Match Report
County League:Division One
 Horsham YMCA 5 Russell.M 20, 23, 45, 72 Carden 89 |  Southwick 0 |
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Date: 18th March2006 Location:Gorings Mead
Source: by Patrick Corlett, West Sussex County Times
MATT Russell led the way for YM with four goals as they battered rock bottom Southwick 5-0.
The hosts had a staggering 35 efforts and it would not have been unfair if they had wracked up double figures in the rout.
YM have now closed the gap on leaders Ringmer to five points and have a game in hand. After the weekend they have got a better goal difference than their title rivals, which could prove crucial.
Manager John Suter commented: "I said I wouldn't criticise anybody today because of the conditions, bone hard pitch and wind all over the place, but I'm tempted to criticise our finishing - we did miss an awful lot of good chances.
"If it had been in double figures it would have been a fairer reflection of the game. It's not a perfect world is it?
"The first objective was to win and the second to win well and we did both. We totally dominated the game and could have had more goals but three points and a plus five on the goal difference, you would settle for," he added.
The Gorings Mead outfit were in control of the game from the first whistle and started off how they meant to continue - carving their opponents apart and creating chances whilst playing some excellent football.
Nick Flint - helping YM out while they are suffering from injuries - hit a couple of chances wide early on after clearances had fallen to him on the edge of the area.
The best opportunities fell to Woodburn but Chris Kelsey tipped his header over and Flint blazed over from close range when he should have hit his shot first time, but delayed pulling the trigger.
The Southwick goal led a charmed life when Nick Levett, Russell and Matt Duffield could have scored but the ball was scrambled clear for a corner.
From the resulting corner YM took the lead in the 20th minute. Dean Garden's centre was headed back across goal by Flint to Russell, who had the simplest of tasks to nod home.
Three minutes later and dreadful defending from Southwick allowed a big goal-kick from lan Chatfield to bounce and run through to Duffield, he set up Russell who beat his man and finished emphatically.
Russell was put clear twice in the next few minutes but spurned both opportunities before the YM stopper was called into action to dive at the feet of Wayne Joseph.
The chances continued to flow when Levett had two clear sights of goal but smashed the ball over and was unluckily thwarted by a super save from Kelsey, palming his shot wide.
An error by Chatfield presented Joseph with another chance when the ball bounced over the YM keeper but the striker failed to anticipate it and missed out on a simple tap in.
Russell missed the best opening when he somehow sent the ball flying down the road from close range just before the break.
However he claimed the match ball just 30 seconds after half-time when he coolly slotted home.
For the next 20 minutes YM continued to waste chances with Flint, Russell, Levett, Grant and Duffield the guilty parties.
Russell then poked in his fourth in the 72nd minute after constant pressure.
The over-worked Southwick keeper then produced another good save to deny Flint before he made an unfortunate error to let in the fifth in the dying minutes of the game.
Garden capped an impressive display with a goal when he rifled in a shot from 30 yards that bounced through Kelsey's hands into the back of the net.
Team: (4-4-2): Chatfield; Garden, Hooper, Woodburn, Fitzgerald (Dunk 76); Duffield, Potter (Westgate 55), Grant, Levett; Flint (Plumridge 76), Russell.
