Corinthian-Casuals 0-0 Kingstonian
MORE POINTS BLOWN AWAY AT THE CASUALS

Once again Kingstonian failed to beat local rivals Corinthian Casuals in a scrappy match with few chances.

Photo: kingstonian.net

Despite a lot of activity on both sides it was the visitors who saw both the best chances as first Wes Goggin and then Bobby Traynor came close during the first half.

A pass by Saheed Sankoh found Traynor on the left. His low snatched shot found the diving 'keeper's out-stretched hands, palming out the ball. While the shot would have probably gone out, the hands of Colin Harris gave Ks a useful corner.

Neil Lampton's corner shot went sailing into a crowded defence area and met Goggin's head and Harris' fist again, 10 yards from the goal. This time the ball went up the field.

Photo: kingstonian.net

Then in the dying minutes of the first half a Sankoh and Traynor 1-2 up the left resulted in a pass from Martyn Lee with Traynor back in the goal area. The cross found Traynor again and a flick of the back heel went just wide and probably the best chance of the game.

In the second half Goggin saw a close shot hit one of the defenders before going over the top. Once again the ensuing corner kick fell into a crowded defence with Simon Sobihy shooting over the top.

Indeed Goggin seemed to have the lion's share of chances after the break, although to be fair most were possibilities rather than ought-to-have-beens.

Twice soon after the re-start he was unlucky not to have converted something. In the 50th, with Kingstonian coming out brighter after a half-time talking to by Alan Dowson, Nick Rundell passed to Sobihy who found Goggin on the left.

A battling performance found the ball going across to the tight but with little support he lost out.

Then 10 minutes later he found the side netting as once again he came up the left.

In the 75th minute Lampton was denied by the defence after finding a pass from Sankoh. Minutes later he was given a second chance to create something, when a long shot from the defence found him in space on the right but he was unable to control the ball well enough and it went off for a throw-in.

This was not a one-team show however, with Luke Garrard called into action a few times.

The first half saw a couple of chances going over the cross bar by quite a few feet as the home side seemed determined to get an early goal.

In the 11th minute Jamie Byatt opened up the defence after the long ball shot from beyond the half-way line, only to see his low shot from the left go right across the goal mouth with Garrard beaten.

This ought to have been a goal, particularly as most of the hosts' players did not look like they were going to score. With one of the lowest goals scored record this season in this division, this game was no different.

Most of their scant shots towards Garrard went sailing over the top, keeping the ball collectors busy.

Indeed, with such a strong wind running down the length of the pitch, too many times the ball was up in the air.

This is not Kingstonian's style and resulted in the no-score draw. Yet they persisted in putting out the high shots themselves. Most of the best chances came from low passes or across the ground, which was not that bad, give or take the odd patch of sand dotted around.

Three substitutions came in the last 20 minutes, with first David Shin, then Lee Riddell, quickly followed by Glenn Boosey coming on for Rundell, Sankoh and Lee.

Only Shin had any time to make a difference and with some useful runs and passing, he looked initially lively.

A couple of half chances ended the match at the death, with first Jon Coke's shot to Lampton being wasted by the right corner and then Andre McCollin's cheeky run up the middle being called rightly offside.

However, once again Garrard chalked up another clean sheet, even if the attack drew blanks.

And Kingstonian's long wait for a win against the Casuals continues. Their last win against them was in 1984 and in 1974 in a league match. With Casuals almost relegated, it might be some time before a win.

Afterwards Kingstonian's disappointed managers commented: "It wasn't very good. We just turned off. We have enough points now but we were awful."

He added that he would be looking to take points from each of the remaining six games.

This will start this Saturday at home to high flyers Dartford and then a visit two days later to local rivals Leatherhead.