Corinthian-Casuals marched into the semi-final of the Velocity Trophy with a resounding 3-1 victory over Bostik Premier playoff contenders Hendon on Tuesday Night.
Despite several key players not available or rested for the evening, James Bracken’s side produced a performance worthy of winning any cup tie against any side from the division above.
Max Oldham grabbed the first of his brace on 13 minutes latching onto a Jordan Clarke pass and slotting under Will Purdue. The lead was doubled after the half hour mark when Oldham turned provider for Josh Uzun to hit home from close range.
Hendon pulled one back via the penalty spot with league top scorer Niko Muir converting the spot kick but Casuals sealed the deal in the second half when Oldham once again slotted past Purdue to give James Bracken’s side the win and a place in the Semi-Final.
"The performance was fantastic,” commented Bracken after the match. “I lifted the pressure off by telling them to just go and enjoy it.”
“We’ve got a lot of good footballers and a 3G pitch suits how they want to play. So I gave them a little more freedom to just play the way they wanted to. They certainly didn’t let anyone down in their performance.
“Right from the start, we took the game to them, passed the ball well and created chances. We should be pleased with that.
“We were the better team for sure. I like Gary (Hendon Manager). Hendon are a nice club and they’re a good side. They’re a league above doing well on merit. But we deserved that tonight. If we perform to the levels I know that we’re capable of, we can do that to most teams in our league and the league above. Tonight, we proved that.
“I said we wanted a trophy and we’re in good sight of one. I go back to what I said before that this is supposed to be a local tournament in the early rounds at least. We’ve been to Margate, Hendon, Whyteleafe, Thamesmead – every round has been an away game. We’ve been on a lot of journeys, but we’ve got ourselves into a semi-final.
"With a bit of luck, we can do the business in that and have a cup final for everyone to look forward to. It’d be a fantastic achievement to get there and then on the day, it’s anyone’s for the taking."
Casuals face Hythe Town in the League on Saturday.
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