Match Report
County League: Division One
| East Preston 2 Huckett 37 Farrell 90 |
Horsham YMCA 0 |
Date:13th December 2003 Location:The Lashmar
Source: Richard Byrne, West Sussex County Times
WHEN it rains it pours and YM's wet, muddy players must have felt hard done by when they traipsed off with nothing to show for 90 minutes of skill and commitment against title chasers East Preston.
The last time YM won in the league, half the country still did not know who Jonny Wilkinson was, but on this form their poor run must end soon.
They hardly looked like a team that have won only one game in their last 12 matches. They were the better side in the first half but went behind against the run of play when Matt Huckett clinically convened the hosts first real chance.
As the conditions worsened after the break both teams had wobbly moments in defence but YM finished strongly and after fluffing several injury times chances to snatch a point, watched as the hosts broke and substitute Lee Farrell finished smartly to clinch victory.
"I think we deserved a point but it was an encouraging performance," said YM manager John Suter. 'Apart from the goals it was very close between the sides, but it's goals that decide games.
He was rightly impressed with the commitment of his players against one of the title contenders. "Everyone can come away a little bit heartened by their own performance. For a side that have the record we've got, we played with an astonishing amount of confidence, composure and effort. We knocked the ball around nicely."
YM's depleted squad forced Suter to call up Dean Potter from the reserves. The experienced defender, who was returning after a long injury lay—off, slotted in nicely at sweeper but had to withdraw at half time after pulling a hamstring.
"If he hadn't got injured it might have been a different story," said Suter. "The re-jig didn't suit us in the second half We created some good scoring chances but they did defend in depth."
As Suter chatted with his opposite number and old mate Vic Short after the game, even the East Preston manager admitted he would have been happy with a draw.
The YM boss has been at a bit of a loss to explain his side's poor run but feels their luck must change soon."We've been united, we've talked a lot and we've worked hard. It was a heartening performance, we did not look like a side that had lost that number of games.
YM started well as the midfield trio of Matt Duffield, Wayne Potter and Ryan Andrews bit into the tackles and dictated the game.
East Preston's tight little ground is well sheltered from the wind but the rain soon forced most of the spectators into the far corner, where they huddled together by the clubhouse.
But YM relished the conditions and spent most of the time pushing forward. In the tenth minute Dean Garden swung in a free-kick from out near the right corner-flag, Steve Davies knocked the ball back across goal and Nathan Sleat headed over a good chance.
The visitors hardly looked like a team short on confidence and their front pairing of Davies and Phil Churchill looked sharp. Davies held the ball up well despite a few let him know you're there' challenges from big centre-back Russell Tomlinson, and the whippet-like Churchill ran at the home defence. Both strikers hit the target early on but neither found the power to seriously worry Andy McCarthy.
Players were soon launching themselves into tackles on the slippery surface but referee John Pike, who must have felt at home in all the water, took the pragmatic approach to let a lot go in the conditions.
YM defender Paul Charman took out Huckett like a great white shark munching a surfer, but Pike generously kept his card in his pocket.
Midway through the half Churchill, whose willingness to run at the hosts' big centre-backs was causing them problems, cut in from the right, skipped past several tackles and pulled the ball back from the byline. O'Hara just failed to get a significant touch at the near post, Davies had his shot blocked at the far stick and the ball ballooned up in the air O'Hara was first to react, leapt and nodded the ball backwards towards the goal where it was hacked off the line as several YM players appealed unsuccessfully for the goal.
But the hosts always looked dangerous on the break and Huckett, who was recently called up by Suter to the Sussex squad, was In no mood to do his county boss any favours.
In the 27th minute he raced away down the left and crossed as Charman again slid in recklessly and caught him late. But the referee played advantage and only James Plumley's brilliant point blank save stopped Andy Willems opening the scoring. Huckett was left in a heap and Charman must have been wondering what he needed to do to get a card.
But YM looked the likelier to score and in the 34th minute, Duffield surged forward and released Churchill down the right. The wiry striker weaved his way to the byline and pulled the ball back and OHara, arriving late in the box, snatched at the chance and sliced wide.
While the visiting supporters were wondering how they were not ahead, as so often happens their team went behind in the 37th minute. The impressive Simon Clayton crossed low to the near post, Josh Biggs stepped over the ball as Charman challenged and it ran through to Huckett who swept home the opener from five yards out.
East Preston almost doubled their lead two minutes later when Plumley saved bravely at Clayton's feet but only Sleat's desperate challenge stopped the midfielder tucking away the loose ball as the lanky defender deflected his follow up onto the post.
However, YM finished the half strongly and must have felt a bit unlucky to sip their half-time tea a goal behind. Dean Potter, who had been struggling for the last ten minutes of the halt, could not continue and was replaced by Marwan Alafandi. They came out fired up and Davies and Churchill both went close in the opening two minutes but it just seemed to be one of those days when the ball was not going to fall right for the visitors.
When Davies did find the target in the 53rd minute McCarthy pushed his low shot around the post and from the resulting corner, the hosts broke quickly. Huckett raced away and tried to slip the ball through to Chris Yelling who was pulled back by Alafandi but fortunately for the YM substitute the flag was up.
In the 63rd minute Davies found half a yard down the right and whipped in an inviting cross that Churchill was inches away from convening as he slid in.
As the conditions worsened, Charman was harshly penalised for a back pass in the 73rd minute. East Preston almost capitalised from the resulting free kick on the right-hand corner of the six-yard box as Chris Hibberd's initial effort was blocked and Huckett crashed the ball against the bar as the ball pinged around the area.
By this time both sides were aquaplaning into the tackles and every time it went into either penalty area a goal looked possible. OHara typified the visitors commitment as he ran, chased and slid into tackles.
Suter threw on 16 year olds Tim Martin and Adam O'Carroll as the visitors piled forward in search of an equaliser In stoppage time the ball was pinging about the home area. Martin almost got his head to the ball, Duffield miskicked and East Preston broke. Clayton found Farrell with a long ball out to the left. The substitute bounced off the advancing Plumley and slid the ball in from a tight angle to give the final scoreline a flattering look.
Team:Plumley; Charman, 0 Potter (Alafandi 45, Martin 87), Sleat; Garden, Duffield, W Potter, Andrews, OHara (OGarroll 87); Churchill, Davies.