Hendon 2 v Horsham 0
Saturday 7th April 2007
Ryman League Premier Division

reporter: Jim Bravery

John Maggs’ depleted team returned home from Claremont road with nothing to show for their efforts after another Saturday afternoon had passed without a victory. The Hornets have failed to win any of their previous five weekend outings as their season continues to crumble disappointingly after promising so much at the turn of the year. Two goals from Hendon striker Belal Aiteouakrim sent Horsham to their fourth defeat in the last eight games as the Greens continued their impressive fight against relegation that, barring a catastrophe, looks all but assured.

Maggs' ill-fortune with injuries to his small squad was to continue for this visit to North West London as Kevin Hemsley, Lewis Taylor, Nigel Brake and Stuart Myall were all absent - the latter on a skiing trip - and, although Lee Carney and Jacob Mingle started the game, neither completed the full ninety minutes after aggravating existing knocks. However, there was a bonus for the travelling fans with the returning Andy Howard re-establishing his partnership with skipper Eddie French in the centre of defence having resigned for the club following spells with Broadbridge Heath and Burgess Hill Town.

The match got underway on a warm and sunny afternoon in the shadow of the new Wembley stadium, a far cry from the rather run down surroundings at Claremont Road that sadly seems destined for redevelopment. Horsham began the game in promising fashion and a good build up from the back enabled Gary Charman to go past James Burgess and hit a first time cross into the box where Kevin Cooper met it on the volley but it didn’t have the necessary power to beat the tall figure of Richard Wilmot in the home goal. At the other end, Rakatahr Hudson failed to test Wilmot's opposite number, Gareth Williams, when he sent his shot over the top. The match seemed to be following a similar pattern, with an attack at one end followed swiftly by a breakaway at the other, and after another patient build up from the back, Horsham found themselves in numbers around the Greens' penalty area but a poor final ball into the crowd of players by Eddie French was quickly cleared, putting pressure on Mingle who had assumed the role of covering defender. Darragh Duffy managed to get a shot on goal but a grateful Williams saw it go just wide of the post. Straight after, the elusive Aiteouakrim squirmed his way through the Hornets defence to test Williams with a low drive that the 'keeper did well to hang on to. Matt Geard was being given a torrid time by Jamie Busby, who managed to get past the Horsham defender on a couple of occasions, sending in good crosses to the far post where Dean Green was lurking and the Horsham man was eventually given a stern lecture by referee Stuart Burt after he upended his opponent just outside the area. In the thirteenth minute, Cooper received a pass out wide on the left and, when his useful cross into the Hendon box was eventually cleared, Carney's instinctive volley sailed high over the Hendon goal to safety. The home side won a corner after Geard deflected a ball behind and the short corner allowed Aiteouakrim to cut inside and unleash a good shot that took a deflection for another corner. Although the kick was cleared, a mishit pass by Graves saw Duffy put Aiteouakrim in the clear and, with Horsham defenders appealing for offside, the striker continued his run and finished with a low shot past the advancing Williams to give the hosts an eighteenth minute lead.

The Hornets tried to respond to this setback but Carney’s long range effort was saved, after a free kick had come back off the wall, and John Westcott had plenty of time to put in a cross but his execution was poor to give Wilmot a comfortable catch. Mark Leach was penalised for climbing onto Carl Rook's back, about twenty five yards from goal, but Mingle's direct shot was inches too high. Howard found himself in the thick of the action deep in his own half, bravely intercepting two passes while conceding a throw-in by the corner flag, and ended up being fouled by Green as he tried to clear the throw that resulted in him needing attention from injury specialist Geoff Brittain who was remarkably attending in his 2000th match. Cooper wasted an opportunity to get the visitors back on level terms when his pass to Carney carried too much weight after Charman's defence splitting pass had sought out the experienced striker. Williams had to come quickly off his line to save at the feet of the in rushing Duffy while, at the other end, Charman's header found Westcott but his headed effort was easy pickings for Wilmot. As has been the pattern of Horsham's play in recent weeks, Carl Rook was working hard up front without much support and his frustrations showed when he received a lecture for a late tackle on Hendon’s Davis Haule who needed treatment before being able to continue in what was his 100th appearance for the Greens. With injury time being played, Haule almost gave Hendon a two goal cushion when his long range effort, from Graves' poor clearance, just cleared Williams' crossbar and there was just time for Aiteouakrim to hit a direct free kick high over the bar before Mr Burt brought the first half to a close.

