Match Report
County League - Division One

Three Bridges 3 Horsham YMCA 2
Massaro 32, 57
Edwards 69		M.Francis 11
Young 73

Date: 2nd November 2002    

by Russell Staves, West Sussex County Times

Jubilee Field

TWO puddles left YM cursing the weather rather than singing in the rain after a wet afternoon at Jubilee Field.

On an afternoon more suited to mud-wrestling than football, the visitors took the lead through another Mark Francis stunner from 35-yards before Pat Massaro equalised on the half hour.

Just after the break Massaro dinked the ball over the on-coming Dumbrill, his effort was trickling wide, but the ball stuck in a huge puddle that engulfed the six-yard box and the striker ran round the stricken keeper and scored at the second attempt.

Three Bridges made it 3-I through another stroke of good fortune as Andy Turner's left footed cross deflected off his standing leg as he slipped and looped to Jamie Edwards at the near post who swept the ball home.

Paul Young rounded off the game's best move when Nick Flint and Gil from box to box in a Taylor carried the ball matter of seconds to leave the game well poised at 3-2.

But the rain that had played such a big part in proceedings had the final say in the 83rd minute as Flint shot past Alan Mansfield in the Bridges' goal but watched in agony as it stopped in the huge puddle on the goal-line. Andy Turner cleared the danger.

"That's appalling bad luck," said a disgruntled YM manager John Suter as he recalled Flint's effort. "He's done all the work and it's stuck on the line."

Unbelievably, the sort of incident that features in Christmas videos is not new to Suter. As Flint's effort came to a standstill on the line, Suter recalled a Division 2 clash with Bexhill in the early 90s where exactly the same thing happened. "You think 'hello, could this not be our day?' But it happens in football."

But it was not just Flint's effort, which would have levelled the game at 3-3, that left Suter feeling a little hard done by as Massaro probably would not have bagged his second had the puddle not played a part. Everyone said it was going wide, even their players," said the YM boss, before adding with something of an understatement: "I think the pitch conditions favoured them."

The puddles denied YM a point but had they put their chances away in the first half then the game should have been theirs.

Both Young and Micky Hennessy carved out opportunities with jinking runs from the halfway line but their finishing let them down at the crucial moment.

"Both sides had their moments of domination but I don't think we deserved to lose, and I don't often say that. I'm disappointed," said Suter.

YM attacked the Bridges goal, behind which stood a stack of wood for the club's bonfire and fireworks evening, but it was Francis who set the game ablaze with a rocket that would have matched anything seen in the Sussex sky that night. In the 11th minute, Hennessy picked up the loose ball on the right flank, in front of the Bridges' bench, cut inside and laid the ball to Francis who unleashed a spectacular left-foot drive that dipped over Mansfield before saluting the applauding Suter on the opposite side of the pitch.

It was the sort of goal that is becoming his trademark after similarly magnificent strikes against Sidlesham, Chipstead and Broadbridge Heath this season.

Young should have doubled the advantage but volleyed wide at the back post after Peter Durrant had headed on Phil Fitzgerald's free-kick and the YM front man slipped a shot wide of Mansfield's left post minutes later after an excellent run that left three players in his wake.

The pitch was so wet that each step produced a squelehing sound. However, Taylor did not have any problems with his footing when he shot at Mansfield following Matt Duffield's battling run to the edge of the box.

Just as it looked like YM might make their advantage count, Durrant missed as he tried to intercept a ball through the middle to Massaro, and the division's top scorer casually side-stepped the on-rushing Dumbrill before rolling the ball home.

But YM responded in fine style and only a tremendous save from Mansfield, low to his left, prevented a Steve Roberts own goal as he tried to cut out Taylor's square ball to Young who was poised to pounce six yards out.

Hennessy should have done better after a run from the halfway line and the expletive he shouted after shooting wide suggested he knew he had missed a great chance. Mansfield made another good save to deny Young after he had turned neatly on the left hand side of the box.

The rain worsened after the interval and Massaro made the best use of the surface water to put Bridges 2-1 ahead in the 57th minute.

The home side had their tails up and Glen Newall forced Dumbrill into a full-length save after he had cut inside Fitzgerald, and Seb Favata found the YM keeper and substitute Mark Turner well-placed to block his efforts to put away the rebound.

Neither could do anything to prevent Bridges scoring a third after 69 minutes. A quick free-kick was played short down the left to Andy Turner who got to the byline and his cross, that deflected off his own standing leg as he slipped, fell to Edwards who swivelled and volleyed home from three yards.

Suter threw on David Oakes and Flint and the change made quite a difference. It was Flint's drag back in the 73rd minute on the edge of his own box that set up YM's second goal as the visitors broke at pace. Flint breezed past a couple of challenges before feeding Taylor who picked out Young with a diagonal ball and he took one touch before firing past Mansfield.

Five minutes later, Young released' Flint into the box but his shot stuck in the mud as the striker prepared to wheel away in celebration. "It's harsh to lose a game like that," Suter reflected afterwards.



Team: Dumbrill; Durrant (Turner, 46), McCreadie, OShaugnessy; Duffield, M Francis (Qakes, 69), W Potter, Hennessy (Flint, 69), Fitzgerald; Young, Taylor.