Match Report
Ryman League: Division One South
 Horsham YMCA 1Lawley 19 |  Whitstable Town |
Match Ball Sponsor: Neil Chartres | Source: Allan Norbury, West Sussex County Times |
THREE points was all that mattered on Saturday for YM, and they made harder work of it than they should.
But after a couple of glorious chances went begging, Whitstable were still in the game in the dying moments, and it took a fine Tom Rand save to deny them a point.
White said: "They are scrapping like we are, so it was never going to be a great spectacle.
"I actually thought we played some good football at times, but it's the same old story that we go in front and luckily this time we kept a clean sheet. We had chances to have gone two or three up and at the end it was a great save from Randy."
Gavin Geddes made his return to the YM starting line up after shaking off an achil-les problem, and he was a focal point for the hosts early on. Both sides were eager to get forward but with little end product.
Nigel Brake punted a free kick over the bar, and at the other end Dan Dolton's effort sailed comfortably into Rand's arms.
It was only when YM in-jected some real pace that the game lit up. And it was Lawley who provided the spark.
Collecting the ball on the left wing, he cut inside before fir-ing a low drive beyond Kevin Fewell in the Whitstable goal.
The home side were clearly the stronger, and Luke Gedling was a lively presence, who proved difficult to pick up.
That's not to say Whitstable didn't have their opportunities, and they were good ones too.
In the 35th minute, David Corey slipped strike partner Stuart Vahid in with a pass which perfectly bisected the YM defence - Vahid just had Rand to beat but rushed his effort under pressure and missed the target. The keeper led an angry inquest, YM couldn't afford to be sloppy.
Five minutes later, Tony Timms received the first of his two yellow cards, for reacting angrily when penalised for what appeared a good tackle.
Just before the break, Joe Mitchings might have levelled the scores when his snap shot flashed wide - it was going to be a nervy second half if YM weren't careful.
In the event, the hosts could have been three up by the hour mark.
John Westcott guided a tricky far post volley just wide, and Luke Gedling was denied by a good Fewell save at close quarters moments after the midfielder shot wide from the edge of the box.
YM's dominance was halted with the dismissal of Timms, who had his elbows raised when going up for a header.
It was enough to earn a second yellow from a picky referee who awarded more than 30 free kicks in the match. '
That prompted a reshuffle, and Whitstable pushed forward. Four minutes from time, Dan Whisker shot wide but YM should have killed off their attacking intent in the last minute.
Substitute Shaheen Sadough chased down a clearance and after skipping past Fewell's challenge, his shot crept agonisingly wide of the far post.
Within seconds Whitstable almost snatched their point, Glint Gooding forcing an instictive save from Rand, which proved to be a match winner.
White added: "People are talking about league tables and we've only played 13 games. It would have been a bad three points not to have got today.
"They have got a tough week coming up and we didn't want to give them a good start to the week.
"We'll take the three points and I thought we deserved it."
Man of the Match:Luke Gedling. Proved to be a constant threat
Magic moment:Tom Rand's instictive thrust of his left hand to keep Whitstable at bay.
YMCA: (4-2-3-1):Rand; Watts, Virgo, Timms, Brake; Manton, Huckett (Metcalf 74); Gedling, Westcott (Pulling 86), Lawley; Geddes (Sadough 82).