Match Report
Ryman League: Division One South
 Horsham YMCA 3 Carden 17(pen) Kirkwood 31 Goncalves 86 |
 Whyteleafe 2 Rivers 43, 54 |
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Source: Allan Norbury, West Sussex County Times |
A DEBUT goal from substitute Jose Goncalves sealed a dramatic 3-2 win for Horsham YMCA at home to Whyteleafe on Saturday.
Goncalves, who just weeks ago was plying his trade over the fence at the Atspeed Stadium, popped up inside the box with four minutes remaining to fire home the winner.
Earlier, YM had let a two goal lead slip as Whyteleafe responded to Dean Garden's penalty and Scott Kirkwood's fortuitous goal with a brace from lone striker Sean Rivers.
At 2-2 manager John Suter threw Goncalves into the fray, and moved Kirkwood up front alongside Matt Russell to earn the three points. The win takes YM above 40 points in their first season in Ryman League football. "That should be enough (to stay up)," he commented.
"Now we have passed that magic 40 point figure, it is just a case of seeing what we can do. I think we can play better football and it will be interesting to see how we play on better pitches."
"I think the substitutions made the difference," Suter added.
"That's not me patting myself on the back, but they did. Not just Jose coming on, but Scott did very well when he went up front.
"It was not one of our better performances, but to get three points at home with our record is invaluable - I'm ever so pleased with the result but not the performance."
Often slow to find their rhythm, YM flew out of the traps with energy and a real verve to their performance. Some great vision and intelligent passes, from Dan Sackman in particular, pushed Whyteleafe onto the back foot.
The visitors had already survived one penalty shout when Matt Kember tripped Kirkwood inside the box on 16 minutes. YM's top scorer was in an innoccuous position when Kember left his leg trailing, but it was a penalty all the same and Garden gleefully smacked it hard and low beyond the reach of experienced stopper Carl Emberson.
Whyteleafe had packed the midfield, in the hope of throwing support forward for Rivers when they attacked - but it was a rarity in the first half hour.
Garden and Matt Duffield enjoyed great space down the right flank, continuing to put 'Leafe under more pressure.
But the away side did have their chances, Richard Williams went close twice, with a speculative long range effort and a close range header which was well tipped over, shortly before YM increased the advantage.
Kirkwood lined up a free kick from wide on the left wing, and a combination of a gust of wind and Russell's clever ran deceived Emberson as the ball harmlessly floated into the net.
Minutes later, kamikaze defending almost threw away the advantage - goalkeeper Dean Ruddy decided he would try some fancy footwork in his area, before losing out to Daniel Platel who squared for Rivers, but the striker's shot cannoned off the underside of the bar.
Now Whyteleafe's tails were up and Ruddy palmed away Rivers' low shot following Joe Clark's through ball, but he couldn't keep the visitors out two minutes before the break.
Williams pounced on Kirkwood's stray pass on half way, and with YM committed to attack, fed Rivers who hit an early shot which caught Ruddy flat footed and flew in.
Suter remarked: "When it's 2-0 it's always important to get the next goal, when you concede to go to 2-1 the other side is on the front foot."
Whyteleafe emerged for the second half full of determination with Clark pulling the strings, inevitably nine minutes into the period, the visitors equalised.
Ruddy's high clearance was headed back powerfully by Danny Arkwright and after Rivers skipped round Ellis Hooper's challenge, he whipped a fine finish home.
Every man in a white shirt had to battle now, Whyteleafe were snapping into tackles and Arkwright was a constant threat from set prices - giving Hooper and Glen Woodburn a torrid time.
With 20 minutes remaining, Suter shuffled his pack. Pat Massaro, who moments before blazed over from inside the box was replaced by Goncalves, and Kirkwood was moved forward.
Looking to capitalise on their dominance, Whyteleafe almost added a third but for a fine sliding tackle from the booked Hooper. Any mistake and he would have conceded a penalty and received his marching orders.
Galvanised by the last gasp tackle, YM produced a late flurry. Goncalves headed wide before netting the winner on 86 minutes. Garden darted inside on the right and Sackman's clever pass found Goncalves in space to drill the ball into the bottom corner.
"He took the goal ever so well, it was a quality ball from Dan Sackman," Suter enthused.
Man of the match: Matt Duffield - tireless work up and down the right flank.
Magic Moment: Ellis Hooper's last ditch do or die tackle at 2-2.
YM (4-4-2): Ruddy; Garden, Woodburn, Hooper, Levett (Lovegrove 80); Duffield, White, Sackman, Kirkwood; Massaro (Goncalves 71), Russell.