Match Report
County League: Division One
 Three Bridges 0 |  Horsham YMCA 2 Russell.M 2, 59 |
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Source: Alan Norbury, West Sussex County Times |
CLASSY Horsham YMCA all but won their second County League Division 1 title in two seasons on Monday with a controlled 2-0 victory over Three Bridges.
Striker Matt Russell bagged a brace - one off his stomach -as YM dominated from start to finish.
The Gorings Mead outfit are now six points ahead of second placed Ringmer, thanks to their 1-0 loss to Hailsham, with a far superior goal difference.
Only two games remain, and it would take a catastrophic collapse for YM to be caught.
A point at home to Wick on Saturday will see John Suter's men crowned champions for the second season in a row.
Two injuries to defender Glen Woodburn cast the only shadow on the day - he broke a finger in the first half and later received 35 stitches to a head wound sustained in the second period.
Delighted manager Suter said: "It's a shame that it's not definite, but it's as close to definite as you can be.
"I gave the players a rollicking for singing 'champions' after the Ringmer game - all it did was motivate the other teams. We are not champions yet, and it is rather muted today, but today is the time it has effectively happened."
YM came roaring out of the traps, knocking Three Bridges for six - and the prolific Russell was on the score sheet in the second minute. Dean Garden swung in a deep corner which found Ellis Hooper unmarked, he hit a cross shot which YM's 20-goal top scorer instinctively turned in off his stomach.
Almost three minutes had elapsed before the ball first entered the visitors' half, as Bridges failed to get to grips with YM's movement up front.
Despite YM's dominance, the next chance fell to Bridges playmaker Darren Pearce - he picked up a blocked shot from Danny Fuller and hit a low effort which arrowed towards the bottom corner, Chatfield did well to turn it behind.
YM continued to play with freedom however, Dave Gellatly and James Grant missed the target from range while Joel O'Hara tied Lee Davis up in knots with his wing wizardry.
The defensive burden was largely left to Matt Kelly in the Bridges back line, his strength in the air was a sticking point for YM attacks. But the leaders kept plugging away
Russell planted a free header into Tony Smith's grateful arms before he struck the post after some gorgeous link up play with O'Hara.
It was a similar tale in the second half, YM's final ball just failing to find its man. Grant shot over, and the ghost of wasteful finishing threatened to haunt the front men, until Russell's glorious finish on 59 minutes put the game beyond doubt.
O'Hara's firm header found Grant, who lifted a ball over the defence into the marksman's path and Russell glided in to coolly lob Smith.
Woodburn's head injury, sustained as he fell, marred a quiet final 20 minutes as Horsham played out the remainder of the match at their own pace.
"I'm delighted to have picked up 13 points from five away games, that’s a terrific record in itself,” remarked Suter.
"I thought first five minutes was very good, you can't score too early, but we did score early land felt it was going to be easier than we actually made it and we dropped a gear.
"We were playing at their level, not playing with the urgency and commitment we did at Ringmer. A lot of players were running on empty after Saturday's match. We played backwards and sideways rather than forwards.
"I thought we were much better in the second half, we tried to up the tempo and Joel O'Hara was superb.
"The game was never in danger of being lost, although saying that they had a couple of chances, that's what happens when you start playing slowly. But the result is what it's all about and we've probably won the league."
Team: (4-4-2): Chatfield; Garden, Hooper, Woodburn (Westgate 72), Levett; Duffield, Potter, Gellatly (Bird 70), O'Hara; Russell, Grant (Trevor 64).