Five-goal lead not enough for Casuals

Casuals were four up in 17 minutes as Blake Goodman, Nana Badu, Danny Fernandez and Craig Lewington all scored their first goals of the season.

The first clouds appeared on their horizon when Mark Nwokeji pulled one back from the penalty spot. Then Fernandez had to take over between the posts from the experienced Chico Ramos.

But the deputy was given a five-goal cushion by Sam Robinson’s 27th-minute penalty and a goal from Sol Patterson-Bohner three minutes before the interval.

It remained 6-1 until the 63rd minute, when Liam Wright managed to pull one back. No alarm bells as yet, but by the time Wright completed a 14-minute hat-trick Casuals were starting to rock. Fabio Saraiva made it 6-5 with an 80th-minute penalty and, five minutes later, he levelled matters with the game’s fourth spot-kick. It was surely odds-on a Merstham victory now but they had to settle for the single point which had seemed so unlikely after an hour.

The league’s last 6-6 draw was on November 3rd 1986, a Premier Division game between Dulwich Hamlet and Bognor in front of 246 spectators at the old Champion Hill ground.
John Lawrence was Dulwich’s programme editor then (and still is). He recalls: “A greasy surface following heavy rain helped produce an open and attacking game.

“John Crumplin shot Bognor ahead after 14 minutes and Stokley Sawyers equalised on 23. Then came five goals in just seven minutes! Kevin Clements headed Bognor in front on 31 and an own goal by Phil Caulfield [which Bognor credited to their forward Geoff Cooper] made it 1-3. Paul Williams scored twice in a minute to make it 3-3 but Cooper fired home a minute later to put Bognor ahead again.

“After the interval Mick Kennedy (47), Shane Ward (69) and Ileanyi Nwajiobi (80) gave Dulwich a 6-4 lead. But Crumplin on 87 and a Clements header on 89 made it a 6-6 finish.”

Dulwich were on the wrong end of another goalscoring feat yesterday as Burgess Hill’s Pat Harding added a hat-trick to the four goals he netted at Whitstable on Tuesday, though Hillians had to settle for a 3-3 draw.

Visiting Dulwich went ahead on 23 minutes with a penalty from Erhun Oztumer. Harding struck twice in four minutes, the second another penalty, shortly before the interval only for Lewis Gonsalves to square it in the 45th minute. Harding restored Hillians’ lead in the 73rd minute with his 12th league goal only for Oztumer to make it 3-3 two minutes later with a free-kick.

It was a good day for tabletopping Maidstone. While they had a day off from league action, and knocked Premier side Whitehawk out of the FA Trophy, none of the four teams immediately behind them in the league table, including Burgess Hill and Dulwich, could take full advantage.

Second-placed Hythe had a golden chance to draw level with Stones on points but had to settle for a 1-1 home draw with Walton & Hersham when visiting keeper Sheikh Ceesay saved a Brendon Cass penalty in added time. Graeme Purdy had put Walton ahead midway through the first half and Craig Thompson levelled from 20 yards soon after the break. Action from the game (Hythe are in red) is pictured by Tony Fowles.

Crawley Down dropped from fourth to fifth after becoming the latest victims of the Tooting revival. George Landais scored on the hour to give the Terrors a 1-0 home win which lifted them into the top half of the table only a fortnight after they had climbed off the bottom.

Herne Bay climbed to fourth with a hard-fought 3-2 win over Folkestone, who led at half-time with Stuart King’s 12th league goal of the season. James Campbell’s header squared it nine minutes after the break and Rhys Lawson put the home side ahead on 67 minutes only for Richard Atkins to reply straight away. Six minutes were left when Dan Wisker hit the winner.

The two clubs immediately above Walton Casuals met at Three Bridges and it was the hosts who took the points thanks to a goal deep into added time from Marcus Elliott which gave them a 3-2 win over Whitstable and lifted them above the Oystermen in the table.

James Dryden put Whitstable ahead just before the half-hour but Abu Touray equalised right on half-time and Elliott gave Bridges a 69th-minute lead. They had Joel O’Hara sent off shortly afterwards, however, and the visitors thought they had rescued a point when Damian Abel made it 2-2 in the 87th minute.

After a goalless first half at Chipstead, the home side took the lead through Michael Gordon immediately after the restart and doubled it six minutes later with a Luke McShane penalty. Corinthian-Casuals responded with two quick goals from Jamie Byatt and Joel Thompson with around 20 minutes left and it finished 2-2.

Scott Kirkwood’s 18th-minute goal against his former club was all Worthing needed for their 1-0 victory at Eastbourne. Five of their six league wins have come on the road.