Match Preview - Haringey Borough

Corinthian-Casuals vs Haringey Borough
Isthmian League Premier Division
Saturday 15th February 2020 - 3pm
King George's Arena, Tolworth KT6 7NA
 
Providing the impending ‘Storm Dennis’ doesn’t interfere with proceedings, Saturday we’ll welcome Haringey Borough to King George’s Arena for the first meeting between the sides since the 1-0 Borough win on the opening day of the season at White Hart Lane.

A solitary Chiduben Onokwai goal at the start of the second half condemned Casuals to defeat in similarly blustery conditions. Manager James Bracken was aggrieved that his side had come away with nothing following a particularly strong second half performance that saw four gilt-edged chances go by the wayside. The way Casuals had played was encouraging and many took the belief that the second season in the Isthmian Premier would surpass the first (it still might).

This is also Borough’s second season in the Premier having secured promotion via the playoffs in the same weekend that Casuals did. In fact, without Haringey’s win, Corinth wouldn’t have been promoted on the convoluted Points Per Game basis awarded to the best losing finalist. It’s complicated, so I won’t bore you.

Tom Loizou’s side had an excellent first campaign at Step 3, finishing 3rd, level on points with Carshalton Athletic, who’d also just been promoted as Champions of the South Division. They missed out on a double promotion in the playoff semi-finals.

This time around, it’s been a little more of a consolidation season. They lost several players in the summer and had to rebuild. But they’re still considered one of the more capable sides in the division, knowing they can hold their own with any team in this league.

They had another great run in the FA Cup, losing out to Yeovil Town in the 4th Qualifying Round. Sadly, the tie was marred in controversy. The original match was abandoned following racial abuse directed at Haringey players and the decision was made to leave the field.

With those unsavoury scenes now behind them, Borough are once again focused on the league. Whilst Loizou has been looking to compete for a playoff place, it’s now unlikely to occur, barring a fantastic run of form. A Tuesday night 3-2 loss to Bowers & Pitsea saw Haringey drop below their opponents in the league – down to 15th.

Whilst they have up to three games in hand, Borough are 19 points adrift from the playoff places. Form isn’t stellar either, having failed to win in their last five outings. They’ve also not kept a clean sheet since the 26th October (a 3-0 win over Horsham in the FA Trophy). More hope for Bracken lay in their performances away from Coles Park; Haringey have the second lowest points tally on the road – just 8 points.

That’s why Bracken has highlighted that this game is certainly winnable. “We’ve got a lot of tough games coming up but the next four are winnable,” said the Casuals supremo.

“I’m realistic – every game is winnable, but we don’t want to be relying on our run-in at the end of the season. We need to pick up as many wins as we can and see where we are.”

And Bracken will take heart in his side’s form despite exiting the London Senior Cup on Tuesday night following a 1-0 loss at Wingate. “Our results since the turn of the year puts us sixth in total points won, so we’re much improved. We’ve let in the same amount of goals as Worthing. If you’d had said to me, we’d have conceded the same number of goals as the league leaders, I’d have presumed we were third or fourth in the table.”

A replication of Casuals 3-1 win at King George’s over Haringey last season would indeed be very welcome. You can join us for a 3pm kickoff - Prices are £10 adults, £6 seniors, £4 students and Under-18s come free with an accompanying adult.
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There’s also a tribute night to our dearly departed Vice President and friend, Roger Phillips. There will be a buffet available and the celebrations begin at 7pm. Should the match be called off due to inclement weather conditions, the evening plans will still take place regardless.