Kingstonian 3 - 1 Corinthian-Casuals
Isthmian League Premier Division
Wednesday 26th February 2020
Two injury-time goals for hosts Kingstonian cruelly condemned Corinthian-Casuals to defeat on Wednesday evening in the Isthmian League Premier Division.
Casuals had led in the first half but were pegged back before the break. With the game entering stoppage time and the scores still level, referee James Simpson awarded a hotly contested penalty to Kingstonian, turning the game on its head. A third was added with Casuals urgently pushing for an equaliser.
Captain Danny Bracken made an enforced return between the sticks despite suffering from illness which kept him out against Potters Bar at the weekend. However, with Ibby Ugradar also injured, there was no alternative backup. Nat Pinney and Gabriel Odunaike were preferred to Ollie Sitch and Kev Serbony, with Matt Parsons making his full debut.
If ever there was a game of two halves, this would’ve been it. Casuals should’ve been out of sight in the first 45 minutes. Odunaike raced through only for Rob Tolfrey to make a smart stop. Ben Cheklit also tested the reflexes of the K’s veteran before Pinney found the net, only for the Assistant to raise his flag for offside.
But the pressure told just after the half hour mark; Brad Wilson flashed a shot across Tolfrey who could only parry it out to Cheklit who had no hesitation in burying it from close range.
Casuals looked to turn the screw and once again, Pinney broke the K’s back line and found the target, with a similar result – offside, though this one was close!
Kingstonian dusted themselves down and began to assert themselves. New recruit Eddie Dsane shot low past Bracken from 18 yards to restore parity between the two sides.
Casuals started the second half brightly with Cheklit once again hitting the target but the referee’s whistle pulling back play with a foul in the build-up. Then a pivotal turning point. Matty Bakare steamed through the K’s midfield and bearing down on goal, was upended on the edge of the box with a goalscoring opportunity denied… yellow card. Sadly, that was the end of Bakare’s participation for the evening, having been injured in the challenge. His presence in the middle would be missed.
Corinth sat deeper, looking to contain K’s. Whilst pressured, it appeared to be effective, with little to threaten Bracken in goal. But in stoppage time, despite the ball being won clean, the referee deemed the tackle to be stern enough to award a penalty. Tom Kavanagh smashed the resulting kick down the middle leaving Bracken no chance.
There was time for K’s to add a third with Casuals pushing up the pitch. Coskun Ekim was caught in possession at the back and Dan Bennett had the simple task to race free and lift the ball over Bracken to make it 3-1. Casuals hit the post late on, with the ball running along the goal-line, but it would’ve been pure consolation with the full-time whistle blowing after.
A fine first half performance from the Amateurs wasn’t matched in the second which allowed the home side more possession and more territory. It’ll feel like at least a point dropped but had Casuals taken their chances in the first half, it could’ve easily been three.
“Hayden [Bird] said to me after the match that we deserved to win, as did half of their players, so maybe we believe them,” said James Bracken after the match.
“We had chances in the first half. We had the ball in the net three times. One was offside but the other was so tight, I’d like to see it again.
“But we played well. First half, we set about things differently. We changed our shape and decided to have an open game of football. Because if you put them under a bit of pressure, they don’t like it. That first 45 minutes, we didn’t allow them any period of control.
“Second half, we dug in, worked hard. We didn’t have as much of the ball as we’d have liked. There were moments but we probably weren’t good enough after the break. It’s disappointing, because we were relatively comfortable. You don’t always have to have possession to be in control of a game. For all their possession and play around the box, they never looked like they’d score.
“The penalty is a good tackle and he won the ball. So, we’re disappointed that we haven’t got more. Anyone would’ve seen that there isn’t a gulf between the teams that some may expect, with us the amateur club we are. Anyone watching will see we’re nobody’s mugs. We’re a decent side and when we apply ourselves, we’re more than a match for anyone in this division. Unfortunately, with the last few minutes, the referee’s decisions have gone against us. It’s not unusual; It’s the same old story.
“We said before the game, even if we won a point, and then win against Stortford on Saturday, we could’ve feasibly gone above Lewes in 17th. All those sides down there, including Stortford are in the mix. We need to ensure that come Saturday, three points come our way. We’re in okay form – coming into tonight, we’d taken a point more than K’s in the last ten games. You can’t say that we’ve fallen off. We’re still out there, battling.
“It’s a pack of seven sides we’re competing with to avoid the drop. It’s not like we’re in a bottom three that’s adrift and we can’t catch anyone else. We need to do better than three of them. Finish mid-table in that mini-league at the bottom, then we’ll be fine.
“It’s a real season of frustration. I’ve never known anything like it. To be in every game, all so tight and then losing in circumstances like tonight, resting on a referee’s decision. There’s thirteen games left and they’ll fly by. We need to get a decent return from at least six of those games at a minimum. Let’s upset the apple cart. We’ve proved that we can get points from anyone in this league so that’s what we’ll be looking to achieve.”
