Harrow Borough 2 v Horsham 0
Tuesday 24th March 2007
Ryman League Premier Division

reporter: Jim Bravery

Horsham's inconsistent form once again left supporters downbeat as their trip around the M25 went unrewarded after a wretched defeat at relegation threatened Harrow Borough left them six points adrift of the final play-off place with just seven matches remaining. A strong display at East Thurrock during the week gave indication that John Maggs' players were prepared to roll up their sleeves and battle for every point as they continued to vie with as many as ten other sides for one of the four sought after play-off spots. Yet few would have thought the Hornets were the promotion chasing club in a match in which the home side became the first this season to complete the league double over their Sussex opponents as they strive to escape from the relegation dogfight at the bottom of the table. Despite the absence of the experienced Steve Claridge, Harrow Borough were able to build on Tuesday's fine win against Bromley and maintain their good recent home record, that had seen them beaten just once in seven games, after the visitors failed to muster much in the way of goalscoring opportunities on a windy afternoon at the Earlsmead Stadium.

Horsham kicked off with the wind, if not immediately the fans, behind them in the first half. With only one turnstile operating, many of the travelling contingent were still trying to gain access as the match commenced. After the October mauling the Hornets endured against today’s opponents,  they seemed to want to eradicate any repeat performance by immediately going on the attack and Nigel Brake was the first to cause problems in the home defence with a superb cross into the penalty area in the first minute but it had just too much power for John Westcott at the far post. Gary Charman also showed a turn of foot, going past Daniel Neilsen and putting in a similar cross but once again evading everyone at the back post. A quality ball from Jacob Mingle released Brake again but his long cross missed everyone in a yellow shirt and went harmlessly out of play. After eight minutes the home side won a corner on the left. Mingle intercepted the cross, volleying a long pass towards Carl Rook midway in the Harrow half, but his attempted lay off only fell to Bobby Highton who picked out James Bent wide on the left. The right winger knocked a first time ball inside, finding the menacing Elliott Onochie in space, and the big centre forward made no mistake hitting his shot past the exposed Gareth Williams to give Borough the lead, slightly against the run of play. Horsham’s chances of getting back into the game diminished as pass after pass seemed to go straight to a red-shirted player and it seemed increasingly likely that the Hornets would gift another goal to their more eager opponents. Frustration was starting to show and, after a few half warnings from fussy referee Geoff Russell, Lewis Taylor was shown a yellow card for a seemingly innocuous shoulder charge when worse things had happened previously. Highton tried a long range shot that kept Williams' hands warm before a half chance presented itself to Horsham via a free kick on the half way line. Stuart Myall's kick found the head of Rook which let Kevin Hemsley get a shot on target but 19 year old Ashlee Jones, who has been training with Brentford, was able to make a routine save. In the twenty eighth minute, Harrow should have increased their lead when a bobbling back pass put Williams under unnecessary pressure and he completely miscued his clearance to the feet of Jonathan Constant, his first time effort fortunately went wide of the post with Williams well out of position. Skipper Eddie French was the next player to catch the bug as his total miskick presented Bent with the chance, Williams atoning for his earlier mistake with a good save. At the other end a rare Horsham attack resulted in Brake's shot being tipped over the bar by Jones and Westcott put in a cross that Charman got his head to but Wayne Walters was on hand to head clear. Onochie was continuing to cause problems at the other end of the pitch and two shots in the space of a minute tested Williams' agility, the Hornets stopper having to save the first effort at full stretch. In reply, Mingle produced an inch perfect cross to find the head of Kevin Cooper but it lacked power and was easily claimed by Jones. Taylor conceded cheap possession again which resulted in Constant getting in a shot which lacked direction and went well wide. With half time rapidly approaching, Horsham were given a chance to redeem themselves for a woeful half when a free-kick conceded just inside the Harrow half saw the familiar line up with Charman shaping to take the kick before running into the penalty area. Myall found the winger with another pinpoint knock, his accurate header setting up Cooper, but once again his header was weak making Jones' job easy. Just when you thought the Hornets might survive until the interval, and a much needed chat from the management team, they were made to pay for some more sloppy defensive play. A long punt forward caught Hemsley in two minds, he made the wrong decision in letting the ball bounce in front of him and, by the time he had turned, Danny McGonigle was up alongside and the defender's only option was to turn the ball away for a corner. As the cross was arrowed in, the stooping figure of McGonigle got to the ball just before Williams and guided his header into the vacant net, the big striker needing treatment from the collision with the dejected Williams. There was just time for Westcott to put in a long shot but, like the previous efforts, it lacked conviction and Jones was given the easy task of saving.

