Horsham 1 v Lewes 3
Monday 1st May 2006
Sussex Senior Cup Final

Reporter: Mark Wells

Horsham were unable to add the gloss to a hitherto excellent season after their bank holiday trip to Eastbourne ended in defeat in the final of the Sussex Senior Cup. But Horsham’s supporters, and there were plenty of them at a sun kissed Priory Lane, will take heart from their side’s performance that, for so long, looked like finally ending their Lewes hoodoo. A pre-season victory aside, the Hornets had beaten the Rooks just once in their previous eleven meetings but that looked set to change after Carl Rook applied the clinical finish to a wonderful Horsham move, eight minutes before the break. John Maggs’ side continued to impress against a team two divisions above them, albeit reduced to ten men following Djoumin Sangere’s first half dismissal, until twenty minutes from time when fate dealt them a bitter blow. The Conference South outfit earned, and scored, a fortuitous penalty and, within a minute, Rook was stretchered off after suffering broken ribs following a collision with Lewes’ Paul Wilkerson. Worse was to come in the final minute of normal time when Gary Charman was to follow his team-mate to hospital after a sickening clash with Leon Legge that left the Horsham man unconscious. Substitute Lee Farrell then rubbed salt into Horsham’s not inconsiderable wounds when he raced through to put the Rooks ahead and, although the Ryman Leaguers battled bravely in search of an equaliser, Jean-Michel Sigere raced away to knock the ball into the unguarded goal after ‘keeper Rob Frankland had been stranded upfield having joined the Horsham attack for a last gasp corner. The final scoreline was harsh on Maggs’ players who had made light of the gap in league status between the two sides to give much cause for encouragement when they begin their debut season in the Premier Division in August.
Despite criticism from some quarters, Eastbourne Borough’s Priory Lane ground provided a perfect venue for this, the 119th Sussex Senior Cup final, and a good sized crowd assembled to witness these two once bitter rivals do battle as they looked to add some silverware to their successful season. Lewes had finished in the promotion play-off places for the second year running and were looking for a win that might soften the blow of their failure to be admitted into the Conference due to the inadequate facilities at their unique Dripping Pan ground. Horsham had celebrated their own promotion to the Ryman Premier Division with a 7-1 trouncing of Bashley at the weekend and were hopeful of upsetting the odds and adding Lewes’ name to those of Brighton Reserves and Crawley Town as their other notable scalps in this season’s competition.
Maggs’ plans were dealt a blow on the morning of the match with the withdrawal of Matt Geard, and the experienced Ian Payne, and, despite rumours of Lee Carney’s absence proving unfounded, Maggs drafted in highly rated under 18 player Kieran Johnson as cover on the bench. The supporters’ player of the year, Mark Hawthorne, returned to the starting line-up having been rested on Saturday to save further aggravating an achilles problem. Lewes were forced into changes themselves with Karl Beckford moving into midfield to cover the cup-tied Simon Wormwull while the powerful front pairing of Roscoe D’Sane and Jean-Michael Sigere looked certain to keep Horsham’s defence on their toes.
In the epitome of non-league football, both sets of fans socialised before the game over a few pre-match beers, providing a colourful scene with the yellow and green of Horsham intermingled with Lewes’ red and black, as supporters exchanged songs and banter without any hint of aggression. And Horsham’s mascot, Howie the Hornet, kept onlookers amused with his on-the-pitch antics as the fans awaited the arrival of their respective teams.
The match kicked off with Lewes having the perceived advantage of a blustery wind but they soon found it difficult to get to grips with the conditions, often over hitting their passes on the firm pitch, a problem highlighted when a huge kick from the boot of Lewes’ equally huge ‘keeper, Wilkerson, took one bounce before landing safely in the hands of his opposite number. Sangare was the first to try his luck on goal, hitting a low drive wide from distance, and Charman almost capitalised on a mistake from Dean Hooper when he failed to clear John Westcott’s cross; Charman smacking the loose ball into the full-back’s body. Charman, who had trained with the Rooks during the close season, showed good skill to beat Hooper down the left and sent in a testing cross that was touched behind by Wilkerson for Horsham’s first corner of the game. The Horsham man was caught by his marker’s cynical late challenge, requiring treatment from physio Geoff Brittain before being able to continue.
