Match Report
County League:Division One
| Horsham YMCA 1 Churchil 37 |
Three Bridges 0 |
Date:26th December 2003 Location:Gorings Mead
Source Russell Staves, West Sussex County Times
IT IS unlikely that James Plumley will forget this Boxing Day derby game in a hurry.
The teenage YM keeper was instrumental in his side's first win since November 1 but it was two bizarre incidents in the second half rather than a string of fine saves that were the main topic of conversation in the bar afterwards.
The first came in the 56th minute when Plumley bounced the ball before catching it again on the edge of the box, an action which referee Steve Cherryman deemed as a loss of possession and penalised the young keeper although most of the 203 spectators looked as confused as the offender.
Luckily for the home side, Pat Massaro could not take advantage from the indirect free-kick but Plumley handed the visitors a belated Christmas present when he replicated the error eight minutes later.
Plumley, however, made amends when he dived full length to tip over ex-Millwall defender Damian Webber's thunderous strike that looked destined to burst the net.
That save, which was the best of a handful of superb stops, meant Plumley deservedly picked up the GLS man of the match and ensured Phil Churchill's 37th minute poach was enough to separate the sides.
"You would have to single James out, he had a marvellous game," said YM manager John Suter, who flew to Spain for a holiday the day after the game.
There are not many things that Suter has not seen on a football field after 48 years in the game, but he admitted that the referee penalising Plumley for bouncing the ball was a new one for him. "I have never seen a referee take advantage of the rule like that," he said.
It was not just Plumley who could enjoy a celebratory drink after the game as the whole side battled with spirit that belied their miserable run of ten games without a win.
Matt Duffield and Joel O'Hara did not stop running, Ryan Andrews displayed renewed vigour in the middle of the park while Wayne Potter – the battery in YM's watch – did all the ugly things that make him such an important player.
At the back, Paul Charman and Ian Fenn kept the shackles on Pat Massaro who can be lethal if he gets a chance in front of goal.
"I thought we deserved it on the balance of 90 minutes. We worked ever so hard and the spirit was a credit to the players that have stayed together. There were some excellent performances, everyone played well," added Suter.
The YM boss added that his sangria would taste all the sweeter for the result. "It's been so long without a win that I had forgot what winning was like," he laughed.
On a murky Boxing Day morning, which was lightened by some seasonal banter between the spectators, the hosts nearly went behind in the second minute with what would have been an early entry for next year's Christmas bloopers special had Plumley not been alert to the danger.
Charman, with his back to goal, somehow managed to hook his clearance over his head but was spared the embarrassment of a comical own goal when Plumley flung himself to his left to palm the ball away.
The hosts soon found their rhythm after the early scare and began to lay siege on Bridges' goal although they found Alan Mansfield in impressive form.
The visiting keeper was not troubled in the 13th minute when Churchill turned Matt Duffield's low cross into the side netting but was the central figure a minute later in a frantic flurry of action.
Mr Cherryman kept his hands by his sides when Churchill looked like he was tripped in the box but had no hesitation in pointing to the spot Joel O'Hara was bundled over seconds later.
Duffield, the YM captain, took responsibility but Mansfield guessed correctly and dived to his left to push away the waist high penalty.
The keeper was at it again two minutes later when he acrobatically tipped over O'Hara's header after Steve Davies had linked with Dean Carden to fashion the chance. Duffield then side-footed a volley straight at Mansfield midway through the half.
Bridges created their first real chance in the 24th minute when former YM and Horsham midfielder Lee Butcher sent Simon Funnell galloping down the left flank. The number 11 made good ground before picking out the prolific Massaro who was eventually crowded out and the opening was lost.
YM took a deserved lead in the 37th minute when Duffield dinked the ball over the onrushing Mansfield after Davies had sent him clear. The ball looked like it was going to creep over the line until Churchill did what all good strikers do when he tapped it home from a yard out to make sure.
The hosts pressed forward in search of a second but Mansfield continued to frustrate them. He made another good save to hold Andrews' sweetly struck half-volley and a minute before half-time punched away Carden's stinging drive.
It was Plumley's turn to take centre stage in the second half although the young keeper should have been picking the ball out of the net two minutes after the restart when Andy Alexander lashed the ball over from four yards.
Danny Smith went close with a deflected drive and from the resulting corner Plumley had to tip over Clay Lamont's header that was heading towards the top corner.
The keeper had a let off from the second corner when he came off second best with Webber but the Bridges defender headed against the crossbar. The visitors were swarming forward and, despite Andrews hitting the crossbar with a free-kick at the other end, looked certain to grab an equaliser.
After getting away with his bouncing the ball episodes, Plumley continued to defy a now rampant Bridges and another excellent save from Smith in the 70th minute frustrated them even further.
Minutes later, Smith escaped Carden's attentions to work another opening but Plumley again got the better of his opponent, this time getting down low to save.
Ryan Hackett was the next to test Plumley but, like his team-mates had discovered earlier, he found the keeper in defiant mood when his shot was turned into the side netting.
Massaro did eventually wriggle free with five minutes remaining but, in a passage that summed up home side's grit and determination, the defence willingly flooded back in their droves to clear the danger.
The competitive nature of a local derby spilled over in the last minute when Smith, whose bulky frame and tattoos match his fiery character, was sent off for stamping on Carden under the watchful eyes of the linesman. The dismissal flattened Bridges who had nothing left in the tank but the raised arms of the YM players at the final whistle told its own story.
Team: Plumley; Carden, Fenn, Charman, Sleat, O'Hara; Duffield, Potter, Andrews; Churchill, Davies (Young 88).