Isthmian League Premier Division
Wednesday 26th February 2020
Two injury-time goals for hosts Kingstonian cruelly condemned Corinthian-Casuals to defeat on Wednesday evening in the Isthmian League Premier Division.
Casuals had led in the first half but were pegged back before the break. With the game entering stoppage time and the scores still level, referee James Simpson awarded a hotly contested penalty to Kingstonian, turning the game on its head. A third was added with Casuals urgently pushing for an equaliser.
Captain Danny Bracken made an enforced return between the sticks despite suffering from illness which kept him out against Potters Bar at the weekend. However, with Ibby Ugradar also injured, there was no alternative backup. Nat Pinney and Gabriel Odunaike were preferred to Ollie Sitch and Kev Serbony, with Matt Parsons making his full debut.
If ever there was a game of two halves, this would’ve been it. Casuals should’ve been out of sight in the first 45 minutes. Odunaike raced through only for Rob Tolfrey to make a smart stop. Ben Cheklit also tested the reflexes of the K’s veteran before Pinney found the net, only for the Assistant to raise his flag for offside.
But the pressure told just after the half hour mark; Brad Wilson flashed a shot across Tolfrey who could only parry it out to Cheklit who had no hesitation in burying it from close range.
Casuals looked to turn the screw and once again, Pinney broke the K’s back line and found the target, with a similar result – offside, though this one was close!
Kingstonian dusted themselves down and began to assert themselves. New recruit Eddie Dsane shot low past Bracken from 18 yards to restore parity between the two sides.
Casuals started the second half brightly with Cheklit once again hitting the target but the referee’s whistle pulling back play with a foul in the build-up. Then a pivotal turning point. Matty Bakare steamed through the K’s midfield and bearing down on goal, was upended on the edge of the box with a goalscoring opportunity denied… yellow card. Sadly, that was the end of Bakare’s participation for the evening, having been injured in the challenge. His presence in the middle would be missed.
Corinth sat deeper, looking to contain K’s. Whilst pressured, it appeared to be effective, with little to threaten Bracken in goal. But in stoppage time, despite the ball being won clean, the referee deemed the tackle to be stern enough to award a penalty. Tom Kavanagh smashed the resulting kick down the middle leaving Bracken no chance.
There was time for K’s to add a third with Casuals pushing up the pitch. Coskun Ekim was caught in possession at the back and Dan Bennett had the simple task to race free and lift the ball over Bracken to make it 3-1. Casuals hit the post late on, with the ball running along the goal-line, but it would’ve been pure consolation with the full-time whistle blowing after.
A fine first half performance from the Amateurs wasn’t matched in the second which allowed the home side more possession and more territory. It’ll feel like at least a point dropped but had Casuals taken their chances in the first half, it could’ve easily been three.
“Hayden [Bird] said to me after the match that we deserved to win, as did half of their players, so maybe we believe them,” said James Bracken after the match.
“We had chances in the first half. We had the ball in the net three times. One was offside but the other was so tight, I’d like to see it again.
“But we played well. First half, we set about things differently. We changed our shape and decided to have an open game of football. Because if you put them under a bit of pressure, they don’t like it. That first 45 minutes, we didn’t allow them any period of control.
“Second half, we dug in, worked hard. We didn’t have as much of the ball as we’d have liked. There were moments but we probably weren’t good enough after the break. It’s disappointing, because we were relatively comfortable. You don’t always have to have possession to be in control of a game. For all their possession and play around the box, they never looked like they’d score.
“The penalty is a good tackle and he won the ball. So, we’re disappointed that we haven’t got more. Anyone would’ve seen that there isn’t a gulf between the teams that some may expect, with us the amateur club we are. Anyone watching will see we’re nobody’s mugs. We’re a decent side and when we apply ourselves, we’re more than a match for anyone in this division. Unfortunately, with the last few minutes, the referee’s decisions have gone against us. It’s not unusual; It’s the same old story.
“We said before the game, even if we won a point, and then win against Stortford on Saturday, we could’ve feasibly gone above Lewes in 17th. All those sides down there, including Stortford are in the mix. We need to ensure that come Saturday, three points come our way. We’re in okay form – coming into tonight, we’d taken a point more than K’s in the last ten games. You can’t say that we’ve fallen off. We’re still out there, battling.
“It’s a pack of seven sides we’re competing with to avoid the drop. It’s not like we’re in a bottom three that’s adrift and we can’t catch anyone else. We need to do better than three of them. Finish mid-table in that mini-league at the bottom, then we’ll be fine.
“It’s a real season of frustration. I’ve never known anything like it. To be in every game, all so tight and then losing in circumstances like tonight, resting on a referee’s decision. There’s thirteen games left and they’ll fly by. We need to get a decent return from at least six of those games at a minimum. Let’s upset the apple cart. We’ve proved that we can get points from anyone in this league so that’s what we’ll be looking to achieve.”
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