The anger of Corinthian-Casuals manager James Bracken at the final whistle said it all yesterday, as his side dropped off the top of the Bostik League South after a disappointing 2-0 defeat at home to Phoenix Sports.

Bracken said his side failed to follow instructions or the gameplan set, and that he couldn’t really take any positives from the game. He added: “The boys lost it in bad areas, dribbling with it too much, all in all it was just terrible.”

Casuals started in the ascendency and enjoyed the lion’s share of possession early on, but they were unable to turn possession into opportunities. And on 34 minutes the home side were made to pay when Frankie Sawyer converted Christie Pattinson’s cross from the right to give Phoenix an unlikely lead against the league leaders, which had come completely against the run of play.

After a first half with few chances for either side, the game opened up at the start of the second period, with both sides having chances to get the crucial second goal of the game. But as the half went on, the away side began to take more and more control of the proceedings. Wide players Pattinson and Gil Carvalho in particular were an increasing threat for the visitors, getting in behind the Casuals’ defence on many occasions.

And on 74 minutes, Carvalho got in behind once again after sloppy play from the Casuals’ defence, only to take too long on the ball and waste a golden opportunity to seal the game.

But it was merely a warning sign for Casuals, who in the end were the architects of their own downfall. With just six minutes remaining, a defensive mix-up between goalkeeper Danny Bracken and substitute Coskun Ekim led to Sawyer capitalising on a short back-pass to round Bracken and set up Jeff Duah-Kessie, who had the simplest of tasks to backheel the ball into an empty net.

And manager Bracken believed that the manner in which the second goal was conceded pretty much summed up the night for Casuals. But he insisted that the result was down to the performance of the entire team: “I’m quite glad it wasn’t just one player who’s had a mare tonight and cost us; it was eleven, plus the subs – no-one can come out with a lot of credit tonight.”

While he wasn’t at all impressed with his side’s performance on the night, Bracken was certain his players will respond from the defeat, claiming that if they stick to their gameplan in future, they can beat anyone. He added: “You don’t become a bad team off one poor performance, but we do need to respond.”