Sussex County League: Division One
Match Report
Sussex County League: Division One
 Horsham YMCA 0 |  Arundel 2 Tipper 90+2 Gettings 90+4 |
Match Ball Sponsor: CAMERON BARCLAY | Source: Tom Norris |
YM ‘MUGGED’ IN CRUEL HOME DEFEAT
Ten-man Horsham YMCA suffered an agonising home defeat at the hands of lowly-placed Arundel on Tuesday evening, as two injury time goals concluded a woeful night for Sammy Donnelly’s men.
|
Match Stats |
||
|
Horsham YMCA |
V |
Arundel |
|
8 |
Shots On Target |
5 |
|
8 |
Shots Off Target |
5 |
|
0 |
Offsides |
9 |
|
4 |
Corners |
2 |
|
12 |
Fouls |
11 |
|
0 |
Yellow Cards |
3 |
|
1 |
Red Cards |
0 |
An even first half ended in a ruinous state of affairs for the hosts, as two minutes before the break, YM’s Dan Smith was shown a straight red for kicking out at Arundel’s Rory Biggs.
But despite the numerical disadvantage, YM were by far the better side for the entirety of the second period; twice hitting the woodwork, whilst calling The Mullets’ ‘keeper, James Fernandes, into producing three excellent saves. However, with several opportunities to wrap the game up not taken, Donnelly’s men set themselves up for defeat, and the cruel blow came two minutes into injury time as Arundel’s Scott Tipper fired home the winner, before substitute Steve Gettings added an even later second.
‘I couldn’t fault the lads on their second half performance,’ commented YM boss, Donnelly. ‘I thought we were outstanding, but we got mugged towards the end there.
‘I said to the lads that our display on Saturday shows how much we have progressed, and again tonight. In the second half we murdered them, and if just one of the shots that hit the target had of gone in, then it would have been a different story.’
YM welcomed back defender Matt Crane and striker Dean Wright, whilst Nick Sullivan was unavailable and Lee Wood and Jahmahl King were both sidelined through injury.
And matters were made worse for the hosts inside the first ten minutes, as Liam Hunter limped from the field with a hamstring problem, and replaced only by the recently returning Brad Carter.
Both sides shared some good opportunities to open the scoring in the first forty-five. The visitors’ Tipper first saw a tight angled effort well kept out by Simon Lockwood in the YM goal, before Russ Hardwell’s explosive run and shot came crashing back off the crossbar from 30 yards.
YM’s Brad Curtis saw a well-struck shot deflected over, before midfielder, Smith, was dismissed for his moment of madness in which he retaliated to a late tackle from the visitors’ front man, Biggs. The Mullets’ striker escaped with just a yellow for his part in the debacle, before the hosts almost took a lead into the break, Timmy Martin’s fierce shot cannoning back off the post.
YM manager, Donnelly, added, ‘I’m not disputing the sending off because yes he’s lashed out, but their number 10 has caused havoc all over the pitch and nothing is done. When people need to be brave with decisions they’re not.’
After the interval, YM stepped their game up dramatically, and quickly began to dominate a fragile Arundel defence. Striker, George Hillier twice fired shots from just outside the box over the bar, before The Mullets’ stopper, Fernandes, pulled off his first top class stop of the evening, getting down low to parry a powerful Martin drive to safety.
The hosts dictated the possession, and further chances came and went as Hillier fired into the side netting when well placed and Matt Crane’s ferocious half volley was expertly kept out by Fernandes.
YM’s injury woes were then further worsened as they lost full-back, Justin Gregory, to a nasty looking dislocated shoulder, before everything their ten men could muster was thrown into a frantic final five minutes.
Matt Crane first fired back off the post following a long Ashley Dugdale throw-in, before YM’s best chance of the game saw Dean Wright’s lowly driven cross poked goalwards by Hillier, only for stopper, Fernandes, to somehow keep the ball from crossing the line.
And then YM hearts were broken, as they were caught on the break, and the visitors’ Gettings found the bustling Tipper, who shrugged off his marker and lashed an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net from the edge of the box.
With YM desperate for an immediate response, they were left short at the back from the restart, and a single Hardwell through ball released Gettings, who added to his earlier assist with a clinically taken finish to make the final score 2-0.
Donnelly concluded, ‘At the end of the day we got mugged right at the end, and that’s football. Sometimes you don’t put as much into it and you get something out of it, and other times you don’t.
‘With ten players I thought we showed tremendous spirit, so we’ve just got to re-group now for Saturday.’
And that might be easier said than done for YM, whose injury troubles have mounted once again, and at an important and busy period in the campaign. Away to a tough Redhill outfit on Saturday, they’ll be without the injured King, Wood, Hunter, Gregory and Graham, and simply naming eleven players may be Donnelly’s most prominent problem.
YM (4-4-2): ): Lockwood, D. Sullivan, Crane, Dugdale (c), Gregory (Haulkham 79), Scally, Hunter (Curtis 11), Smith, Martin, Hillier, Wright
Unused Subs: Hawthorne, G. Donnelly, Conteh
