Match Report
County League:Division One
 Horsham YMCA 0 |  Three Bridges 1 Dunning 88 |
Date: 28th March 2005 Location: Gorings Mead
Source: West Sussex County Times
YM WERE robbed at the death by local rivals Three Bridges as substitute Pat Dunning hit the only goal of a fiery encounter on Easter Monday.
In a match that was dominated by the hosts they failed to make a breakthrough as Alan Mansfield pulled off some great saves and the YM players forgot their shooting boots.
Dunning struck in the 88th minute when he pounced on a weak back pass by the normally reliable Ellis Hooper and rounded Ian Chatfield to net.
"I'm gutted, very disappointed," said manager John Suter. "It happens and will continue to happen in football. When you dominate a game for such long periods and don't score you think that they might score, which they did," he remarked.
The first opening came in the fourth minute as Steve Davies broke clear of the offside trap and sent a ball zipping across the face of the goal but neither Joel O'Hara or James Grant could get a meaningful touch.
Three Bridges started the game with five in midfield and just Pat Massaro up front in a bid to frustrate, but the home side still managed to carve out chances.
O'Hara nipped in to steal the ball from Alex Bacon and was bearing down on goal before the full-back pulled him down right on the edge of the box, the resulting free-kick was wasted as Hooper smacked the ball into the wall.
Minutes later O'Hara nodded the ball on for Davies who touched it off for Grant as the Three Bridges defence was split wide open, but the midfielder shot wide.
A fine whipped cross by Dean Carden was flicked on by Davies into O'Hara's path but he volleyed over from close range.
Midway through the first half a deep free-kick by Nick Levett was headed down by Ali Russell and O'Hara stabbed it goalwards but Mansfield made a great block with his legs.
A ball to the far post by Grant was met by Matt Duffield as he came steaming in but hit the side netting.
In the 30th minute Russell worked a good opening for Davies who flashed the ball back across goal but too far in front of his strike partner and wide of the upright. Then Russell and O'Hara played a nice one-two but the keeper was out sharply to deny the winger.
On the stroke of half-time Three Bridges had their first shot on goal when Massaro touched the ball off for Andy Turner to hit a rasping drive from 30 yards that Chatfield tipped over.
Five minutes into the second period Davies volleyed a Carden cross just wide and Bridges responded when Massaro clipped a ball in for Justin Simmons to spectacularly volley over.
Grant and Carden combined to tee up Davies for a golden opportunity but a poor first touch meant the chance vanished.
With a little over a quarter of an hour to go the visitors brought on another forward as Dunning partnered Massaro in search of an unlikely winner.
Chances continued to come and go for YM as Russell drilled a free-kick just wide and Mansfield brilliantly tipped Butcher's effort on to the bar and the rebound from Russell was headed off the line.
Disaster struck as Dunning punished Hooper's criminal defending to the delight of the visitors.
However, there was ten minutes of added on time, and YM nearly grabbed an equaliser when Bridges' Bacon flicked on a whipped free-kick by Levett but his keeper Mansfield clawed it away.
Six minutes into injury-time Clinton Moore's volley was fantastically palmed away by the Bridges keeper at full stretch to thwart the hosts for the final time.
Team: (4-4-2): Chatfield; Carden, Hooper, Carter, Levett; Duffield (Westgate 75), Butcher, Grant, O'Hara (Flint 81); Russell, Davies (Moore 79).