Corinthian-Casuals

Corinthian-Casuals FC is a non-league football club that was formed in 1939 following an amalgamation of two famous old amateur names, Corinthian FC and Casuals FC. They are a true bastion of the game whose important work has helped the development of the game all over the world.

The club is based at their 2,500 capacity King George's Field home in Tolworth, South West London. Although that was the clubs first ever own permanent base, the clubs have previously played all across the capital.

Before the merger, both clubs were at the forefront of football in England.

Corinthians

Corinthians were formed on September 28^th 1882, by Nicholas Lane Jackson to play only friendly matches aside from competing in the Sheriff of London's Charity Shield while playing home fixtures at Crystal Palace; the home of the FA Cup Final and Queen's Club in Baron's Court where a possible return was mooted at the turn of the millennium.

Perhaps the Corinthians greatest contribution to the game, however, was their ‘missionary’ work touring overseas in South Africa, South America, Canada, the USA and every corner of Europe. A tour of Brazil in 1910 inspired a club called SC Corinthians Paulista, who would become the first official FIFA World Club Champions in 2000, to be formed.

Casuals

Casuals were formed in 1883 before becoming real nomads after initially using a ground at Upper Tooting until 1890, with their club headquarters at the Surrey Tavern on Trinity Road. The teams were made up of former pupils of public schools and universities.

After spells playing at Wandsworth Common and Wormwood Scrubs, Casuals became founder members of the Isthmian League in 1905 having moved to Tufnell Park where they remained until World War One.

When peace was restored Casuals played at Essex County Cricket Club in Leyton in 1919-20, then East Molesey Cricket Club for the 1920-21 season, Guildford, St.Joseph's Road in 1921-22 before a move to Crystal Palace from 1922 to 1925.

Casuals then became tenants to Kingstonian at Richmond Road. The club won the FA Amateur Cup in 1935-36 after defeating Ilford 2-0 at the Boleyn Ground in a replay after the first game ended 1-1 at Selhurst Park.

Corinthian-Casuals

The merger between the clubs occurred in 1939 with the aims of the club were to promote fair play and sportsmanship, to play competitive football at the highest level possible whilst remaining strictly amateur and retaining the ideals of the Corinthian and the Casuals Football Clubs.

Just one game was played before the outbreak of World War Two in the grounds of Lambeth Palace. Corinthian-Casuals took Casuals place in the Isthmian League and played at Kingstonian for their first full season prior to moving to the Polytechnic Ground in Chiswick until 1950 when they moved to The Oval.

A fifth place finish in 1953-54 was followed by a run to the final of the Amateur Cup in 1955-56. Famous cricketers Micky Stewart and Doug Insole played throughout the time as the team drew 1-1 at a packed Wembley Stadium against Bishop Auckland before losing the replay 4-1 at Ayresome Park.

‘The Chocolate & Pink’ went on to reach the semi-finals of the competition the following season where they lost 4-2 to Wycombe Wanderers at Highbury. A fifth place Isthmian League finish in 1959-60 was as good as it got for the club for many years as they moved in to share with landlords Dulwich Hamlet at Champion Hill in 1963.

The side reached the first round of the FA Cup in 1965-66, going down 5-1 at home to Watford. In 1968 the amateurs decamped to the Sandy Lane home of Tooting & Mitcham United with Micky Stewart returning to manage the team a couple of years later.

The side was relegated to Division Two of the Isthmian League in 1973-74 as the amateur era of non-league football came to an end. Division Two was renamed Division One in 1977-78 as the team went down once again to the third tier of the competition.

In 1983-84 Corinth finished in fifth position and reached the first round of the FA Cup. The match against Bristol City was moved from the clubs’ home of the time, Molesey's Walton Road, to Champion Hill and ended in a 1-1 draw before Casuals bowed out 4-1 in the replay at Ashton Gate.

A fine run in the FA Vase ended in the fifth round at home to Stamford before the Isthmian League introduced a rule at the seasons end that member clubs could not share grounds. Corinthian-Casuals joined the London Spartan League, playing at Wimbledon Park Athletics Stadium.

The team finished in the relegation places to drop down to the Senior Division, which title was won at the first attempt. The club returned to Molesey as Premier Division members where they remained until 1988 which proved to be a memorable year for Corinthian-Casuals.

The club were invited to Brazil, where they had inspired the development of the game in 1910 to celebrate the centenary of Sao Paulo Athletic Club. Corinthian-Casuals also played a Corinthians Paulista XI at Pacembeu Stadium.

The game billed as "a father and son reunion" was won 1-0 by the Brazilians with Socrates scoring the goal before playing for the English side for much of the second half. Fellow internationals Rivelino and Wladimir also played in the game.