At the other end, Paul Kennett’s effort was deflected wide after Eddie French had cleared a corner and the impressive Beckford came tantalisingly close to breaking the deadlock when his sidefoot shot hit the upright after good work by D’Sane. Sigere then headed Jay Lovett’s cross over the bar as the Conference side began to settle. But they had to reshuffle on twenty-six minutes after being reduced to ten men when Sangere received his marching orders for a foul on Jamie Taylor. Carl Rook’s flicked header sent his team-mate clear of the last defender who bundled him down, leaving referee Grant Smith little option than to brandish the red card, and Beckford collected a needless booking for disputing the indisputable decision. Taylor curled the resulting free-kick narrowly over the top of Wilkerson’s goal.  
With Lewes' players and supporters apoplectic at every subsequent challenge made by one of Maggs' men it was, perhaps, inevitable that someone in a yellow shirt would incur the wrath of Mr Smith and so it proved with Rook the recipient of a yellow card for a tackle on D'Sane. The verbal intimidation of the man in the middle gathered momentum when an appeal for handball in the Horsham penalty area was turned down and Nigel Brake followed his team-mate into the book for petulantly kicking the ball away, following another foul on the awkward D'Sane, as the game entered a fractious spell synonymous with past meetings between the sides. Wilkerson showed admirable reactions to race from his line to fly-hack away from the marauding Rook as the striker looked to latch on to Carney's through ball and Frankland displayed his own excellent credentials, pulling off a splendid double save to deny first D'Sane and then Sigere. Eight minutes from the break, a move worthy of the cup final brought the game's opening goal and it was the underdogs who claimed it. Carney held off the challenge of three defenders before finding Hawthorne, unmarked, midway inside the Lewes half. The former Crawley man helped the ball out towards Brake on the left flank and a quick one-two with Andy Howard gave the full-back the space to pick out Charman on the edge of the area. A neat lay-off to Carney was followed by a terrific first time ball behind the Lewes defence to where Brake had continued his run and his low cross into the area was clinically despatched by Rook for his fourteenth goal of the season to the obvious delight of the Horsham supporters gathered behind the goal.
Lewes countered quickly and Tom Graves blocked a goalbound effort by Beckford. The same player then missed a gilt-edged opportunity to draw the sides level, minutes before half-time, when Omoyimni's measured chip cleared Graves' head but Beckford was unable to control the ball and Frankland swooped to gleefully gather the loose ball. There were more frantic calls for a spot-kick in injury time when Beckford's powerful drive thumped into the chest of Charman, whose position on the goal-line prevented a certain goal, and enabled the Hornets to hold onto their slender lead as Mr Smith's whistle sent the players in for their half-time cuppa.
With no substitutions taking place during the interval, it was the same twenty-one players who took their places for the second period and the Hornets were quickly into their stride when Rook helped on Carney's long throw but Hawthorne couldn't keep his shot down under pressure from Lewes' skipper Paul Kennett. Almost immediately, Charman dispossessed Hooper on the edge of the box but his chip lacked the height to trouble Wilkerson in goal and the Horsham man became the third player to earn a caution for a foul on Omoyimni as the Lewes players surrounded the referee, eager to see numerical parity restored after Sangere's earlier dismissal. Another long throw from Carney caused problems in the Rooks' defence as Charman volleyed wide after being teed up by Graves who highlighted the Ryman Leaguers' work ethic moments later when he appeared inside his own penalty area to clear after Hawthorne had been caught in possession. Arguably the turning point of the match came just before the hour when great skill and determination from Taylor saw him escape the attentions of Hooper and Lovett before laying the ball off invitingly for Carney whose close range shot was cleared off the line by Kennett. Had that gone in, it is debatable as to whether the Rooks, on the back of three successive defeats, would have had the ability to have clawed their way back into the game but, given this welcomed lifeline, Steve King's side hit back and Frankland got down well to field a tricky ball in from Kirk Watts.
King decided to shake things up and sent on Lee Farrell in place of Omoyimni with less than half an hour remaining as the senior side began to increase the pressure on the Horsham goal, where Frankland had to show a good pair of hands to take a difficult catch from D'Sane's corner before scrambling across his goal to watch Lovett's mishit cross drop inches wide of the far post. Horsham's supporters were calling for another dismissal when Taylor went down under pressure from Steve Robinson but Mr Smith correctly ignored the appeals and Farrell gave early notice of his threat when he was fed the ball down the Horsham left and went round Frankland only to see his shot hit the side netting. But it was an unfortunate ricochet that was to prove the Hornets' undoing when an attempted clearance rebounded back to Sigere inside the penalty area and a desperate lunge from Graves sent the Lewes man sprawling to the floor. An accidental collision, but one that warranted the spot-kick award, and D'Sane sent the ball past the diving Frankland to bring the sides level. Disaster was to strike the West Sussex side less than two minutes later when Rook tangled with Wilkerson inside the Lewes penalty area, leaving the Horsham man prostrate on the floor. After a lengthy delay, the former Hastings marksman was led from the field on a stretcher, having suffered broken ribs.
