Corinthian Casuals FC
King George's Field
Queen Mary Close
Hook Rise South
Tolworth
Surrey
KT6 7NA
020 8397 3368
Ground Number: 289
Tuesday 20th August 2013
Corinthian Casuals 1-2 Guernsey
Isthmian League D1 South
CORINTHIAN CASUALS FC - A BRIEF HISTORY
The club was established in 1939 as a merger of the amateur clubs Corinthian (founded in 1882) and Casuals (founded in 1883). The new club played a single match before football was suspended due to World War II. After the war, the club took Casuals' place in the Isthmian League. A 5th place finish was a great achievement in 1960. As clubs started paying players by hook or by crook, Corinthian-Casuals' results declined as they remained strictly amateur, as was the ethos of the Isthmian League at the time. Finishes at the bottom of the table were a regular occurrence, and when the league expanded in 1973, the club was relegated to Division 2 after a single season. They remained in the second tier (now renamed Division 1) until 1984, when they left to join the London Spartan League due to tightened groundsharing rules, as they were lodging at Molesey FC at the time.
Corinthian-Casuals were relegated from the Premier Division to the Senior Division in their first season in the LSL but bounced back as champions in 1986. Fortunes were mixed with a bottom-place finish in 1988, but in 1993, they finished as runners-up to Brimsdown Rovers. Season 96/97 was spent in the Combined Counties with a runners-up spot behind Ashford Town (Middx). The club then rejoined the Isthmian League, playing in Division 3. A 5th place finish was a highlight in 2001. In 2002, Corinthian-Casuals were placed in Isthmian D1 South following reorganisation. They reached playoff finals in 2017 (losing to Dorking Wanderers on penalties in the final) and in 2018 (losing to Walton Casuals in the final. Greenwich Borough were their semi-final victims on both occasions, and in the latter season, they were promoted anyway due to a vacancy occurring above. A decent finish of 14th came in 2022, but over the next two seasons, they were relegated twice and remain in the Combined Counties South to this day.
Wycombe Wanderers v Corinthian Casuals games (from Wycombe Wanderers Archive)
Corinthian Casuals first reached the FA Cup 1st Round in 1965, losing 5-1 to Watford. In 1984 they reached the same stage again, drawing 0–0 at home to Bristol City and losing the replay 4–0. In 1956, they reached the FA Amateur Cup Final. After beating St Albans City, Hitchin Town and Dulwich Hamlet, they drew 1-1 with Bishop Auckland at Wembley before losing 4-1 in the replay at Middlesbrough. The following season, they lost in the semis to Wycombe Wanderers. In 2021, they reached the FA Trophy 2nd Round, losing on penalties to Hemel Hempstead Town. In 1984, the club reached the FA Vase 5th Round, losing 4-2 to eventual finalists Stamford. Local cup wins include two Surrey Senior Cups, the Victory Cup in 1967, the Spartan League Cup in 1996, and the Egri Erbstein Tournament in 2019. The most famous name to play for the club is Alan Pardew, who turned out during the 1983/84 season.
After their formation, the club played their first match in the grounds of Lambeth Palace, but after World War 2 they played at Kingstonian's Richmond Road ground, which had previously been used by Casuals. However, they left in 1946 and played at numerous other grounds; the Polytechnic Ground in Chiswick (1946–1950), the Oval (1950–1963; the club played at the Vauxhall End of the ground), Dulwich Hamlet's Champion Hill (1963–1968), Tooting & Mitcham United's Sandy Lane (1968–1983), Molesey's Walton Road (1983–1984 and again from 1986 to 1988) and Wimbledon Park Athletics Stadium (1984–1986). In 1988 the club merged with Tolworth and took over their King George's Field, marking the first time the club had owned their own ground. The ground originally had a running track around the pitch, which was later removed. Covered standing was installed behind both goals and a stand built along one side of the pitch, which includes a small section of seating, with the seats coming from Plough Lane, Champion Hill and Havant & Waterlooville's Westleigh Park. The ground currently has a capacity of 2,000, of which 250 are seated.
After last night's goal fest and dramatic game in the FA Cup, I was looking forward to getting back into football ASAP. Luckily I had one planned tonight, and it was the nearest one of my targets to visit, though sadly I would have to contend with the charmless M25 to get there. I hadn't been feeling like that after the previous 3 games. Two 1-0 defeats for Wycombe Wanderers had spoilt a good start to the season. The latest one especially was hard to take, a 1-0 defeat at home to Mansfield. Gareth Ainsworth's team selection was baffling for this one, dropping five players that really should have been in the team and replacing them with unfit or unworthy players. It was almost as if he had smoked or drunk something before picking the team, and I knew the moment that I saw the team sheet that we had lost the game. It was easily the daftest starting XI I have seen in 22 years of watching Wycombe Wanderers. However, I still retain 100% support for Ainsworth - a great man who cares a lot about the club and shares the passion of the fans. And prior to this, his decision-making had been pretty much spot on. Together with the Supporters' Trust's excellent work, the club had been reunited and reinvigorated from the utter shambles that it had been under the previous ownership and management. I and every other fan were grateful for this and owe a massive debt of gratitude to the Supporters' Trust members and volunteers who have worked so hard to turn the club around. We are still only partway there, with a long way to go, but the club is back in the hands of the fans, and that is where all clubs should be in my opinion.
