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Friday 15 March 2019
Sport
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Horsham look forward to Saturday after tough run Saturday March 9 – Investec Women’s League – Conference East Wimbledon 4 0 Horsham Hockey Martin Read - Sports Reporter In their last two matches Horsham, in the process of rebuilding, have had the misfortune to come up against the top two teams in the league – first against Hampstead & Westminster, then, last Saturday they visited Kingston Grammar School to take on Wimbledon, another big London club. In October’s home fixture against Wimbledon Horsham Ladies battled hard, but were overturned 1-3 and on Saturday it was another
tough examination, two goals in each half giving Wimbledon a strong win – as the Wombling song had it: “Wombles are organised, work as a team.” This Saturday, in their penultimate home league game of the season, the Ladies have the far more comfortable prospect of welcoming Ipswich - to Christ’s Hospital at 14.30. In November’s corresponding away fixture, Horsham beat the Suffolk side 4-2 and, from their 15 matches, Ipswich have salvaged just one draw, scoring only 5 goals this season and conceding 51, both the worst statistics in the league. Horsham are now eighth in the table while Hampstead & Westminster are top with 38 points, two clear of Wimbledon.
Horsham beat leaders but lose to wooden spoonists Saturday March 9 – South League – Premier – Division 2 Woking Men’s 1st XI 3 2 Horsham Hockey Martin Read - Sports Reporter It is the vagaries of sport that intrigue, and while nobody likes their team to lose, sport would be deadly dull if it were predictable, and if the unexpected fascinates then Horsham Men’s Hockey 1st team are the side to watch. On March 2nd they did something that no other team in the league had achieved – they beat runaway leaders Guildford. So, after a difficult season, surely the tide had turned? If Horsham can beat high flying Guildford then they can beat anybody – especially the bottom team, Woking, the lowest scoring team in the league, whom Horsham had put six goals past in November’s home win? Not so. Whether it was a touch of complacency or just knowing that they are safe from relegation, or a bit of both, is for conjecture, but last Saturday Horsham became only Woking’s second victim of the season, Match Day Coach Brian Humphreys telling the District Post: “We conceded two goals through poor defensive discipline, but once we
woke up we were a different side and Peter Neave scored, scrambling the ball in from a short corner just before half time. In the second half we played well, Jean Marshall getting an open play goal to level the score. Then, unaccountably, our performance dropped again and we stopped passing, which we normally do so well. We were dribbling too much and when we gave them possession yet again they scored the winner. It was a case of them having something to play for and we didn’t.” With just two league games left Guildford top the table with 49 points, five ahead of Trojans, who have a game in hand. Horsham are ninth on 20 points, one clear of Staines, while Slough (11) occupy the penultimate berth, four points to the good over Woking, who have played a game less. This Saturday in their last home game – at Christ’s Hospital with a noon push back – Horsham welcome mid table Blackheath & Elthamians, to whom they lost 2-1 at Mottingham’s London Marathon Sports Ground earlier in the season. For their final league fixture (March 23) Horsham travel to south east London’s Bermondsey to take on London Academicals, aiming to avenge the home defeat suffered in December.
