Match Report
County League:Division One
 East Preston 2 Farrell 6 Biggs 29 |  Horsham YMCA 3 Davies 35 Russell 78 Grant 90(+3) |
Date: 22nd February 2005 Location: The Lashmar
Source: Russell Staves, West Sussex County Times
JUBILANT YM players belted out choruses of 'champions, champions' after they performed a great escape act at East Preston on Tuesday night.
Trailing 2-0 after just 20 minutes to a feisty East Preston side, the league leaders were handed a lifeline when goalkeeper Andy McCarthy got in a muddle allowing Steve Davies to roll the ball into an empty net.
YM pummelled the hosts with a vicious aerial bombardment as the snow began to fall in the second half but must have thought it would not be their night as Gary Bidwell, Clinton Moore and Ali Russell all hit the woodwork.
John Suter's gutsy troops stuck to their guns however, and were rewarded with a magnificent equaliser in the 78th minute from Russell.
Like a boxer who has his opponent on the ropes, YM went for the jugular and scored a knockout blow in the 93rd minute.
Russell and Davies, two giants on the evening, combined well down the left flank to set up James Grant who stroked the ball home from ten yards.
Cue wild celebrations and chanting in the changing rooms - even the normally sedate Suter allowed himself to get a little excited.
"That was a very big result," he said. "To get three points when we were 2-0 down seemed inconceivable, it did not seem realistic. But I think we deserved it for our second half performance."
East Preston's Lashmar ground has been something of a bogey venue for Suter in recent years, and the omens looked ominous as early as the third minute when lan Chatfield was forced into an excellent one-handed save from Lee Farrell.
The hosts, who have a reputation for knocking the ball around smartly,, underlined their status with a well-worked opening goal in the sixth minute.
Seizing on a dreadful YM short corner routine, East Preston counter-attacked with zest and sent Farrell clear who rounded the exposed Chatfield and slotted home.
McCarthy made a good double save at the other end, firstly from Russell's header and then from Tom Carter's weak rebound.
But YM fell further behind on 20 minutes, the unmarked Josh Biggs heading in Chris Hibberd's inviting free-kick.
Biggs' Robbie Keane style somersault celebration left a lot to be desired, but it would be the visitors who would turn the game on its head before full-time.
Tempers flared on and off the pitch, with both sets of players resorting to cynical kicks prompting some unkind comments from the shivering spectators. A small group camped behind Chatfield's goal started to boo Barrie Westgate in the second half after a few dodgy challenges.
The turning point came ten minutes before half-time. McCarthy appeared in little danger as he came to collect Russell's low cross, but got in a terrible mess with his defender which presented Davies with the easy task of rolling the ball into the unguarded net.
The East Preston goal led a charmed life as YM attacked with gusto after the interval.
Bidwell, who did well after coming on for Matt Duffield, struck McCarthy's left-hand post with a stinging volley in the 58th minute.
Moore then hit the crossbar five minutes later with a deflected shot from the edge of the box and Russell completed the treble misfortune soon after when his header crashed against McCarthy's right post.
East Preston, now camped in their half, nearly caught YM with a sucker-punch but Farrell pulled his shot wide of Chatfield's left post.
Back came the visitors and equalised with the goal of the night.
Russell, who grew in stature during the evening, gave McCarthy no chance when he turned and fired an unstoppable shot with his right foot into the top corner from 25 yards.
Rather than settle for a point, YM threw caution to the wind in search j of an unlikely win.
Ellis Hooper could have won it with two minutes remaining when he intelligently worked himself some space in the box but the ball would not sit down for him.
The YM bench thought their chance of victory had come a minute into time added on after Grant was felled in the box by Gavin Hammond. Despite contact being heard 30'yards away, referee Steve Feest waved away YM's protests.
But Grant had the last laugh in the third minute of injury-time, shooting past McCarthy to prompt the 'champions'chants.
Suter, typically, kept his feet on the ground despite YM extending their lead at the top to 11 points.
"It would have been four defeats on the trot if we had lost that," said Suter. "We will keep taking one game at a time."
Team:(4-5-1): Chatfield; Garden, Hooper, Carter, Levett; Duffield (Bidwell 45), Grant, Westgate, Russell, Moore; Davies.
