Corinthian-Casuals kept their promotion challenge on track with a comfortable win over Thamesmead Town in the Bostik League South.

First half goals from Josh Uzun and Warren Morgan were enough to give James Bracken’s side the three points despite a late comeback from Mead, when Paul Vines scored deep into an extended stoppage time.

The win is now the sixth in a row and puts Casuals top of the form guide going into the make-or-break business end of the season.

Thamesmead were the quickest out of the blocks and looked to press early putting Casuals on the back foot. However, the first real chance came to Casuals when Max Oldham surged into the box and unleashed a deflected shot into the side netting.

Oldham was causing trouble again just seven minutes later when another run saw him upended in the box and awarded a penalty. Up stepped ever-reliable Josh Uzun to dispatch the spot kick.

Casuals doubled the lead just five minutes later when Gabriel Odunaike’s snuck a pass to Warren Morgan who’s cross-come-shot looked to be deflected over the line by a Mead defender. 2-0.

The closest to clinching the third came when Odunaike raced through on goal and was taken out by his challenging marker, only for the referee to wave play on.

Thamesmead came to life in the dying minutes and Paul Vines met a cross to head in with Casuals holding on for the last moments.

“That game was strange”, said Manager Bracken after the match. “2-1 flatters them so much it’s unbelievable. We’ve had so many chances, had we won that 4-0, you’d have said that was a fair result.

“We should’ve put the game to bed as 2-0 keeps them in it. Then the referee inexplicably adds on ten minutes. But I’m pleased with the result. They’re a dangerous side who are the third top goal-scorers in the league and we limited them to one half chance at the end, which Paul Vines done very well with a good finish.

“That’s one game ticked off with nine to go. On paper, this could’ve been a sticky one and as it happened, it was relatively comfortable.

“If we win all our remaining games, the only way we’re not going to be promoted is if Lewes or Carshalton win all their games. There’s no more to it than that. We’ll try our hardest to win every one of our remaining nine matches.

"That’ll put massive pressure on them. Both of them have got very tough games so seeing them winning the next nine or ten is unlikely. Plus they have to play each other so someone’s dropping points there.

“You’ll get to the point where teams will either stand up or they’ll fold. In the last two years we ended our seasons by winning seven and ten in a row respectively. We’ve already proved that we won’t be folding.

"I trust the boy’s character. I trust my own mentality and know we will turn up to every one of these next nine games. Whoever we play, we’ll make sure we get out on the pitch and be better than them on the day.”

Casuals travel to bottom-placed Shoreham in the league on Saturday.