Robins Relish as Casuals Downed

Corinthian-Casuals 0-2 Carshalton Athletic
Ryman Dicision One South
Saturday 28th January 2017
Match Report Cameron Smith

A valiant second-half display from 10-man Corinthian Casuals was unable to
prevent Carshalton Athletic from sealing three points with a comfortable 2-0 victory
at King George’s.

Two consecutive postponements, a visit to Molesey and a trek to Cray was cancelled due
to the arduous weather so when an essential clash versus high-flyers Carshalton was
given the green light; everyone was relieved. The Robins were unbeaten in four games
and are located in the play-offs. The previous meeting between the two teams was won by
Casuals thanks to Jamie Byatt’s late penalty, which secured a 3-1 away result. Would
Corinth be able to ‘do the double’ against the Sutton-based side?

James Bracken opted to give holding midfielder Coskin Eskim a debut despite the
significance of the fixture whilst Josh Gallagher and Shaun Okojie were given striker roles.
A back-four of Juevan Spencer, Warren Morgan, Danny Dudley and Jack Strange also
featured in the starting XI; Josh Uzun and Ben Cheklit on the wings.

The fluorescent yellow strip of Carshalton won the toss and attacked the chocolate and
pink shirts of Casuals as the game started. A nightmare start for the hosts, it was a mere
five minutes on the clock when the deadlock was broken. Leathering the ball into the roof
of the net, no.6 Kalvin Morath-Gibbs wheeled towards the travelling fans in jubilance after
a dangerous corner was not cleared by Corinth.

Eleven minutes later, Corinthians were dealt a disheartening blow when right-back Juevan
Spencer trailed Mickel Miller’s mazy run before tripping the Carshalton attacker and giving
the away side a penalty. Miller, who was about to strike the ball, was taken out unfairly by
Spencer- the referee had no hesitation as he pointed to the spot. Spencer was then given
his marching orders- Casuals were down to 10! A confident conversion from Paris
Hamilton-Downes set the score-line to 2-0.

The remains of the first-half was uneventful as Corinth could not break down the strong
Robins side as the main talking point was an off-the-ball incident where Miller received a
yellow card for a late challenge on Danny Bracken. The Casuals staff, players and fans
were incredulous as the referee chose a yellow over a red. Half-time brought the end of
Carshalton’s domination.

A remarkable second-half performance from Corinth was needed to overcome the superb
Carshalton wall. Hammering a low shot towards the near post of goalkeeper Joe Tupper,
Cheklit nearly started a Casuals comeback but the powerful wrists of the orange jersey
denied the dream. Then, Corinthians’ best chance arose when the brilliant run of Warren
Morgan exchanged a quick pass with Okojie before firing a venomous effort towards goal.
Tipping over, it was agonising for the luckless Morgan. All three substitutions failed to
make an impact as half-chances arrived and left. Referee blew thrice on his whistle as
Carshalton secured the win.

Gutted, Casuals players applauded the vocal (as always) support and dejectedly exited
the pitch whilst the Robins punched the air and celebrated. In eighth spot, Casuals
travelled to Whyteleafe next Saturday for a tough fixture.