The half time talk must have been on the lines that surely we cannot play as poorly as that in the second half and, as the teams came out for the second half French’s rallying call of "come on lads, let's get stuck in" rang around the empty stands, a possible reflection of what had been said in the dressing room. But, only four minutes into the half and another mistake by Hemsley almost let in Onochie on goal, only the alertness and pace of Brake's covering tackle preventing the Hornets from going further behind. A promising move from Horsham saw them win a throw, wide on the right. Myall’s long trajectory caused problems for the Harrow defence and Walters' headed clearance landed at Taylor’s feet, his instant goalbound volley had Jones diving away to his right to push the ball away from his goal with Danny Leech completing the clearance. Although the Hornets were marginally better than in the first half, so many of their attacks were competently dealt with by the impressive Walters and Leech at the heart of the home defence. Walters, especially, dealt with the much taller Rook and the frustration could be seen on Horsham’s leading goal scorer's face. It was clear that Walters used Rook’s shoulders to get extra height but the officials didn’t find any reason to award any free kicks to the visitors and, towards the end of the match, Rook's verbal protestations were clearly heard and he was probably lucky to escape without a caution. Maggs decided to remove Cooper from the fray with 27 minutes of the half to go, Lee Carney being asked to fill the striker's role, but it was the forwards at the other end of the pitch that got in first when Onochie again got goal side of the defence and homed in on goal, only a brilliant save from Williams preventing another disaster, although the lose ball landed at McGonigle’s feet but the first half scorer blazed his shot wide. At this point the home bench introduced Albert Adomah as a sixty fifth minute substitute for Constant. Myall conceded a free kick on the edge of the box and the hard working Highton put in a devilish kick that curled into the six yard box, just missing the far post and every lunging boot in the vicinity. Eight minutes after coming on, Carney found himself in Mr Russell’s book for arguing a strong case on behalf of Taylor who lost his boot in a strong challenge with Walters that left the Horsham midfielder in a heap, his boot sailing like a missile about twenty five yards away, such was the ferocity of the tackle and, to the Horsham's players' frustrations, the official didn‘t deem it necessary to even award a free kick. Brake, defedning, again saved Horsham’s blushes when he produced another perfectly timed tackle on Onochie as he somehow managed to leave both central defenders for dead. If Brake's timing in the opposition's half was as good as it had been in his own area, Horsham might have reduced the arrears, but having created a chance with a blinding run down the left his final ball caused more problems for the cars in the car park behind the goal than for the home defence. With only twelve minutes left, Maggs introduced Dean Wright in place of Westcott but as happened when Carney came on, the first attack was at the other end and the overworked Brake made another great tackle to prevent Bent from scoring. A Gary Meakin free-kick from the edge of the area sailed harmlessly over Williams' crossbar as time was rapidly running out for the visitors. The home team wasted a few more seconds bringing Kai Williams in place of the tiring McGonigle with six minutes left. Mingle almost created a half chance with a superb ball to Brake, his pull back from the line hit Rook and went straight out for a goal kick which basically summed up Horsham’s day. With the game into injury time, Onochie had a great chance to make it three but his goalbound shot came back off the upright and Adomah, following up, saw his effort go just the wrong side of the post. There was just time for Wright to win the ball, knocking it into the path of Myall whose long cross to the far post found Rook free from his marker but his header was cleared by Leech and it was just left for Mr Russell to bring an end to a poor match from the visitors point of view, a result that puts a major question mark on the Hornets' ability to get into the play-offs.

The other teams in the promotion battle all recorded good results except for AFC Wimbledon and pre season favourites Margate, who lost at home to Heybridge Swifts who are back in the reckoning themselves. A tough trip to Margate on Tuesday evening awaits the Hornets, a must win game to keep the play off opportunity alive.

Harrow Borough: 1.Ashlee Jones 2.Daniel Neilsen 3.Scott Cousin 4.Wayne Walters 5.Danny Leech 6.Bobby Highton 7.James Bent 8.Gary Meakin 9.Elliot Onochie 10.Danny McGonigle (Williams) 11.Jonathan Constant (Adomah) Substitutes: 12.Albert Adomah 14.Kai Williams 15.Jamie Diston 16.Simon Richardson 17.Craig Nicholson

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

Goalscorers:

Harrow Borough - Onochie(9), McGonigle (43)

Attendance - 198