Before the second half had got underway, Maggs was forced into making his first substitution when he replaced the injury stricken Mingle with his former Ashford Town team-mate Shane Graham, Charman dropping back into midfield to accommodate the new signing who took up a position wide on the left. Leach got in the first telling shot after the resumption, hitting a powerful free kick that Williams got his body behind to save but, within three minutes of the restart, the Greens increased their lead and it was that man Aiteouakrim again who scored it to move clear at the top of Hendon's goalscoring charts. Getting in behind the defence, the striker sidestepped Williams to hammer home his second goal of the game to the obvious delight of the home supporters. Horsham’s defence had looked vulnerable all afternoon and it came as no great surprise that a second goal was conceded. A double substitution followed on fifty-seven minutes with Maggs introducing both the youngsters from the bench; Dean Wright for the ineffective Cooper and Jamie Baxter in place of Carney -  Baxter making his sixth appearance for a Horsham team in the space of eight days. Another major reshuffle saw Baxter drop into the right back berth while Graves took up Carney's role in midfield with Wright going up front with Rook. A minute later, Hendon replaced the hard working Duffy with Takumi Ake but it was Aiteouakrim who continued to cause problems for the visiting defence. Given space after receiving a fantastic pass from the outside of Haule’s right boot from a ball that looked as though it was going out of play, he cut into the box and curled a shot that just missed the far post by a whisker and it would have been fitting if he had completed his hat trick as, clearly, he was the only one who seemed to know where the goal was. Charman fashioned a half chance for Graham but his shot was saved and the same two players were involved in another all too rare Hornets attack, Charman having the first shot that came out to Graham forcing Wilmot to save at the second attempt. The Hendon bench replaced the outstanding Aiteouakrim in the seventy seventh minute, bringing on Brian Haule for the last thirteen minutes, the Hendon man having a first run out after injury had kept him out for several matches. Ake had a shooting chance but buried his effort into the home supporters behind the goal. The feud between Geard and Busby, that had simmered along during the course of the afternoon, came to a head when Geard was left in a heap following an off the ball incident that left Mr Burt no choice other than to brandish the red card to Busby and leave the Greens playing out the last seven minutes with ten men for the second match running.

A long range effort from Davis Haule warmed Williams' hands before a break at the other end saw Graham put the ball behind for a goal kick with team-mates screaming for the ball into the box. With five minutes left, Graves tried a delicate chip over Wilmot’s head but the elevation to get it over the tall 'keeper meant it didn’t have enough momentum forwards and the 'keeper had time to recover and catch it on the line. With time fast running out, Graham had to drop back in defence at the expense of a corner with the Greens almost as dangerous going forward with ten men as they had been with eleven but the final shot of the match almost rewarded the returning Howard with a consolation goal. Going forward for a Charman throw, the ball arrived to him twelve yards out and his first time effort went through a crowd of players with Wilmot just getting a hand to it before being helped out by skipper James Parker's goal-line before Mr Burt finally brought to an end another poor Horsham performance.

To cap a distinctly forgettable day, the coach carrying Horsham's players and supporters reportedly broke down on the way home to leave a thoroughly dispirited group on the hard shoulder awaiting a replacement vehicle !

Other results over the weekend enhanced the chances of survival for a number of clubs including Worthing who probably need to win all their remaining matches to save the drop. Tuesday’s local derby at Horsham will need to see a major improvement in the home team's performance if they are to prevent their West Sussex colleagues from completing the double over them this season

Hendon: 1.Richard Wilmot 2.James Burgess 3.Craig Vargas 4.Mark Leach 5.James Parker 6.Jamie Busby 7.Davis Haule 8.Darragh Duffy (Ake) 9.Dean Green 10.Rakatahr Hudson 11.Belal Aiteouakrim (B Haule)
Substitutes: 12.Brian Haule 14.Takumi Ake 15.Dale Archer 17.Bontcho Guentchev 18.Danny Rouco

Horsham: 1.Gareth Williams 2.Tom Graves 3.Matt Geard 4.Eddie French 5.Andy Howard 6.Lee Carney (Baxter) 7.Jacob Mingle (Graham) 8.John Westcott 9.Kevin Cooper (Wright) 10.Carl Rook 11.Gary Charman.
Substitutes: 12.Shane Graham 14.Dean Wright 15.Jamie Baxter 17.Alan Mansfield

Goalscorers:

Hendon - Aiteouakrim (18,48)

Attendance: 218