At the same time Tolworth FC were struggling badly at their King George's Field home. The lease was taken over by Corinthian-Casuals who absorbed the former tenants as great improvements were carried out at the clubs first ever home of their own.

The team ended as Spartan League runners-up in 1992-93 before moving to the Combined Counties League for the 1996-97 campaign which saw a runners-up place being achieved which was rewarded with promotion to Division Three of the Isthmian League after Jimmy Hill had been named as club President.

In May 2001, the club returned to Brazil for another tour before promotion to Division One South came in 2002-03 after league reorganisation and upgrades to King George's Field were carried out.

Brian Adamson arrived as manager in the summer of 2007 after the club had been the beneficiaries of two reprieves from relegations as the FA continued to tinker with the formation of the pyramid while some clubs disappeared or took demotions.

The following year saw the celebration of a 125th year anniversary with a commemorative match being played at Wembley Stadium. The club was on an upward curve, lifting the Surrey Senior Cup for the first time in fifty-seven years in 2010-11 before Matt Howard took over as manager.

In 2015 the club returned to South America to take on SC Corinthians Paulista in the opening match of the new Arena Corinthians. The tour was followed by BT Sports in the film 'Brothers In Football'.

James Bracken was appointed as manager for the 2015-16 campaign as the team missed out on a play-off place owing to a points deduction. Micky Stewart was named as President following the death of Jimmy Hill.

They reached that stage twelve months later, going down to Dorking Wanderers on penalties in the final after defeating Greenwich Borough. Corinth defeated Greenwich Borough once more in the 2017-18 play-offs before losing on penalties to Walton Casuals.

However, restructuring of Step 3 of non-league football saw the club promoted anyway to the Isthmian League Premier Division. King George’s Field had new tenants from the summer of 2018 as the club repaid earlier favours by taking in homeless Kingstonian.

Casuals consolidated at their higher on pitch status before the team found themselves in nineteenth position when the 2019-20 season was abandoned early owing to the outbreak of Coronavirus. 

Corinthian-Casuals FC will play in the Isthmian League Premier Division in the 2020-21 season.

My visits

Corinthian Casuals 3 Hornchurch 1 (Tuesday 18th January 2000) Isthmian League Division Three

Corinthian-Casuals had always intrigued me. There was something about them I really liked and respected. I think it was the unique club colours and the emphasis on playing the game the right way.

I decided that a Ryman (Isthmian) League clash with Hornchurch one wintry Tuesday night in 2000 was the game to see. I caught the train down to Tolworth which looked quite an inhospitable place and set off for the ground in the direction I thought was right. 

This was in the days before Google maps so my A to Z had to suffice. Needless to say I went the wrong way. I could see the floodlights but there was seemingly no way across the industrial estate and over the playing fields to the ground. 

After a very long detour I eventually found the entrance was under a bridge that carried the railway on Hook Rise South which is the residential road by the side of the A3. The clubhouse was pretty basic behind the stand and devoid of any memorabilia which I found a little disappointing. 

In front of the clubhouse was a long cover containing both seats and standing, the changing rooms and some open flat standing. To the left behind the goal was a basic cover over a couple of steps of terracing which went the full width of the goal. A similar but much narrower cover is behind the other end. 

The far side of the pitch consisted of flat standing with a nice big hedge poking out over the perimeter fence. The dug outs were also at this side to give the fans in the seats opposite a better view of the pitch.

The game ended in a home win. The incident that sticks in the mind was a scuffle between a couple of opposing players. Both were sent off which I found ironic bearing in mind the home clubs principles. However he ran off the pitch without complaint whereas the visitor whined on to the ref.

Friday 3rd November 2006

In November 2006 I went for a wander groundhopping in Surrey and South East London and called in on the club after visiting Chessington & Hook United to take the photographs included in this post. 

The front gates were closed but I gained access by walking around the perimeter and through a hole in the fence. The ground was pretty much as I remember though needing a little bit of tender loving care.

Corinthian Casuals 5 Hendon 4 (Saturday 31^st October 2020) FA Trophy Third Qualifying Round (att: 407)

The draw for the Trophy had been kind to me. I was on night shift so I could have done with somewhere reasonably accessible. Casuals was ideal, even allowing me the opportunity of a couple of pints as well.

Steve Barnes was keen to come along, so we set off from Kingsbury, but with some caution. Hendon had Tweeted that the ref was to inspect the pitch at 1.30 which apparently was already quite sticky. The overhead rain didn’t offer us too much hope.

We decided to have a quick pint at the Waterloo Tap. I was looking at alternative games and pencilled in a Park View match on 3G at New River Stadium in Haringey. However, within a few mouthfuls we received a message that the King George's Field was good to go.

