Odunaike was allowed through on goal on the right once more, but the tricky attacker was unselfish and tried to tee up the oncoming Osman. Zooming in at the back post, Osman was infront of Odunaike’s ball and a valuable chance was not taken. For the yellow of Haringey, a handball was why the referee blew his whistle for a free-kick and not a goal- the disallowed strike was a sigh of relief for the anxious visitors.
In the 64th minute, a Corinth free-kick was floated into the packed penalty area and the ball finally fell for someone in pink and brown, not the head of Borough centre-backs Stone or Kirby. A run-up before a first time effort that flew into the back of the net from Majed Osman was the goal that made it 2-2. It was wonderful technique from the young midfielder, who used the outside of his boot to hit home and cause the pink and brown army in the dugout, on the pitch and behind the goal to celebrate.
The remainder of the tight game was treacherous. James Bracken had to decide if he wanted to gun forward and get an unlikely winner, or sit back and allow Haringey to tire themselves out. He chose a mix of both as Casuals relied on the counter attack because as expected, the North London outfit decided to go all-out and do whatever they could to attain a winning goal. It was futile however as Spencer, Hannigan, Strange and Adelakun put in a remarkable shift- as did Bracken- to remove the ball from the area dozens of times. Hannigan himself had a chance to score for the Casuals but the corner was directed onto his nose rather than his forehead and it was subsequently booted away. Good wing play from the Haringey attackers did not match the resilience of the back four and when- what felt like an eternity- the referee blew for full-time, it was all smiles for the Tolworth boys.
A point against second-placed giants Haringey felt like a win for the supporters and after the monumental effort put in by players, it felt brilliant for them too. Thank you to the hosts Haringey, good luck for the rest of their campaign. Bracken’s side caused an upset at the windy Coles Park Stadium and even if it was just a point, it bridged the gap down the bottom of the league to six points instead of five. Two home games were next as high-flying Lewes on Tuesday and Bishops Stortford on Saturday meant Corinthians needed to use the new-found confidence from this match to push on and secure safety.
“Aside from the crazy two minutes in the first half, the way we played today was brilliant,” Bracken explained after the match.
“I have nothing negative to say about the performance whatsoever. I thought we looked dangerous every time we went forward, we played some good football and defended much more resolutely than we have done recently.
“We have to realise, that while they got two goals today, which can always happen, we've been conceding far to many chances and spaces in the last few games, and if we did that today we would have conceded four and lost 4-2.
“We needed to arrest that bad form, we changed what we did slightly in terms of personnel and game plan, Haringey are a good side, and we knew this would be tough and we were not in for an easy one, but when we don't have an easy one we seem to up our game, so keep them coming.”
Looking forward, the Casuals have the re-arranged trip at home to Lewes on Tuesday, before another home tie against Bishop's Stortford as the season reaches its conclusion.
Bracked continued: “We still have work to do, and we still need some more points on the board but if we play like that we will comfortably win five out of our last ten. It's just about maintaining that now, but I've said that since the start, we know what we are capable of, but what can we do fifteen games in a row? What level of performance and work rate can we turn in? Our problem has been consistency. We do it for one match, then we don't for another, then we do it for three, and then don't do it for another four, and you just think, well what can we really do? But we did it today, that's the important thing, we've stopped that run of defeats and we'll get a lot of confidence from that.”
Bostik League Premier Division
Saturday 2nd March 2019
Report: Cameron Smith & Joshua Doherty. Pic: Dan Harris
Fantastic strategy from James Bracken and his management, a spirited performance from the team and the unwavering support away from home rattled second-place Haringey Borough as Corinthian-Casuals broke a five game losing streak to draw 2-2 at the Coles Park Stadium.
Bognor, Hornchurch, Folkestone, Merstham and Margate were the teams that left Casuals only five points above the relegation zone after a promising start to the season. Three goals conceded last week was harrowing for the supporters, but seven days later… all was forgotten as the ever-hopeful contingent made their way to Haringey, in the north of London. Coincidentally, the last time Corinthians saw any points at all was in North London- Haringey’s rivals Enfield Town were struck with two in the last ten minutes.
There were nine points in between top-of-the-league Dorking Wanderers and second-placed Borough, so every game was vital for the promotion pushers. For Casuals, it was smash and grab as any points they could get were valuable in staying in the Bostik Premier. As the players lined up in the cage on the side-line, it was clear that the two sets of supporters would be vocal all game, no matter what. Haringey’s faithful were in fine voice (despite the drum) and the small Corinth support were equally loud and proud.
