Match Report
County League:Division One
 Horsham YMCA 5 Grant 12 O'Hara 14, 43 Hooper 40 Davies 83 |  Pagham 0 |
Date: 22nd March 2005 Location: Gorings Mead
Source: by Ruddell Staves, West Sussex County Times
DON'T tell John Suter, but YM need just 13 points from their remaining seven games to be guaranteed the County League title.
The Gorings Mead outfit are 11 points clear at the summit following Tuesday night's 5-0 drubbing of Pagham and could win the title at Chichester on April 16.
Whitehawk, the only side who can realistically wreck YM's first County League triumph, will finish on 85 points if they win their final nine games. Four wins and a draw will leave YM champions with 86 points.
But Suter is 'old school', a firm believer in shifting the small stones before moving mountains, and you can bet the veteran manager has not yet ordered the victory champagne.
"I'm a miserable bugger," he said, refusing to be drawn on title talk. "We can't afford to get carried away - that contributed to our bad spell. We have not yet won anything and have to take it one game at a time."
However, the YM boss was loose-lipped when it came to marvelling at the destruction of Pagham, who had upset Ringmer in their previous outing.
"You have to be pleased when you win 5-0. I was impressed with our first half, I thought we were excellent. We took our goals at regular intervals and nobody had a bad game," he said.
Roared on by sponsor Victor Gladwish, who is fast becoming the non-league Delia Smith due to his verbal outbursts, the hosts poured forward from the first whistle.
In the third minute James Grant, who had another impressive game, played in the excellent Joel O'Hara but his strike ended up threatening the houses in Queensway rather than Wes Hallett's goal.
Grant's effort two minutes later - he missed by 30 yards -left the midfielder a little red-faced, but a whitewash looked on the cards.
It was no surprise when YM took the lead in the 12th minute. Dean Garden, in acres of space on the right, crossed to an unmarked Grant whose side-foot volley nestled into the bottom corner.
O'Hara doubled the advatage two minutes later, chasing down Ali Russell's flick-on before cleverly lifting the ball over the onrushing Hallett.
YM's third goal, on 40 minutes, was the best of the evening. Ellis Hooper, as calm and composed a defender as you will see at this level, showed the same qualities in the Pagham box when he knocked the ball over a defender before lashing it into the top corner.
If Hooper's strike was a party piece, then O'Hara's second goal three minutes later was a party pooper. Pagham's defence looked in little danger as Grant swung in a deep cross, but a visiting player stuck out a boot, deflecting it straight to O'Hara who gleefully poked home from close range.
Unfortunately YM could not match the intensity of the first half and Pagham nearly took advantage of some sloppy play from the hosts as Phil Turner and Michael Frangou both shot at lan Chatfield.
But YM regained the initiative and, after Clinton Moore missed a header, Steve Davies added a fifth in the 83rd minute.
Brendan Sebuliba, another second half replacement, coasted down the left and crossed low to YM's top scorer who stabbed home, almost falling over in the process, his 19th goal of the season.
Team: (4-4-2): (3-5-2): Chatfield; Westgate (Bidwell 66), Hooper, Carter; Garden, Grant, Butcher, O'Hara (Sebuliba 63), Steal; Russell (Moore 64), Davies.