Messaging our pal Lee Cousins who was waiting in the excellent Coronation Hall JDW establishment in Surbiton, we jumped on the Chessington bound service. Lee was with Bob, another regular Dons fan in the pub as we enjoyed table service under the latest Coronavirus rules.

Surbiton was by far a better option than Tolworth for drinks, and it was only ten minutes or so by Uber cab, which dropped us on Hook Rise South at the top of Queen Mary Close for us to walk down the lane and under the railway bridge.

I’d heard that Casuals were gaining a bit of a reputation as a smaller version of Dulwich Hamlet fan wise. I quickly deduced that the atmosphere echoed their title when stewards confiscated bottled alcohol but were fine with cans.

Lee had procured the tickets online for us in advance for £11. I didn’t see any programmes on sale so I presumed they must have been sold out. The social distance regulations were stretched to the limit as the ground was low on toilet facilities for larger crowds, as fans congregated in the area behind the stand.

We took up a position in under the cover behind the near goal which Hendon attacked during the first half. What unfolded before us was accurately described on the excellent Non- League Matters forum as “an old school FA Amateur Cup fixture” by one observer.

The pitch was tricky in places but perfectly playable. The visitors gradually took control of the early stages with Jaden Clarke missing an absolute sitter before Shaun Lucien was adjudged to have been brought down in the box by Warren Morgan according to Mr Greaves, the erratic referee.

Lucien picked himself up to send Danny Bracken the wrong way from the spot. All seemed to be running smoothly as far as an away fan was concerned until the twenty third minute when Jonathon North made a great save from a Jack Strange header, but Jerson dos Santos reacted fastest to the rebound to nod in.

Four minutes later the hosts went ahead when dos Santos fired off a shot from twenty five yards which took a wicked bounce off the surface and skipped over North’s effort to find the net, as the home fans gave the custodian plenty of flak.

Solace was found in a fine pint of Brightwater Brewery Casual ale poured straight from the barrel. The Dons fought back and somehow escaped a goalmouth scramble and were level from a superb hard low drive from Tommy Brewer which left Bracken motionless in his goal five minutes from the break.

The crowd, including ex England cricketer Alec Stewart, were seeing an absolute cracker as we headed down to the far end for the second half. The action soon continued as both sides looked to attack at every opportunity.

Mr Greaves decided to level the penalty count following some dubious Hendon defending. Kieron Cadogan made no mistake from the spot. On sixty-six minutes it was 3-3. Toby Byron headed home a Matt Ball corner with the home side complaining that Bracken had been impeded.

The goalie was full value and was having a laugh with the fans, often replying to jibes. It really was like going back in time. We were reminded further of the beauty of non-league as we chatted to the Hendon subs who warmed up in front of us.

It’s as well that the Dons were good going forward as they were having a day to forget at the other end. Further poor defending from another set piece saw the ball land of the feet of Strange who made no mistake in regaining the lead with eighteen minutes left on the clock.

Visitors’ boss Lee Allinson sent on subs Cheyce Grant, an energetic winger, and tall centre back Tommy Smith with the instructions to go up front and win headers. He followed the instructions to the letter upon his introduction until his teammates abandoned the tactic for some unforeseen reason.

The task suddenly looked very steep eight minutes from time when Benjamin Checklit collected the ball on the right before cleverly cutting inside and letting go a brilliant curling shot to beat North all ends up. We were right behind it and said “goal” as soon as he released it.

The atmosphere, which was good all afternoon was by now positively vibrant. Many in the home end had taken full advantage of being able to watch their local side in the abeyance of their “bigger” sides and had taken full advantage of the relaxed view on alcohol consumption. I was jealous that I had to work that night!

Hendon weren’t finished. With nothing to lose they continued to pour forward. With a minute of normal time remaining Grant was set up with a low cross to smash home from close range. I was fully expecting an equaliser and a penalty shoot out.

It was not to be despite Joe White missing a guilt edged chance and a header going over. North went up for a corner with Casuals cocking up the breakaway towards an unguarded net when losing possession.

The home fans celebrated as the final whistle sounded after four minutes of frenetic stoppage time. There was some proper bonding with the victorious side which would have had the authorities white with clipboards in hand at the sights on show.

Departure was made via gates down the side which opened out onto the larger muddy field behind, but at least it relieved areas of congestion. On the walk back to the station our posse wondered just how an earth Hendon had managed to lose. Awful defending the synopsis.

Matches such as these would surely grab hold of new converts to the non-league game. Despite the defeat and frustration, I left knowing it had been a cracking few hours away from the shambles of the outside world in my own little dreamland.

Congratulations Corinthian-Casuals. Forza non-league.