Eleven minutes into the game, the successful defensive partnership established under manager Tom Loizou was put to the test by the eager Casuals attack. No.5 Mark Kirby and no.8 Joseph Staunton miscommunicated and misplaced the ball, in which Hamilton Antonio played a perfect pass for Gabriel Odunaike to pounce and then pace. Releasing a delightful left-footed strike that slipped through the Haringey keeper’s mitts, Odunaike was responsible for the underdog's opening goal. Scenes behind the goal quickly subsided and the daunting fact that 79 minutes remained did not cease the singing of Odunaike’s name. Kevant Serbony’s appearance on the wing had a big impact on the game as his determination and ability was a breath of fresh air. An audacious flick from Antonio let Odunaike clean through again but keeper Valery Pajetet rushed to collect it, whilst a goalmouth scramble down the other end saw Danny Bracken save the day.
Heading down the tunnel 1-0 up was the target for Bracken and his side, but Georgios Aresti, who plays for the Cyprus national team, showed his class and levelled the game. After Hannigan conceded a corner in strange circumstances, a corner was booted towards the crowd of players but rolled perfectly for Aresti. A terrific curling effort into the top left hand corner summed up Casuals’ recent luck as the great effort had the seated Haringey fans up and cheering. It took only two minutes for them to cheer again. Majed Osman’s tackle in the area was adjudged a foul by the referee, who pointed to the spot. To use the cliché term ‘football is a cruel mistress’ would be apt in this situation as Joel Nouble converted from the spot and Haringey went 2-1 up against the run of play. Despite the penalty incident, Osman had been as energetic and creative as usual with a low effort that was just wide of the post before half-time.
Knowing another goal would albeit seal the deal for Haringey, Casuals returned in the second 45 and gave it their all. Both defensively and offensively, it was a brilliant performance from a completely different team than that of the past five matches. The equaliser was nearly through Majed Osman as Gabriel Odunaike was allowed through on goal on the right once more, but the tricky attacker was unselfish and tried to tee up the oncoming Osman. Zooming in at the back post, Osman was infront of Odunaike’s ball and a valuable chance was not taken. For the yellow of Haringey, a handball was why the referee blew his whistle for a free-kick and not a goal- the disallowed strike was a sigh of relief for the anxious visitors.
In the 64th minute, a Corinth free-kick was floated into the packed penalty area and the ball finally fell for someone in pink and brown, not the head of Borough centre-backs Stone or Kirby. A run-up before a first time effort that flew into the back of the net from Majed Osman was the goal that made it 2-2. It was wonderful technique from the young midfielder, who used the outside of his boot to hit home and cause the pink and brown army in the dugout, on the pitch and behind the goal to celebrate.
The remainder of the tight game was treacherous. James Bracken had to decide if he wanted to gun forward and get an unlikely winner, or sit back and allow Haringey to tire themselves out. He chose a mix of both as Casuals relied on the counter attack because as expected, the North London outfit decided to go all-out and do whatever they could to attain a winning goal. It was futile however as Spencer, Hannigan, Strange and Adelakun put in a remarkable shift- as did Bracken- to remove the ball from the area dozens of times. Hannigan himself had a chance to score for the Casuals but the corner was directed onto his nose rather than his forehead and it was subsequently booted away. Good wing play from the Haringey attackers did not match the resilience of the back four and when- what felt like an eternity- the referee blew for full-time, it was all smiles for the Tolworth boys.
A point against second-placed giants Haringey felt like a win for the supporters and after the monumental effort put in by players, it felt brilliant for them too. Thank you to the hosts Haringey, good luck for the rest of their campaign. Bracken’s side caused an upset at the windy Coles Park Stadium and even if it was just a point, it bridged the gap down the bottom of the league to six points instead of five. Two home games were next as high-flying Lewes on Tuesday and Bishops Stortford on Saturday meant Corinthians needed to use the new-found confidence from this match to push on and secure safety.
“Aside from the crazy two minutes in the first half, the way we played today was brilliant,” Bracken explained after the match.
“I have nothing negative to say about the performance whatsoever. I thought we looked dangerous every time we went forward, we played some good football and defended much more resolutely than we have done recently.
“We have to realise, that while they got two goals today, which can always happen, we've been conceding far to many chances and spaces in the last few games, and if we did that today we would have conceded four and lost 4-2.
“We needed to arrest that bad form, we changed what we did slightly in terms of personnel and game plan, Haringey are a good side, and we knew this would be tough and we were not in for an easy one, but when we don't have an easy one we seem to up our game, so keep them coming.”
Looking forward, the Casuals have the re-arranged trip at home to Lewes on Tuesday, before another home tie against Bishop's Stortford as the season reaches its conclusion.
Bracked continued: “We still have work to do, and we still need some more points on the board but if we play like that we will comfortably win five out of our last ten. It's just about maintaining that now, but I've said that since the start, we know what we are capable of, but what can we do fifteen games in a row? What level of performance and work rate can we turn in? Our problem has been consistency. We do it for one match, then we don't for another, then we do it for three, and then don't do it for another four, and you just think, well what can we really do? But we did it today, that's the important thing, we've stopped that run of defeats and we'll get a lot of confidence from that.”
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