Corinthian-Casuals 1 - 1 Wingate & Finchley
Emirates FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round
Saturday 2nd October 2021
Report and pics: Stuart Tree (full set here)
Additional photos: Andy Nunn (set here)
For the third round in succession, Corinthian-Casuals will need a replay if they are to progress in the Emirates FA Cup following a 1-1 draw with Wingate & Finchley on Saturday.
The two sides will face each other again on Tuesday evening to determine who progresses to the Fourth Qualifying Round. For Casuals, it’ll be the first time reaching this stage since 1983 and for Wingate and Finchley, the first time ever since their amalgamation in 1991.
Casuals, who had played the bulk of the match with ten men, led through an audacious Beckham-esque strike from the halfway line courtesy of Kieron Cadogan. But they were pegged back with ten minutes remaining when Alphanso Kennedy cleaned up following a parried cross from the right.
In atrocious conditions, with driving rain and strong winds, good, free flowing football was always going to be hard to achieve. Casuals struggled directly into the wind for large parts of the first half. Captain Danny Bracken had to be on full alert in goal due to the tricky handling conditions, fruitlessly wiping his gloves on what was surely an already soaked towel hung in the net.
The tie became tougher for Corinth on the half hour mark when Ola Williams was shown a second yellow card to become the first Casual to be sent off this season. Protests from both players and management led to further cards being issued – this was real muck and nettles football.
There was a heart-in-mouth moment when Wingate’s Smyth tapped in from close range before the linesman had raised his flag for offside.
But with just ten men, Casuals played as eleven and were determined that the situation wasn’t going to hamper them. Whilst Wingate had been on top for large parts of the first half, it was Corinth who opened the scoring with a Puskas-award-winning effort from Kieron Cadogan. A little shimmy to take out one midfielder, he immediately spotted Ben Goode off his line, and lobbed him from the halfway line.
The key moment in the game then fell to Casuals with twenty minutes remaining. Warren Mfula found himself bearing down on goal but was upended, not once but twice by the combination of Gibbons and Goode. Take your pick as to which one was a penalty. Inexplicably, referee Aaron Farmer didn’t see either challenge as a foul and waved play on!
It would come back to haunt Casuals as Wingate equalised with ten minutes remaining when Bracken could only parry a cross into the path of Kennedy to tap in from close range.
Both sides searched for a winner with Wingate having another struck off for offside and Casuals going close twice, courtesy of substitute Hakeem Adelakun and Emmanuel Mensah. But it was not to be decided on this day and the two sides will meet again on Tuesday in North London.
“That’s a really unfair result on us today,” said Manager James Bracken after the match. “My brother’s made an error for the goal and it’s not a good one for us to concede but on a very wet day, it’s understandable and I have no problem with that.
“In my opinion, we deserved to still have eleven men on the pitch. We played an hour with ten men and should’ve had a penalty when 1-0 up. That would’ve put the game out of sight. So I don’t think it’s a good result. We worked our socks off and were better with ten men than we were with eleven. We did enough in that last hour to win the game.
“On paper, after thirty minutes when the sending off happened, I’d have reluctantly taken the replay. But with just ten men, we should’ve come away with the win.
“The first half wasn’t good enough from us. We were never at the races. Half time was a wake up call for a few of the boys – a few truths told that they weren’t good enough. We had an instant impact upon changing a few things. We looked a threat going forward and comfortable in defence. We got the goal and should’ve killed it off. Only one team was going to win and it was us.
“The fact that we had chances is a testament to the boys’ attitude. Second half, we’ve had better intensity, passed the ball much better, took care of the ball. We need to replicate that on Tuesday but with eleven players.”
When asked who he’d like to see drawn out of the hat for the next round of the Cup on Monday, Bracken replied, “the lowest ranked team left in it. Then in the round after that, the lowest ranked team left in it, then it’ll be the Second Round proper and we’ll take the best possible tie we can get, away from home and have a great payday. That’s ideal for me.”
