Rams 3 Corinthian-Casuals 1

Ramsgate returned to League action after a fortnight break looking to extend their 2011 unbeaten run with a home fixture against struggling Corinthian-Casuals.

After a fairly even start it was the Rams who seemed to warm up first on this chilly afternoon, and it was they who had the first chance in the 14^th minute when Warren Schulz’s volley inside the area was blocked by Luke Naughton, and Schulz’s 2^nd effort shaved the outside of the post. Three minutes later and the Casuals had their first chance, when Kane Sergeant curled a freekick from the edge of the area straight into Jack Smelt’s hands. The Rams began to keep the ball in the final third and test the Casuals’ defence, and in the 21^st minute both Liam Quinn and Schulz forced their way into the area and Paul Axon had a shot from just outside that didn’t have enough power to trouble Naughton. A minute later and the Rams scored their opener, when Axon put the ball in to the hard working Mark Lovell, who volleyed on the turn leaving Naughton no chance. Five minutes later and it looked like Schulz had beaten the offside trap to go one-on-one with Naughton, but the Assistant Referee decided he had made his move too soon. The Rams kept the pressure up and in the 34^th minute Axon’s curling shot from 25 yards sailed past Naughton and into the far top corner.

The 2^nd half continued much as the 1^st ended, with Ramsgate continuing to assault their visitors’ area, led by Schulz and Lovell with support from Mitchell Sherwood. The Casuals’ pulled one back against the  run of play in the 53^rd minute, when Shaun Lucien broke down the left and rifled a shot from 18 yards that hit the bar and bounced inside the line. This seemed to rally the Casuals and a clever flick on from a long throw a few minutes fell nicely to Lucien but this time he couldn’t control it. The game was now definitely ‘on’, and Loveell broke through to go one-on-one in the 59^th minute, but a challenge from behind by Dave Hodges as Lovell raised his foot to shoot earned the Rams a penalty and Hodges a caution. Naughton dived the right way to parry Lovell’s spot kick, and though the Rams fought desperately to get the ball back in the middle as the ‘keeper followed the ball out, the defence eventually cleared their lines to keep their hopes alive. The Casuals kept battling and whilst they now had a greater share of the midfield action were not really troubling the Rams’ defence or ‘keeper. Ramsgate still looked likely to score, and in the 76^th minute a ball from the left was slotted into Liam Quinn’s stride, and he slid it inside the near post. The Casuals kept chasing to the end of what turned out to be a very entertaining game, but the Rams nearly added a 4^th in stoppage time when Schulz curled a freekick around the wall, but Naughton collected it well.

Ramsgate: Jack Smelt, Ollie Gray, James Gregory, Luke Wheatley, Ollie Gray, Ben Laslett (c), Ryan Harker, Warren Schulz, Mark Lovell (Zack Thomas 76), Mitchell Sherwood, Paul Axon. Substitutes: Curtis Winnett, Joe Taylor, George Amber and Brett Mills.