Slovakian striker, Dominic Hudak, was sent on to maintain the height in the Horsham attack and he drew a foul from Kennett that gave Carney the opportunity to strike a quick free-kick but he was unable to repeat his trick from two days before; this effort sailing harmlessly over the goal. Hawthorne made way for James Cant as the achilles problems began to limit the midfielder's influence on the match and a precise build up from Maggs' side found Graves in shooting range but he was muscled off the ball and the chance was gone. Wilkerson, a target of abuse from the Horsham supporters after his frequent theatricals had led to several stoppages in play, almost gave his tormentors something to cheer when he stretched to turn Carney's cross away only to palm the ball onto his own crossbar before conceding the corner from which Hudak came close with a flicked header. Rather than adopting the cautious approach and waiting for extra-time, Horsham continued to push forward and Graves spurned the chance to add another match-winning goal to this season's CV when Carney's throw was flicked on to him via a Lewes head only for the blond-haired midfielder to head over from six yards.
King decided to take the sting out of the final stages of normal time by introducing Leon Legge in place of D'Sane but, with the clock ticking down, Horsham were dealt a further blow when Charman was left motionless following a sickening clash with the substitute causing players from both sides to hurriedly call for assistance. There were worried faces around the ground as it was feared the Horsham playmaker had swallowed his tongue but, after lengthy attention from Brittain and a paramedic, he was helped onto a stretcher and rushed to hospital for further treatment. Strangely, just seven minutes of injury time were indicated by the fourth official, despite Charman's injury alone taking more than ten minutes to resolve, but, when Mr Smith's whistle blew to indicate the end of normal time, the second half had actually lasted sixty-four minutes.
Despite being down to ten men, it was expected that Lewes' superior fitness would have a bearing on proceedings during the extra half hour and it took the Rooks just four minutes to edge in front. Again, though, the goal had an element of good fortune about it as an intended pass out to the wing clattered into Carney, deflecting the ball into the path of Farrell and the substitute showed great skill in taking the ball round Frankland to finish from an acute angle. Three minutes later Beckford, a constant menace in the Lewes midfield, fed Sigere and the former French under 21 international brought a fine save from the Horsham 'keeper. At the other end, Wilkerson further infuriated the Horsham fans when he stayed down under a challenge from French; the big man showing, despite Rook's efforts earlier in the game, that it was surprisingly easy to knock him over. Steve Robinson exchanged words with some of the Horsham support while Wilkerson was receiving treatment as the atmosphere began to heat up. Frankland again performed heroics when he denied Farrell a second goal before Beckford was withdrawn in favour of Margaro Gomis. Taylor almost conjured up an equaliser when he received a pass from Brake, expertly turned his marker and fired in a fierce shot that was fumbled by the goalkeeper who instantly went to ground as Hudak contested the loose ball. An apparent misjudgement from French almost let in Sigere, at the end of the first period of extra-time, but the skipper's glancing header did just enough to distract the Frenchman and Frankland was able to gather the ball.
Good work from Hudak at the start of the final period of the match saw Taylor presented with a chance but he was denied by a vital challenge. Westcott was cautioned for a foul on Sigere and French became the fifth player to enter Mr Smith's notebook for pulling back Farrell as the Hornets' eagerness saw them momentarily lose their discipline. Florian Mateos, Charman's replacement, showed good skill to find Westcott and the winger's ball dropped to Hudak who went down under a challenge inside the penalty area. Horsham's hopes were momentarily raised along with the official's finger but, sadly, it was to indicate a free-kick to Lewes with Hudak shown a yellow card for diving. Indeed, the big striker could consider himself fortunate not to see red after appearing to manhandle the referee as he protested rather too vehemently. Horsham had a chance to grab a last ditch equaliser when Taylor's free-kick was well saved and Wilkerson somehow threw his considerable frame in the way of a Carney thunderbolt as the Hornets lay siege to the Lewes goal. But they were cruelly exposed when Frankland joined the attack for a corner, deep into injury time, only to see the ball cleared, allowing Sigere an unhindered run on goal to pass the ball into the empty net and begin the Lewes celebrations. The full-time whistle sounded, almost three hours after the match had begun, and the Horsham players, fans and management were left to look forward to the summer months in which they could reflect on a magnificent season that had seen a first promotion in ten years and a cup final performance to be proud of.