Corinthian-Casuals continued their unbeaten start to 2019 with a 2-0 win at Enfield Town on Saturday, avenging the 6-1 drubbing earlier in the season.

Both goals followed a lengthy stoppage when referee Jeffery Aldous suffered an injury and couldn’t continue. Replaced by one of his assistants, it was Casuals who capitalised.

Gabriel Odunaike bundled home a goalmouth scramble after Enfield failed to clear a corner in the 83rd minute. Warren Mfula sealed the win in stoppage time converting a Hamilton Antonio through ball to give James Bracken’s side their second consecutive win.

The result moves Casuals up to 12th in the table, just five points outside the playoff positions.

“I thought I’d bring my super-sub linesman on and get three points,” joked Bracken following the match. “It’s the best substitute we’ve had all season.”

“In seriousness, when you get those prolonged breaks in the game, you wonder which team will better adjust to the circumstances. I’ve had both. I’ve had teams come out after a lengthy break and hit the gas like we did today. Likewise, I’ve had sides who never got going again and it’s cost us.

“I was grateful we managed to seize the initiative and get on the front foot. I thought the subs had a positive impact on the match and turned it in our favour after Enfield had a good ten-minute spell. We were well worth our win.”

Neither side had found much initiative in the previous 80 minutes. The best chance fell to Casuals on the stroke of half time when Majed Osman struck the post. Enfield had a bright period in the second half but the game looked to be petering out into a scoreless stalemate before Aldous’ injury. Whilst some would’ve been happy to call it a day, Bracken was keen to push for the win.

“Would we have taken a draw when the referee sustained his injury with ten minutes left? No – my stance is always to try and win every game. That’s why we rarely draw.

“If we’re 0-0 with ten to go, I’ll always make positive changes in an attempt to win. If you do that in three games and you win one of them, that’s as good as three draws. It’s also what people pay to watch. As a fan, I’d want to see my Manager picking a player off the bench that can win you a game. You have a throw of the dice.

“We played the better football. Like last week, we were the only team who tried to play. We got the ball down and played through the thirds. We let the boys express themselves which was nice.”

Eyes turn to Bognor Regis Town as they travel to King George’s Arena, Tolworth on Saturday. The sixth placed side will be looking to reverse the 1-0 loss to Casuals inflicted in November.

“We’re one game away from an unbeaten month in January,” continued Bracken. “That’s now our focus. A third win on the spin would be very welcome but Bognor Regis will be another tough game.

“I’ve spoken to the lads about intensity – our training intensity has improved. There’s no excuses. When the games were coming thick and fast, there wasn’t time to prepare for the next match. It’s also physically demanding on players. When you’re winning, you ride it but when you lose, it’s hard to reach those levels again. Now, with a lack of midweek fixtures, we have time to prepare. We’ve now had time to do our research, work at it in training and that’s probably why the results are coming our way again. To be fair to the players, they’ve stepped up when they needed to.”