Emmanuel Akokhia may be grabbing the headlines, but Corinthian Casuals boss James Bracken insists that might not be the case but for Stef Joseph’s donkey work, writes Stuart Amos.

Akokhia returned from an injury lay-off to fire a brace – including an 84th minute winner – as Casuals triumphed 2-1 at Chatham Town on Saturday as Bracken’s men moved up to third in the Ryman Division One South table on the day.

But Bracken singled out strike partner Joseph for added praise for his selfless work up front.

“That was a hard fought win. We’ve shown all the qualities you need to show as a good side – resilience, determination and desire to do what’s got to be don,” he said.

“I couldn’t be more proud of what the boys are doing “It was fantastic to have Mani [Akokhia] back. We missed him.

"Mani’s a good player but then again, Stef (Joseph) has led the line again and done really well. They had a nice little thing going on between them out there.

“Stef has worn them down over the course of 70 minutes which meant we’ve gone on and won the game.

“They both get a lot of credit from me as does everyone else behind them who’ve worked their socks off.”

Casuals host Tooting & Mitcham United tonight and Redbridge on Saturday.