Match Report
Ryman League: Division One South
 Horsham YMCA 0Gordon 25 |  Corinthian-Casuals 3Boosey 26 Lucien 50 Robinson 72 |
Match Ball Sponsor: MIKE WHITEFORD | Words by Tom Norris |
SURVIVAL HOPES DENTED AS YM CRASH TO PIVOTAL HOME DEFEAT
Any possible chances of avoiding relegation took a heavy turn for the worst for Horsham YMCA on Saturday afternoon, as they found themselves on the wrong end of a 3-0 home defeat to fellow strugglers Corinthian Casuals.
|
Match Stats |
||
|
Horsham YMCA |
V |
Corinthian Casuals |
|
3 |
Shots On Target |
9 |
|
1 |
Shots Off Target |
9 |
|
2 |
Offsides |
5 |
|
1 |
Corners |
3 |
|
18 |
Fouls |
13 |
|
2 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
|
1 |
Red Cards |
0 |
The hosts failed to get going in a game that had already been dubbed as a relegation six-pointer, and had much themselves to blame for the defeat, with nothing short of a simply dismal performance. The visitors were much the superior side throughout the entire ninety minutes and boss Cumberbatch pulled no punches in describing his side’s poor display.
‘It was incredibly poor. For what we have been working towards, I felt that we went backwards today. We needed to stay in touch with teams like this and it is without doubt a major dent. We had very little quality today. In patches we put one or two moves together but not nearly enough to really penetrate the opposition. We could sit here for the next two hours and go through lots of things that were wrong.’
The result has cast YM even further adrift at the foot of the Ryman Division One South league table, with them now five points behind nearest rivals Whyteleafe who also have three games in hand. And if things don’t start happening soon for Cumberbatch’s men, the probability of relegation will start to become all the more ominous.
YM never seemed to leave the changing room for the start of the game and with everyone second to the ball, they were fortunate not to have found themselves two goals down inside the first fifteen minutes. A flowing move down the Casuals left found its way to striker Matt Powell in the YM box, but luckily for the hosts, his wayward shot failed to find the target. And then just minutes later, in almost an identical position, the visitors’ Kane Sergeant really should have broken the deadlock. Some good work from Shaun Lucien teed up the midfielder, only for him to slice a glorious opportunity well wide of the goal.
Despite the shaky start, however, YM did manage to string a few passes together and when they did, they looked a lot more promising going forward. Some neat work down the right flank involving full-back Scott Harris and midfielder Kevin Lott set up Gavin Gordon, but the forward’s effort was fired straight at ‘keeper Luke Naughton in the Casuals goal.
And just when YM thought they may have had a foot hole in the game, the visitors opened the scoring. A poorly defended cross, swung in from the Casuals right, found its way to Glen Boosey on the edge of the box. The midfielder turned his marker, before firing a low shot under the body of YM ‘keeper Mark Fox and into the corner of the net. YM continued to give possession away cheaply all over the park, and were fortunate to be only one goal down at half time.
Cumberbatch added, ‘We had no passion, certain people weren’t working hard enough and all the basic things that can help get you back in a game, like work rate, passion and a bit of communication, we lacked. When you are then lacking your quality as well, this is the sort of result you can expect. Overall it is a very, very disappointing.’
The second forty-five failed to improve for the hosts, and within five minutes of the restart Casuals had doubled their lead. YM ‘keeper Fox made up for his earlier mistake with a point blank save from winger Seargeant, but the follow up wasn’t dealt with and nippy striker Lucien was able to bundle the ball over the line.
The home side looked to change things around with the introductions of both Dayo Oshitola and Spencer Sachies, but YM were simply not at the races. Even captain Glen Woodburn appeared jaded and his usual reliability was unrecognisable in the YM defence. A dangerous back pass from the skipper gifted the visitors a chance for a third with half an hour left on the clock, but again Fox did well to redeem his earlier error with a smart stop at the feet of the oncoming forward.
YM created nothing in the opposition half and it wasn’t long before a third goal did eventually come for the visitors, putting the game beyond all doubt. This time there was nothing Fox could do to prevent the ball from finding its way into the net, as Casuals midfielder Sam Robinson teed himself up, before lashing a ferocious volley into the top corner of the net from twenty-five yards.
Frustration then set in for the home side and the manner of the defeat was summed up when they were made to close out the remaining ten minutes of the game with only ten men on the field. Centre back Tony Reid appeared to kick out at a Casuals player following what he believed was an unfair challenge on his own ‘keeper Mark Fox. Referee Ian Fissenden had no choice but to show him a red card and point to the spot, although the chance for a fourth and Robinson’s second of the afternoon was squandered for the visitors when the midfielder fired his spot kick high over the YM crossbar. The miss didn’t really matter though, as Casuals closed out the win and took all three points, moving themselves eight points clear of a struggling YM.
Injuries currently appear to be an ongoing problem for YM too, and with the likes of Matt Simpson, Dan Duddley, Zak Henry, Marc Cumberbatch and Solomon Henry all missing for Saturday’s game, it is obvious that they are missing some of their key players. This is a point which hasn’t gone unnoticed by Cumberbatch himself.
‘There are important players out injured at the moment, absolutely, but we hope to get them back as soon as possible. There is a slight possibility that Matt will be back next week but I think the chances are he will have another week out because of the concussion he suffered in the game last week. Zak Henry has still got an ankle injury and we will hope to get Marc back soon but he is probably still another two weeks away.’
And what with this long list of existing injuries and the lack of points still a massive issue, you have to ask yourself if YM can afford another two weeks before these sorts of players are likely to be back.
What is more, if Saturday’s performance is anything to go by there is still plenty of work that needs to be done if YM are to ensure next season will be spent still playing Ryman League football.
YM (4-4-2): Fox, Samuels (Sachies 42), Woodburn (c), Reid, Harris, Plummer, B Bowra, Lott, Adewumi (Ramsamy 64), Gordon (Oshitola 53), Folkes
Unused Subs: Newman, S Bowra
