Corinthian-Casuals 1 - 0 Hythe Town
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 7th November 2015
Attendance: 104
Match report and photos: Stuart Tree (full set of pics here)
Corinthian-Casuals got back to winning ways with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Hythe Town – their first ever victory over the Cannons in the Ryman League.
Juevan Spencer’s 29th minute back-post header from a Cherno Mendy cross was all that separated the two sides. The Tolworth-based side were able to hold onto the win despite intense pressure from the Kent coasters throughout the second half.
And Manager James Bracken praised his side’s resilience and admitted that the good times may have made his side forget how to battle hard.
“That defensive side of us has been there from the start of the season.” said Bracken. “Even through pre-season, we were getting results because we were resilient.
“Maybe a few results and a winning streak makes you forget about that aspect of the game and perhaps you feel like you can win games without having to do that.
“So we’ve had a bit of a wake-up call. We know we have to battle hard and that’s what we’ve certainly done today.”
Casuals came into the game without midfielder Brandon Johnson, who broke his toe in the 3-0 defeat at Worthing on Tuesday. Warren Morgan and Sekou Kaba returned after missing the previous game. Josh Uzun had recovered from his hamstring injury enough to be included in the squad.
Hythe Town’s line-up had dramatically changed since the 1-1 draw at Reachfields in August. With a new manager and a host of new players, including ex Tooting and Dulwich forward Frankie Sawyer, the Cannons came into the game having not lost in their previous five outings.
The windy conditions favoured Corinth in the first half and the home side looked to capitalise. Niall Wright’s well hit shot was well charged down and Juevan Spencer’s pace caused problems for the Hythe back four, slipping behind them on a regular basis. The winger was close to connecting to a well-placed through ball but Hythe’s full back, Stephen Butcher perfectly timed an interception to clear the danger.
The deadlock was broken on 29 minutes; Cherno Mendy, wide on the left wing, swung a cross to the back post and Spencer broke free of his marker and rose high to head past Joe Mant to give Corinth the lead.
After the break, Hythe stepped up a gear and put the home side under pressure, pinning them back in their own half. Danny Dudley put in a Man of the Match performance alongside Terry Murray to deny any equaliser. Both Dudley and Murray, along with Kaba deflected wind-assisted shots over from Ryan Johnson and Jamie Collado.
Hythe came closest to levelling the scores when Alfie May connected with a corner at the back post and appeared to be goal bound with the exception of Murray who was on hand to clear off the line. Hearts were in the mouths of Casuals’ fans when the Assistant Referee flagged, perhaps to award the goal, but in actual fact was for an infringement.
Corinth’s defensive performance was one of the finest seen this season and reminiscent of how they played against Met Police in pre-season. On the rare occasions that the defence was breached, Danny Bracken was on hand to make fine saves, including one particular quick reaction stop with his leg to prevent a sure-fire goal.
Although most of the play was in Casuals’ half, Cherno Mendy could’ve secured the result. His breakaway run ended with his 20 yard shot whistling just over the bar.
The only downside to the half from a Corinth point of view was the loss of Niall Wright, who had to be carried off with an injury that looks to potentially keep him out of action for a while.
But it was to be Corinth’s day. They held on for a win in a game with few chances. What will please James Bracken and his team is not only the ability to defend well in tight games but to finish chances when they’re so few and far between.
Bracken spoke to Stuart Tree after the game.
“That was better today. We had a poor result on Tuesday night against Worthing… a poor half in fact. I thought we were quite good in the first period where we had a game plan that worked well but the second half wasn’t good enough. They were told in no uncertain terms and we’ve addressed what needed to be addressed. Today we’ve come and kept a clean sheet and done what’s needed to be done to get the win.
“That defensive side of us has been there from the start of the season. Even through pre-season, we were getting results because we were resilient.
“Maybe a few results and a winning streak makes you forget about that aspect of the game and perhaps you feel like you can win games without having to do that.
“So we’ve had a bit of a wake-up call. We know we have to battle hard and that’s what we’ve certainly done today.
“I will never judge any of my teams in defeat… I’ll judge them on their reaction. That reaction tells me there’s no problem in this side whatsoever.”
