Hampton & Richmond Borough 1 v Horsham 1
Tuesday 13th March 2007
Ryman League Premier Division

reporter: Mark Wells

Horsham bounced back from their weekend humiliation at Chelmsford City with a hard earned draw at sixth placed Hampton & Richmond Borough, Carl Rook's second half strike giving the Hornets their eleventh draw of the league campaign from an ill-tempered match that failed to match the setting of Beavers' charming Beveree ground. An evenly contested opening saw Rob Paris give Hampton the lead after twenty-five minutes and Alan Devonshire's side went on to enjoy the better chances of the half but the game turned ugly after the interval when players from both sides squared up to each other following a challenge from Matt Geard and the remainder of the match became one of niggly challenges, yellow cards and intimidation of the match officials by the home side for whom portly goalkeeper Matt Lovell became a target for abuse from the travelling fans.

Injuries and suspensions had hit the Hornets' small squad hard and their lack of depth contributed significantly to their weekend thrashing in Essex so boss John Maggs was delighted to be able to welcome back Jacob Mingle and fellow midfielder Lewis Taylor, the latter starting the game on the bench having not fully recovered from a knee injury. There was also a first league start in almost six months for goalkeeper Gareth Williams as Maggs looked to shake up his defence following their heaviest defeat of the season but before the match could kick-off, there was the ironic sight of Hampton's groundstaff watering the flat, yet bumpy, pitch just three weeks after this fixture had been postponed due to a waterlogged pitch !

The home side kicked off but it was the Hornets who enjoyed some good early possession and an overhit cross from Nigel Brake dropped onto the top of Lovell's goal as early as the second minute. Their next attack saw Kevin Cooper come close to opening the scoring when John Westcott's cross from the opposite flank found the experienced striker lurking at the far post and a quick turn and shot had Lovell making the first save of the evening. Brake had to perform his defensive duties, soon after, holding off the challenge of Lawrence Yaku to shepherd the ball behind for a goal kick and Eddie French had to come to Kevin Hemsley's rescue after his defensive partner's miskick had enabled Yaku to send Ian Hodges through on goal. The visitors' tendency to play the ball around at the back had them in difficulties on more than one occasion, the uneven bounce making control difficult, and a poor pass from Tom Graves was intercepted by Francis Quarm who combined with Yaku to set up a shooting chance that Quarm side footed past the post. Although keenly contested, both sets of players were able to find room in the midfield and Mingle had Lovell scrambling across his line to watch a long range effort go narrowly past the upright after nineteen minutes. Hampton's frustrations at their forwards' propensity for getting caught offside were highlighted when Quarm needlessly felled Lee Carney, who curled the resulting free-kick just over the crossbar, and Quarm further angered Horsham's supporters when his high boot caught Matt Geard in the face although neither offence was deemed worthy of a yellow card by referee Richard Jaye. To further rub salt into the wounds, the former Dulwich Hamlet midfielder was instrumental in the Beavers' opening goal after twenty-five minutes when he capitalised on Mingle's poor header to fire in a shot that was deflected off Hemsley, wrong footing Williams and earning his side a corner. In what was clearly a well rehearsed move, the ball was floated in from the left wing, flicked on by Stuart Lake at the near post and Paris rose highest to power home a header to register an impressive seventh goal of the season for the centre-back. Quarm continued to lead a charmed life, poleaxing Carney inside the centre circle straight after the restart with Mr Jaye waving play on despite Carney requiring treatment from physio Geoff Brittain. The visitors appeared shaken by the goal and struggled to establish a foothold in the game before the break. Stuart Lake smashed a loose ball over the top and he and Hodges combined to create a chance for Yaku who sidestepped Hemsley's challenge only to poke his effort wide. A weak punch from Williams, under pressure from Hodges, was returned towards the open goal by Barrie Matthews but the header lacked power and the 'keeper was able to recover and make the save. Horsham had a penalty claim turned down after Westcott's cross appeared to hit a hand but play was generally confined to the visitors' half and Williams was forced to make a double save to repel a free-kick from Quarm before reacting sharply to turn away Ryan Lake's follow up at the near post. Yaku sent another shot wide after getting goal side of Hemsley and French's miscontrol saw him join Hemsley in the referee's notebook, picking up a yellow card for a foul on Hodges. A late chance for the Hornets came after Mingle's positive drive towards the edge of Hampton's penalty area was halted by Quarm's cynical challenge, that finally earned him an overdue caution, but Geard was unable to provide further punishment, curling his free-kick just over the crossbar.

