Herne Bay will be looking to put an end to their winless run tomorrow when they take on bottom of the league Corinthian-Casuals at The United Business Group Stadium.

Despite an improved performance last weekend, the Bay returned to Kent empty handed following a 4-2 defeat at the hands of promotion-chasing Enfield Town; their third loss in a row.

Lyle Della-Verde gave the hosts the lead within six minutes, curling a free-kick into the top corner beyond debutant Josh Strizovic.

Marcel Barrington soon levelled things up with a well-taken strike, firing the ball into the top corner after the hosts failed to deal with a Bay corner.

A Che Krabbendam own goal and another Della-Verde free-kick handed Enfield a two-goal advantage, before Barrington reduced their lead to one midway through the second half.

However, Lewis Knight scored a fourth for the hosts soon after as the Towners saw out the rest of the game to secure all three points.

Following that game, the Bay fell to 20th in the Isthmian League Premier Division table, three points ahead of Corinthian-Casuals in 22nd.

The Opposition

Corinthian-Casuals Football Club was formed in 1939 following the merger of the two great amateur sides bearing those names.

The Corinthians were founded in 1882. N.L. “Pa” Jackson, who was then Assistant Honorary Secretary of the Football Association, aimed to develop a club side capable of bolstering England's national team and challenging Scotland at international level.

A meeting was held at Jackson’s offices in London’s Paternoster Row and thus was the club born. The name 'Corinthian' came from a suggestion by England international, H.A. Swepstone, which was accepted unanimously.

The Casuals were formed in 1883 by a group of old boys from England's prominent public schools and rapidly became a strong force in the amateur game, providing Corinthians with many of their first team players. In 1905 they became founding members of the Isthmian League, won the AFA Senior Cup in 1907 and the FA Amateur Cup in 1936.

The newly amalgamated Corinthian-Casuals Football Club had played only one game before World War II broke out and the league was suspended. Remarkably, the team made the decision to tour France in the spring of 1940 as part of a Red Cross party, however they were forced to return home in haste when the German offensive was launched on May 10th.

Come the return of football, the new club proudly took Casuals' old place in the Isthmian League, where it would remain for another 39 years. It was decided that they would wear the famous chocolate and pink colours of the Casuals for their home matches, and Corinthian white away.

The 1973/74 season was a historic milestone; heralding the FA's decision to abolish official 'Amateur' status. As if in empathy with the end of the amateur era, Corinthian-Casuals steadfastly refused to accept the new 'semi-professionalism' and were relegated, for the first time in their history, into Isthmian League Division 2.

In 1988, Corinthian-Casuals were invited to Brazil by Sao Paulo Athletic Club (SPAC) to help celebrate their centenary. SPAC had been the club of former Corinthian Charles Miller, the man credited with introducing football to Brazil. It was Corinthian's visit to Sao Paulo for a game against SPAC during their Brazilian tour in 1910 that had led to the formation of Sport Club Corinthians Paulista.

1988 was a truly historic year as the club, in addition to touring Brazil, finally secured its first ever home ground, taking over the lease at King George's Field from the crippled Tolworth FC. A colossal effort from the club's members helped to transform the ground - installing turnstiles, terracing and seating, as well as completing the construction of the clubhouse.

In 2008 the club enjoyed the momentous honour of celebrating 125 years of football with a commemorative match at Wembley Stadium. After staying up on merit for four consecutive seasons it is clear that the hard work, vision and dedication of management team, Brian Adamson, Kim Harris and Keith Holloway, was beginning to pay dividends.

James Bracken's arrival as Manager at the start of the 2015/16 season heralded the start of an exciting new era at Corinthian Casuals and the club only missed out on a spot in the play-offs due to a controversial points deduction. However, the following season saw the club reach the play-off Final, drawing 0-0 at Dorking Wanderers only to be cruelly denied promotion following a penalty shoot-out.

Despite the disappointment, James led Corinth to their second consecutive play-off Final in 2017/18. Sadly, once more the team were to fall at the last hurdle, losing the Final in yet another penalty shoot-out. However, due to Thurrock's resignation from the League, Corinthian-Casuals earned promotion to Step 3 as the losing Finalist with the best points-per-game average over the season.

Opposition so far

Currently, tomorrow’s hosts have had a forgettable campaign and sit rooted to the bottom of the Isthmian League Premier Division table, despite winning their opening game of the season (against Bowers & Pitsea) 4-1. This win is still their only victory of the season, so far.

From the 13 games they have played, Corinthian-Casuals have one once, drawn twice, and lost ten times, scoring 11 goals but conceding 31 for a goal difference of -20.

However, hopes of a turn around in form will be high after appointing Justin Fevrier as the new first team manager. Bay fans will be familiar with Justin, the man who not so long ago acted as assistant manager at Haywards Heath Town.

Key Players

Misha Djemali (Defender): Joined the Casuals in 2022 from Leatherhead. This left-footed defensive/wide player was a welcome addition to the squad at the back end of last season. A thorough gem, Mish is an accomplished fencer no-less (the sport, that is).

Hakeem Adelakun (Midfielder): A former Crystal Palace youngster, Hakeem is a powerhouse midfielder who signed from Horsham in 2018. Hakeem has had spells at Margate, Whitehawk, Carshalton Athletic, Lewes and Havant & Waterlooville amongst others. Once scored from the halfway line at Brightlingsea Regent. Despite his imposing size, ‘Hak’ is alarmingly quick.

Eddie Allan (Goalkeeper): Pushing for the Number One shirt is Eddie Allan, an imposing keeper with fine reflexes and great shot-stopping prowess. The 20-year-old Mallorcan-born Eddie has played for Carshalton Athletic and Barking before joining the Casuals over the summer. Has spent time with West Ham United and earned a sports scholarship to Ardingly College.

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