Following a morale-boosting 3-1 win against Bowers & Pitsea, the Bay were left frustrated by freezing temperatures as resulting fixtures against Kingstonian and Bishop’s Stortford fell foul to the weather.

In that last outing against Bowers, Rory Smith put the Bay ahead in the third minute, before debutant Yannis Drais' deflected free kick doubled the hosts' advantage.

Billy Crook levelled from the spot midway through the first half as the visitors reduced the Bay's lead to one.

Marcel Barrington bagged his first goal since returning from injury on the hour mark to restore the hosts' two-goal cushion.

And Jordan Perrin made certain of the result with a late penalty save, helping Kevin Watson's side secure their first win since mid-October.

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, Saturday’s visitors, while positioned within the relegation zone, have improved since our last meeting. With just one win to their name when we met them earlier in the season, the Casuals have made some progress towards escaping the drop, especially since new manager Justin Fevrier took charge of the side.

As things stand, they are placed 19th in the Isthmian League Premier Division table, three points behind Wingate & Finchley having played one more game. From the 24 games that they have played, they have won five, drawn three, and lost 16, scoring 24 goals while conceding 51 for a goal difference of -27.

Key Players

Zac Chislett (Defender): Zac comes from a strong South African footballing family. The defender has plenty of experience at this level and higher having played for Hampton & Richmond Borough, Metropolitan Police and Walton Casuals.

Sam Dowridge (Midfielder): Sam is an attacking midfielder who spent time towards the end of last season with Bognor Regis Town, making nine appearances- including one against Casuals. Sam also spent time with the Rocks during the 20-21 season- what there was of it- making a loan move to Nyewood Lane from Havant and Waterlooville. He was an Academy player with Southampton and Stevenage, and has also played in Australia, for Preston Lions.

Callum Coulter (Goalkeeper): Goalkeeper Callum was previously with Colchester United and Aldershot Town, and he appeared for Maldon and Tiptree, and Bowers and Pitsea on loan from United. Amongst his other previous clubs are East Grinstead Town and- recently- Ashford Town.

Last time we met

The last time we faced Corinthian-Casuals was back on November 5 when, despite a rousing second half comeback, the Bay fell to a 3-2 defeat in what proved to be Ben Smith’s last game in charge of the first team.

Mo Cisse put the hosts ahead after only seven minutes, heading home from the centre of the box after Josh Strizovic has tipped the previous attempt around the post.

Tushaun Walters levelled things up for the Bay in the 35th minute before Cisse and Elijah Simpson extended the hosts’ lead to two goals.

Rory Smith pulled a goal back for the Bay not long after coming onto the pitch, beating the home ‘keeper with a low finish.

And Smith almost bagged an equaliser right at the death, but the linesman’s flag denied the visitors a share of the spoils, condemning them to a fourth successive defeat.

Ticket News

Adults: £12
Concession: £7
Junior (12-17): £5
Under 12s: £2

You can buy your tickets digitally by following the link below.

https://hernebayfc.ktckts.com/event/her2223h14/herne-bay-v-corinthian-casuals