Having won the toss, the visitors took advantage of the conditions by electing to kick-off with the setting sun behind them yet they made a nervous start on the green, yet bobbling, surface  perhaps mindful of last season's league meting that had seen them trailing 2-0 after just four minutes. An early backpass was deflected into the path of the Tanners' Dave Stevens by goalkeeper Alan Mansfield but the striker hit his shot wide. Leatherhead's backline looked far from assured themselves as they struggled to defend Lewis Taylor's free-kick that Rook headed behind as the opening stages began in scrappy fashion with only the lively Lewis Taylor making an impression.

Maggs' assistant, Tommy Warrilow, was on his feet after Jamie Beer's crunching tackle on Jamie Taylor went unpunished, leaving the Horsham man writhing on the floor. Fortunately, the prolific striker was able to continue after a few minutes but it was the Tanners' own front man who squandered a chance to open the scoring when Marc Charles-Smith latched onto a clearance but, having beaten Ian Payne, he pushed the ball too far ahead of himself and his strike was saved by the diving Mansfield.

Horsham finally began to put together some good passing movements midway through the half but the hosts continued to look the better side on the break. Pame was looking ineffective, standing well out of position, with the result that players were running round him at will prompting Warrilow to suggest that the Frenchman might want to spend the remainder of the game on the bench. Lewis Taylor produced Horsham's best effort on goal after twenty-two minutes, forcing a fine save from Tanners' 'keeper Chris Gibson after the ball had bounced around the Leatherhead goalmouth like a pinball. Eight minutes later, Gibson was called upon to save a volley from Andy Howard after good play between Lee Carney and Jamie Taylor. The 'keeper's clearance then found Stevens who cut through unchallenged only to be thwarted by Mansfield. Worryingly for Maggs, gaps began to appear in the Hornets defence and a return to the sloppy passing that had been so prevalent during the early stages enabled the home side to take control of the game. The balance of play shifted once again, however, when the energetic Taylor moved into the centre of the field, linking well with Carney, Tom Graves and Jamie Taylor. However, despite applying some late pressure, the first half remained goalless as referee Nigel Luggs' whistle sent both sides in for their half-time cuppa.

With neither side making any substitutions during the break, the only change to Horsham's line-up was Pame changing wings, adopting a more comfortable stance on his obviously favoured left side. However, the visitors found themselves behind, just five minutes after the restart, when a clean break from Charles-Smith saw him finish well - to the delight of the home support. Boosted by the goal, the hosts began to put some slick passing moves together, aided by their opponents proclivity for relinquishing possession too cheaply with Graves and Payne chief the main offenders.

Something had to give and the introduction of Geard for Pame, that saw the versatile Lewis Taylor moved to the right, gave the handful of visiting fans signs of encouragement and they were soon celebrating an equaliser. A minute after Carney received the only caution of the night for an innocuous challenge, Taylor powered home a superb strike from twenty-five yards that stung the hands of Gibson on its way into the back of the net. Shortly after, Carney made a similar break to that of Charles-Smith earlier in the game and, as then, the 'keeper was out quickly to block. At the other end, a searing drive just skimmed the post over the head of the stationary Mansfield. Rook settled the match in Horsham's favour, twenty minutes from time, when he arrived unmarked to convert Taylor's cross and last season's division one runners-up ended the match in assured style. Carney combined with Andy Walker to set up Jamie Taylor whose lob just failed to clear Gibson before Carney made way for the returning Pame for the final ten minutes of the match.

This was a good run out for an understrength Horsham side who delivered a performance good enough to have assured them victory in division one and, from earlier pre-season displays, the team looks more than capable of stepping up to the mark against what will undoubtedly be stronger opposition.

Leatherhead: Chris Gibson, Jamie Beer (Sargent), Adam Gray, Lynval Duncan, Lee Doherty (Hendry), Stewart Holmes, Scott Bennetts, James Greenaway, Marc Charles-Smith (Thompson), Dean Carpenter, Dave Stevens Subs: Ian Hendry, Julian Thompson, Paul Sears, Steve Sargent, Jamie Read, Paul Borg

Horsham: Alan Mansfield, Tom Graves, Ian Payne, Eddie French, Andy Howard, Andy Walker, Lee Carney (Pame), Lewis Taylor, Jamie Taylor, Carl Rook, Amadou Pame (Geard). Subs: Nigel Brake, Matt Geard, Gareth Williams

Goalscorers:

Leatherhead - Charles-Smith (50)

Horsham - J Taylor (65) Rook (70)

Attendance: TBA