The last game of that terrible treble was the boring 0-0 draw between Enfield and London Tigers, which, like last night's game, is covered elsewhere on this site. As well as the game, the traffic was annoying and I was hoping for better tonight. I already had one good thing to look forward to - Alex, a fellow groundhopper, was going to the game, and so at least I'd have someone to chat to if we managed to recognise each other. I left at 6, and despite 25 minutes delay on the M25 around Heathrow, I still arrived in good time at around 7.15. I paid to get in and bought a programme for £2. It was a very well produced effort, in full colour throughout and on good quality paper. I read that and checked Facebook and Twitter on my mobile while waiting for kick-off. As arranged, I met Guernsey fan Alex and stood with their support all night. They had a decent following considering the expense of flights, around 30 on a Tuesday night. Even Alex had come from Birmingham and had to leave at 2 in the afternoon, and wouldn't get home till 12 hours later. Astonishingly for a non-league team, Guernsey stream all their matches live on TV in Guernsey as well as online across the world, including mobile devices. This and highlights are available for just £2.99 a month, and the camera crew and commentary team were out in full force for tonight. Several pubs also stream their games in public, so it looks like the whole island is getting behind the team.
It was a youthful team for Guernsey, with many of their big players rested. The home side probably had slightly the better of the first half with chances falling for both sides But it was Guernsey that took the lead just before the break. Corinthian Casuals keeper Danny Bracken could only parry the initial shot and 'Knock Off' Nigel Hutton was there to give the visitors the lead. The lead was doubled 7 minutes after the restart. Marc McGrath's curling shot looped into the top corner to send the visiting fans into dreamland. The lead was reduced 7 minutes later when Jamie Byatt reduced the arrears. Looking at all the tweets that were coming in on the home team's newsfeed, they have fans all over the world, especially in Brazil, where one of their most famous teams is called Corinthians. They continued to search for an equaliser, even hitting the bar as Guernsey held gamely onto their lead. The visitors could have made it safe in the last few minutes but the striker couldn't get the ball out from under his feet. But it didn't matter in the end, as the Guernsey fans faced a long but happy trip home. I myself had a hassle-free trip home and was back by 10.30. I had enjoyed another night's football, and although it wasn't as good as the previous night's epic game at Binfield, it was still a decent game. Guernsey is another ground I want to visit now, probably as part of a holiday. They get over a thousand fans for every game, and there always seems to be a good atmosphere.
MY SECOND VISIT
1-3 v Merstham, Friendly, 11/7/26
When it was announced that the Ciderdog festival at The Miller near London Bridge was going to be this weekend, I knew that I would have to be in or near London for the day. Initially, the plan was for a Corinthian Casuals or Leatherhead revisit, but then PuffPuff suggested that I visit Rayleigh Town at their own ground as they share with Concord Rangers due to ground grading. This sounded great and would allow me to get in the Wetherspoons at Basildon. Sadly though, as I was coming and going from different stations, the contactless fares were ridiculous, as were train tickets in general. I worked out that with buses and trains and no capping, it would be £50 for trips that were 143 miles by road. Total rip-off. Out of the two revisits, Leatherhead had the more expensive fare; entry to the ground was double the price, and the ciders on offer at Wetherspoons were crappy Lilleys as opposed to Black Dragon. Corinthian Casuals had no Spoons, but entry was a fiver, and they did their own Brazilian-style cocktail which I wanted to try. The more I thought about it, the more I was buzzing for the revisit as it would be a great day out. I put in the work planning on Friday; the best bet seemed the London Bridge area before and after. One match had already fallen at Kings Langley, where it would be 5 degrees less than my game. Global warming is definitely here to stay, it appears..
9
From Ilminster the night before, I came home. I was planning on lying in until 9 after staying up until 3 with a few drinks whilst I did my blog. My body decided that I only needed four hours of sleep and so I woke up at 7.30 and couldn't get back to sleep. I got the 9.30 bus to Amersham station, making the train by a minute. It was a seamless change at Finchley Road to London Bridge. Borough Market was utopia as ever, an excellent prawn Pad Thai and pint Wildings Fieldwork were superb. It was then the main event, ten minutes walk to the Ciderdog festival at The Miller. I bought four tokens. Four excellent halves were had for £8, plus a burger. It was then to Waterloo, where I had a bit of a wait for my platform to Tolworth to be announced. Platform 4 was the destination for Tolworth, then a 20-minute walk, with me getting there at 2.35. Entry was a bargain at a fiver; I got a nice fridge magnet, but the bar was a bit limited, with no sign of the club cocktail.
Corinthian Casuals had chances, but it was Merstham who opened the scoring on three minutes, a shot into the top right corner. That was it for scoring for the first period but Corinthian Casuals had chances. It was 0-1 at half-time when I had an excellent Fireball burger. The hosts had more chances in the second half. A ball from out wide was put in, and home was a low finish from within the six-yard box. It was 3-0 on 74 minutes during a good spell for the visitors. Corinthian Casuals pulled one back with a penalty on 82 minutes. That was it as far as goals were concerned; it had not been a bad game considering the heat. From there it was a 17-minute walk to the station, with me not hanging about for the half-hourly service. The Casuals fans were excellent, and the club has a good feeling about it.
THE GROUND - 2013
KING GEORGE'S FIELD is a fairly basic but tidy ground, and pretty much the norm for this level. There is a main stand holding around 150, though the seating is pretty low down; the view is still OK. There is covered terracing behind both goals - around 500 at one end and 250 at the other. The rest of it is open hard standing, with room for around another thousand fans.
There is a clubhouse with plenty of trophies and other club stuff in, as well as a bar. There is also a tea bar, but I didn't try either of these, so can't vouch for them. The town of Tolworth is nearby, with a train station and various pubs and food places, but again I have not been to any of them.
GROUND UPDATE 2026
Not a huge amount had changed but I reckon the ground would be good enough for step 2. It is well located for the station, the food and merch are excellent, but I was sadly unable to obtain the club cocktail I wanted in the bar. It was not the best selection on draught, but it was a nice bar with lots on display about the club.