Ryman League Division One South
Saturday 7th November 2015
Attendance: 104
Match report and photos: Stuart Tree (full set of pics here)
Corinthian-Casuals got back to winning ways with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Hythe Town – their first ever victory over the Cannons in the Ryman League.
Juevan Spencer’s 29th minute back-post header from a Cherno Mendy cross was all that separated the two sides. The Tolworth-based side were able to hold onto the win despite intense pressure from the Kent coasters throughout the second half.
And Manager James Bracken praised his side’s resilience and admitted that the good times may have made his side forget how to battle hard.
“That defensive side of us has been there from the start of the season.” said Bracken. “Even through pre-season, we were getting results because we were resilient.
“Maybe a few results and a winning streak makes you forget about that aspect of the game and perhaps you feel like you can win games without having to do that.
“So we’ve had a bit of a wake-up call. We know we have to battle hard and that’s what we’ve certainly done today.”
Casuals came into the game without midfielder Brandon Johnson, who broke his toe in the 3-0 defeat at Worthing on Tuesday. Warren Morgan and Sekou Kaba returned after missing the previous game. Josh Uzun had recovered from his hamstring injury enough to be included in the squad.
Hythe Town’s line-up had dramatically changed since the 1-1 draw at Reachfields in August. With a new manager and a host of new players, including ex Tooting and Dulwich forward Frankie Sawyer, the Cannons came into the game having not lost in their previous five outings.
The windy conditions favoured Corinth in the first half and the home side looked to capitalise. Niall Wright’s well hit shot was well charged down and Juevan Spencer’s pace caused problems for the Hythe back four, slipping behind them on a regular basis. The winger was close to connecting to a well-placed through ball but Hythe’s full back, Stephen Butcher perfectly timed an interception to clear the danger.
The deadlock was broken on 29 minutes; Cherno Mendy, wide on the left wing, swung a cross to the back post and Spencer broke free of his marker and rose high to head past Joe Mant to give Corinth the lead.
After the break, Hythe stepped up a gear and put the home side under pressure, pinning them back in their own half. Danny Dudley put in a Man of the Match performance alongside Terry Murray to deny any equaliser. Both Dudley and Murray, along with Kaba deflected wind-assisted shots over from Ryan Johnson and Jamie Collado.
Hythe came closest to levelling the scores when Alfie May connected with a corner at the back post and appeared to be goal bound with the exception of Murray who was on hand to clear off the line. Hearts were in the mouths of Casuals’ fans when the Assistant Referee flagged, perhaps to award the goal, but in actual fact was for an infringement.
Corinth’s defensive performance was one of the finest seen this season and reminiscent of how they played against Met Police in pre-season. On the rare occasions that the defence was breached, Danny Bracken was on hand to make fine saves, including one particular quick reaction stop with his leg to prevent a sure-fire goal.
Although most of the play was in Casuals’ half, Cherno Mendy could’ve secured the result. His breakaway run ended with his 20 yard shot whistling just over the bar.
The only downside to the half from a Corinth point of view was the loss of Niall Wright, who had to be carried off with an injury that looks to potentially keep him out of action for a while.
But it was to be Corinth’s day. They held on for a win in a game with few chances. What will please James Bracken and his team is not only the ability to defend well in tight games but to finish chances when they’re so few and far between.
Bracken spoke to Stuart Tree after the game.
“That was better today. We had a poor result on Tuesday night against Worthing… a poor half in fact. I thought we were quite good in the first period where we had a game plan that worked well but the second half wasn’t good enough. They were told in no uncertain terms and we’ve addressed what needed to be addressed. Today we’ve come and kept a clean sheet and done what’s needed to be done to get the win.
“That defensive side of us has been there from the start of the season. Even through pre-season, we were getting results because we were resilient.
“Maybe a few results and a winning streak makes you forget about that aspect of the game and perhaps you feel like you can win games without having to do that.
“So we’ve had a bit of a wake-up call. We know we have to battle hard and that’s what we’ve certainly done today.
“I will never judge any of my teams in defeat… I’ll judge them on their reaction. That reaction tells me there’s no problem in this side whatsoever.”
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