The second half began with Yaku setting up Matthews to shoot first time into the trees and a free-kick from Carney gave Hemsley the opportunity to claim a rare goal but the central defender mishit his shot at the far post to give Lovell an easy save. The tempo of the match changed six minutes after the break when Geard’s challenge threatened a mass brawl with players from both sides piling in in defence of their team-mates. A heavy touch from the Horsham player drew the challenge from Matt Elverson and Geard, overstretching, followed through to leave his opponent writhing in apparent agony. A scuffle ensued as Elverson attempted to exact his revenge before being pulled away by goalkeeper Lovell whose own aggressive stance angered the travelling supporters. After several minutes, referee Jaye defused the situation before consulting his linesman and brandishing the yellow card to both Geard and Elverson but the tone was set for the remainder of the match that was to see further cautions for Hodges, Carney and Graham Harper. Carney came close to an equaliser before Brake was pushed into attack when Maggs replaced Geard with Stuart Myall who looked remarkably assured, despite still suffering from a persistent hamstring problem. The Hampton players were clearly upset by the earlier challenge and frequently berated the match officials for any decision that failed to go their way. Hodges was booked for a foul on Mingle while Elverson and Lovell led the constant verbal intimidation of the referee and his linesman. But, with the home players’ attitude distracting them from the match itself, the visitors were to capitalise by fashioning a fine equaliser on sixty-five minutes. A patient build up saw the ball switched from right to left and, when Brake picked out Carney, the midfielder hit a diagonal ball towards the far post where Westcott played a first time pass into the box for the predatory Rook to steer the ball home from close range. A tackle by Carney on Hodges earned the Horsham man a caution, a more appropriate course of action than the public execution clearly preferred by the Hampton players, before the ineffective Yaku was replaced by Elliott Godfrey. Hampton’s attacks became more desperate and Stuart Lake wasted a good opening by wildly slicing his shot out for a throw. Both managers decided fresh legs were needed and Devonshire sent on Glen Harris for Quarm while Lewis Taylor replaced Cooper, Carney moving into the attack in support of Rook. The Hornets’ leading scorer almost grabbed a spectacular second goal of the game when Taylor’s astute pass picked out Westcott and the striker swivelled to volley his team-mate’s cross goalwards only to see it cannon away to safety off the body of Paris. Williams had to get down smartly on his goal line to keep out a deft touch from Hodges, after Harris had done well down the right, but there was further controversy in the eighty-fifth minute when a long ball out of defence put Godfrey through on goal. Brushing aside the attentions of Hemsley, Godfrey’s advance on goal was halted by a sickening collision with the on-rushing Williams on the edge of the box. As both players landed in a heap, Hemsley was left to dash back to hack the ball off the line after his own header had inadvertently cleared the goalkeeper and was heading towards the unguarded net. Once again, home players surrounded referee Jaye insisting that he take action against Williams with Lovell inevitably adding his cultured comments from the halfway line. In truth, Williams could have had few complaints had the penalty and inevitable red card followed but the referee ignored the Hampton players’ protests and the baying crowd, deciding that the clash was accidental, and restarted the game with a drop ball. Harper’s foul on Brake meant there was no let up in the animosity shared by players and supporters alike before Harris almost snatched a late winner for the hosts. Horsham conceded possession inside their own half and the ball was eventually moved on to the unmarked substitute who took aim and fizzed a powerful drive inches wide of Williams’ far post with the majority of the 290 crowd convinced the ball was destined for the back of the net.

This was a good point for the Hornets who responded to their manager’s call for a show of character to remain in touch of the play-off places. With just ten games remaining, and Lewis Taylor and Gary Charman seemingly over their injury woes, this result against one of the division’s strongest sides should give them the confidence to approach the run-in without any fears.
 

Hampton & Richmond Borough: 1.Matt Lovell 2.Graham Harper 3.Ryan Lake 4.Matt Elverson 5.Rob Paris 6.Dean Wells 7.Stuart Lake 8.Lawrence Yaku (Godfrey) 9.Ian Hodges 10.Barrie Matthews 11.Francis Quarm (Harris) Substitutes: 12.Glen Harris 13.Matt Nash 14.Elliott Godfrey 15.Dudley Gardner 17.Victor Asombang

Horsham: 1.Gareth Williams 2.Tom Graves 3.Nigel Brake 4.Eddie French 5.Kevin Hemsley 6.Jacob Mingle 7.Lee Carney 8.John Westcott 9.Kevin Cooper (Taylor) 10.Carl Rook 11.Matt Geard (Myall) Substitutes: 12.Lewis Taylor 14.Stuart Myall 15.Dean Wright 16.Jamie Baxter 17.Gareth Williams

Goalscorers:

Hampton & Richmond Borough: Paris (25)

Horsham: Rook (65)

Attendance: 290