Elijah Simpson proved to be the match-winner as Corinthian-Casuals ran out 3-2 victors over Herne Bay on Saturday.
The centre-forward added Casuals’ third goal with a fine finish early in the second half, after Mo Cisse had twice given us the lead in the first half. Simpson has had to wait a while for this moment. His last goal came at the back end of September, in Casuals’ 2-1 defeat to Canvey Island, and he has been out with injury since the beginning of October.
“Coming back from injury, I thought I’d start off slow, but I started off a bit quicker than I expected,” he told us after the game. “I’m not too fussed about myself, though. I just want the team to win. That win felt like we’d just won a cup!”
The three points are crucial for Casuals, bringing us level on points with Herne Bay while also gaining ground on Brightlingsea Regent, who drew with Lewes on Saturday. Simpson took his goal well, receiving the ball to feet, quickly turning his man and slotting home from a tight angle, and explained that he believes in his natural ability to score those types of chances.
“I’ve just got that!” he said. “As a striker it’s drilled into you, so I just tried it and it worked.”
Simpson also touched on his impressive link-up play with Casuals’ midfield catalyst Luke Stokoe. “In training, we speak about it a lot, so yeah – it’s something I’ve worked on.”
The victory came in Justin Fevrier’s first match in charge, and the team produced an impressive display of pressing and high-intensity action. Casuals won the ball back high up the pitch on a number of occasions, and often looked for Simpson, who held it up with aplomb and moved the play on effectively.
“On Thursday we worked on the press,” said Simpson. “When we were going to press, the triggers and how we would press as a team. He just drilled it into us on Thursday and we put it in on Saturday.”
Simpson would have been keen to show his worth and certainly did so with a dominant display in a lone No9 role. “He’s going to be very important.” he said of Fevrier’s appointment. “He’s come in and said, ‘Let’s get it done’, and there’s no excuses – I think we’re going to do well!”
By James Streatfield