Emirates FA Cup 3rd Qualifying Round
Saturday 2nd October 2021
Report and pics: Stuart Tree (full set here)
Additional photos: Andy Nunn (set here)
For the third round in succession, Corinthian-Casuals will need a replay if they are to progress in the Emirates FA Cup following a 1-1 draw with Wingate & Finchley on Saturday.
The two sides will face each other again on Tuesday evening to determine who progresses to the Fourth Qualifying Round. For Casuals, it’ll be the first time reaching this stage since 1983 and for Wingate and Finchley, the first time ever since their amalgamation in 1991.
Casuals, who had played the bulk of the match with ten men, led through an audacious Beckham-esque strike from the halfway line courtesy of Kieron Cadogan. But they were pegged back with ten minutes remaining when Alphanso Kennedy cleaned up following a parried cross from the right.
In atrocious conditions, with driving rain and strong winds, good, free flowing football was always going to be hard to achieve. Casuals struggled directly into the wind for large parts of the first half. Captain Danny Bracken had to be on full alert in goal due to the tricky handling conditions, fruitlessly wiping his gloves on what was surely an already soaked towel hung in the net.
The tie became tougher for Corinth on the half hour mark when Ola Williams was shown a second yellow card to become the first Casual to be sent off this season. Protests from both players and management led to further cards being issued – this was real muck and nettles football.
There was a heart-in-mouth moment when Wingate’s Smyth tapped in from close range before the linesman had raised his flag for offside.
But with just ten men, Casuals played as eleven and were determined that the situation wasn’t going to hamper them. Whilst Wingate had been on top for large parts of the first half, it was Corinth who opened the scoring with a Puskas-award-winning effort from Kieron Cadogan. A little shimmy to take out one midfielder, he immediately spotted Ben Goode off his line, and lobbed him from the halfway line.
The key moment in the game then fell to Casuals with twenty minutes remaining. Warren Mfula found himself bearing down on goal but was upended, not once but twice by the combination of Gibbons and Goode. Take your pick as to which one was a penalty. Inexplicably, referee Aaron Farmer didn’t see either challenge as a foul and waved play on!
It would come back to haunt Casuals as Wingate equalised with ten minutes remaining when Bracken could only parry a cross into the path of Kennedy to tap in from close range.
Both sides searched for a winner with Wingate having another struck off for offside and Casuals going close twice, courtesy of substitute Hakeem Adelakun and Emmanuel Mensah. But it was not to be decided on this day and the two sides will meet again on Tuesday in North London.
“That’s a really unfair result on us today,” said Manager James Bracken after the match. “My brother’s made an error for the goal and it’s not a good one for us to concede but on a very wet day, it’s understandable and I have no problem with that.
“In my opinion, we deserved to still have eleven men on the pitch. We played an hour with ten men and should’ve had a penalty when 1-0 up. That would’ve put the game out of sight. So I don’t think it’s a good result. We worked our socks off and were better with ten men than we were with eleven. We did enough in that last hour to win the game.
“On paper, after thirty minutes when the sending off happened, I’d have reluctantly taken the replay. But with just ten men, we should’ve come away with the win.
“The first half wasn’t good enough from us. We were never at the races. Half time was a wake up call for a few of the boys – a few truths told that they weren’t good enough. We had an instant impact upon changing a few things. We looked a threat going forward and comfortable in defence. We got the goal and should’ve killed it off. Only one team was going to win and it was us.
“The fact that we had chances is a testament to the boys’ attitude. Second half, we’ve had better intensity, passed the ball much better, took care of the ball. We need to replicate that on Tuesday but with eleven players.”
When asked who he’d like to see drawn out of the hat for the next round of the Cup on Monday, Bracken replied, “the lowest ranked team left in it. Then in the round after that, the lowest ranked team left in it, then it’ll be the Second Round proper and we’ll take the best possible tie we can get, away from home and have a great payday. That’s ideal for me.”
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