Match Report
Sussex County League: Premier Division
| Horsham YMCA 4 Davis 2, 90 Young 67 Churchill 82 |
Ringmer 3 |
Date:13th Mar 2004 Location: Gorings Mead
Source: West Sussex County Times
THE CAVALIER outlook that you can let in as many goals as you want as long as you score more at the other end makes for exciting games but rarely wins anything in modern football.
Unless you are Brazil, putting it into practice is pretty difficult but YM's dearth of defenders forced them to adopt the kamikaze approach against Ringmer, with a 4-3 County League Division 1 home win.
The hosts' non-stop attacking produced four goals and it would have been double that if they had their shooting boots on. However, their inability to stop leaking goals kept the visitors interested in the game for much longer than they should have been.
Steve Davis put YM ahead inside two minutes and added a second goal seconds from the end of normal time. But in between only Paul Young and Phil Churchill managed to find the net as YM wasted chances like mug punters throwing their money away at Cheltenham.
John Suter's lack of defenders forced him to play three up front from the start. It was certainly exciting, as neither side looked too bothered with defending - Alan Hansen would have been foaming at the mouth if he had had been watching. "He likes to win 9-8, I'd rather win 1-0," joked YM midfielder James Bird afterwards.
But Suter was happy with the performance. "I enjoyed it. I felt we were always going to win. We set our stall out to play attacking football because we had more attacking players on the pitch than defenders," he explained, and you could not argue with the logic just the execution.
"It seemed like it was not going to work because we missed so many chances and let them back into the game. We should have won it in the first 20 minutes and the first ten minutes of the second half," he added.
Suter went into the match without right-back Dean Carden and centre-half Lee Silsby. Skipper Matt Duffield, who was the GLS man of the match, slotted in at right-back, Nathan Sleat moved across to centre-half alongside Barrie Westgate, and Jamie Still, who looked more confident as the game progressed, did a steady job at left-back.
"I felt we would be vulnerable at the back. It unhinged us a little bit but Matt Duffield was inspirational," said Suter.
It took the home side just 115 seconds to take the lead when Davis dispatched Young's right wing cross with a crisp volley. The goal scorer should have made it two soon afterwards but his touch let him down and Carl Smeaton came out to smother at his feet. Young was denied again when the visitors' keeper made a sharp save at the foot of the post.
However, the visitors equalised with their first real attack when Sleat's clumsy challenge brought down Jon Donoghue as the big striker homed in on goal. Chris Johnson smacked the penalty home.
YM continued to attack but Young's wayward shooting wasted some good approch work. One early effort sailed over and another attempted left foot volley flew out for a throw. When he did find his range with a cross-shot Smeaton saved.
But it was the visitors who almost went ahead when former Watford player Johnson, who was easily Ringmer's best player, was denied by James Plumley. "His dad would never have saved that," joked one fan knowing that young keeper's father, Ian, was watching in the stand.
Plumley made an even better save when Donoghue turned sharply past Westgate, charging off his line and spreading his body to block.
At the other end Westgate headed a corner wide and was soon giving Prince Harry lookalike Alex Flemming the sort of look that suggested the youngster might need his royal protection squad for the second half.
There was still time for Bird to strike a beautiful free-kick which pinged off the outside of the post as Smeaton had barely moved.
After the break only Danny Bird's brave block prevented Young scoring and the striker must have wondered if he would ever find the net.
The forward was then involved in the game's one controversial moment when he was bundled off the ball by two defenders in the penalty area. The linesman on the near side, who was well placed, raised his flag to indicate a foul but as play continued, took it down again.
YM players surrounded referee Stuart Booth and tried to draw his attention to his assistant. Eventually he went over and chatted with the linesman, but nothing changed and Bird and Wayne Potter picked up yellow cards for arguing their case too strongly.
Suter had another go at the hapless linesman, but it did not look like a penalty and the right decision was arrived at in the end.
The visitors must have wondered how they were still in the game but while Johnson was on the pitch Ringmer always had a chance. The number seven stormed forward, played a neat one-two on the edge of the box, skipped past the last defender but could not beat Plumley who made another fabulous save.
But Gil Taylor, making his first start since November, on the right hand side of the YM midfield was starting to get in behind the visitors' defence who were looking increasingly shaky as soon as anyone ran at them.
Taylor sneaked inside the full back, tip-toed down the byline and crossed for Young who blazed over from the edge of the six-yard box when it looked easier to score.
Churchill was twice inches away from converting Young crosses and you were hoping something would fall into his path.
In the 66th minute Young's up and down game continued when Smeaton spilled his cross shot and the ball ran across the goalmouth but there was no one there to finish.
However, a minute later the relieved Young finally found the net when his cross from the right drifted over the keeper into the far corner. The tentative way the striker put up his hand to acknowledge the applause suggested he was slightly embarrassed that it had gone in.
YM were opening up the visitors at will as Davis, Young and Churchill ran at them but they just could not finish off the job.
The inevitable happened when Ringmer equalised in the 72nd minute. YM half-cleared a corner, Johnson chipped the ball into a crowded area and Donoghue rose highest and nodded home.
YM continued to pour forward at will and finally retook the lead with eight minutes left. Smeaton spilled Davis' effort and when the ball finally fell to Churchill in the area, the striker took a touch, turned and shot into the roof of the net.
With a minute left they made the game safe when Bird launched a quick counter and Davis swept home the rebound after Smeaton had parried Young's shot.
The game had barely restarted before Donoghue pulled it back to 4-3 but with seconds left not even YM could throw it away.
Team: Plumley; Duffield, Westgate, Sleat, Still; Taylor, W Potter, Bird; Young, Davis, Churchill.