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Horsham crush Dover with explosive early blast Saturday March 9 – London 2 South East Dover 21 69 Horsham Rugby Martin Read - Sports Reporter Horsham’s long trip to Dover was rewarded by their sixth 50+ league win of the season, during which they have also inflicted two half century cup defeats. The Kent win was Horsham’s eighth consecutive victory – seven in the league and one in the cup – making them the highest scoring team in the league with 734 points. And, Horsham’s current runner up position was improved by third in the table Charlton Park losing against the odds away to lowly Deal & Betteshanger, just along the coast. Leaders Beckenham also lost – only their second reverse of the season, but remain seven points clear of Horsham, who have a three point advantage over Charlton. Last Saturday Horsham sailed home with their first win at the Crabble ground, where Hutton, Trueman, Compton, Edrich, Sobers and an array of top international cricketers competed, Kent County Cricket Club previously using the venue as a much-loved outground for many years. In their glory years Dover RFC graced higher leagues, but, despite injury depletions, rampaging Horsham posted five tries and three conversions in the opening quarter of an hour, fatally wounding the hosts before they had had a chance to respond, Kyle Fairs starting the rout straight from the off. Sam Hampson then got over ahead of Fairs thrusting through for his second, Mathieu Pecharman adding two more tries, the second resulting from his long, blistering run, and when Joe Wilde completed a hat trick of conversions, the Green & Whites were 31 nil up. And, things soon got even better, Emmet O’Rahilly and Vince Everitt compounding
Dover’s misery with two more tries, both converted. To Dover’s credit, they kept competing, scoring three second half tries, but Hampson and Jonny Whiting also both got over the line for Horsham, signing off the substantial win, Horsham Head Coach Nick Stocker saying: “We started brightly and killed the game off in the first quarter, the challenge for the team being to maintain focus and play to our patterns. On the whole this was achieved, although we did occasionally become loose. Our pace caused problems all day and we managed to keep the ball alive when in attack, leading to some excellent team tries. Play-
ers stepping up in the absence of regular first team starters all did extremely well, notably Josh Earle and Luke Powell, and O’Rahilly and Everitt were a handful, too. However, despite good performances from Nick Bell, Wilde, Marcus Condon, Jamie Redmayne and Adam Clarkson, Man of the Match goes to Kyle Fairs for his outstanding all round showing. After a weekend break we head into the final three league matches of the season with a tough home game against Haywards Heath (5th after beating Beckenham last week).” The Haywards Heath game on the 23rd is a league and Bob Rogers Cup double header.
YMCA go second with fifth consecutive league win Saturday March 9 – Southern Combination Football League – Premier Division Horsham YMCA 4 1 Arundel Football Martin Read - Sports Reporter Honestly and truthfully, without a word of a lie, this reporter avoids clichés like the plague, but this was a game of two halves. Earlier in the season YMCA had beaten struggling Arundel twice at Mill Road - in the Peter Bentley Cup and in the league - but in the first half last Saturday (YM’s first appearance at Gorings Mead for three weeks), it was stalemate with little to choose between the two sides. The second half, though, was a completely different story with
YM bossing the game from the restart, with the gulf between the two sides underlined by their positions in the table. After a highly disappointing run of nine games, delivering just two wins and two draws, earning eight points out of a possible 27, YM’s push for promotion is firmly back on track with their fifth straight win. But, last Saturday the game started scrappily, each side earning corners, bringing the respective keepers – YM’s Aaron Jeal and Arundel’s Dan Stevens - into play, Jeal finger-tipping a threat away before the somewhat more dangerous looking Arundel fired across the goal with nobody able to make contact. YM’s best chance came when a breakaway supplied Leon Eales with the ball, but he could only blaze over, the first half.
ending goal-less. YM were much improved second time round, Tony Nwachukwu scoring almost straight from the restart, Stevens palming the ball into the goal. Appeals for a YM penalty followed, but Bown was booked for diving. Then, with Arundel playing for league survival, Jeal had to run out to head clear, but, for YM, Alex Barbary’s header was punched clear before Dean Bown converted a goal mouth scramble. The goal animated Arundel Manager, Simon Hull, to shout: “We stepped off it – come on, we need the next goal.” And, Jeal had to be at his very best to pull off a pinpoint reaction save before another Arundel attack was cleared off the line and a golden opportunity was skewed wide from their corner. Responding, a YM
long range shot was just off target, then, Bown was robbed of the ball, denying him a shot before his subsequent attempt sailed over, prompting YM skipper Dean Carden to exhort: “Come on YM, don’t go off the boil.” But, he needn’t have worried, Jack Hartley getting YM’s third goal from an excellent cross. YM were now firmly in charge, with two headers going unrewarded. Another goal was inevitable and it arrived when Barbary’s shot was parried for sub Bradley Ross to pile in his first senior success. With time fast evaporating, the Barbary/Ross combination almost produced another goal, but it was Arundel who grabbed a gift from the penalty spot with the last kick of the game, 17 year old Jack Frankland needlessly crunch-
ing an opponent. YM Manager Peter Buckland told us: “We had five Under 23 players involved today, so a very pleasing win. We changed our tactics at half time, coming back out in 4-4-2 format, that was the start of us taking over and we’re back up to second.” On Saturday YM visit 13thplaced Lancing, whom they have already despatched in the cup and league, but Lancing held strong promotion contenders Newhaven to a goal-less draw last Saturday. Meanwhile, with seven matches left Chichester remain top with 76 points, ten clear of YM. Newhaven, with a game in hand, are third with 65 and Eastbourne Town fourth on 64