Walton & Hersham 5 v Horsham 1
Tuesday 26th September 2006
Ryman League Premier Division

Reporter: Mark Wells

Horsham's unbeaten league run finally came to an end with a humiliating defeat against struggling Walton & Hersham that saw each side make a mockery of their current league placings. The Hornets have a less than impressive record against the Surrey side and the omens weren't good when several of the players were held up following an incident on the M25 that saw them arrive less than forty-five minutes before kick-off.

John Maggs' side had responded well to their FA Cup defeat at the hands of AFC Wimbledon, their first of the season, by recording a fine win at Leyton at the weekend and were expected to face little difficulty in overcoming the challenge of Walton & Hersham who had won just two points from their eight games, scoring just three goals in the process. But the Swans got their tactics spot on, getting in a series of robust challenges early on that put the visitors off their stride. Frustrated by the narrow, bobbling pitch and some weak refereeing, the Hornets failed to impose themselves on the game and could count themselves lucky to be just a goal adrift at the break. But disaster struck when they found themselves three goals behind within six minutes of the restart and, in truth, the final scoreline probably reflected the home side's dominance.

Maggs decided to stick to the side that had performed so admirably at the weekend, so there was to be no recall for Lewis Taylor after serving a one match ban, with Saturday's man of the match, Jose Goncalves, retaining his place on the left side of midfield.  Taylor had to content himself with a place on the bench alongside Gary Charman who was making his first return to Stompond Lane after his brief spell with the Swans at the beginning of last season.

A niggling opening ten minutes saw the hosts quickly closing down their opponents but they angered the Horsham contingent among the crowd of 167 with several uncompromising challenges that went unchecked by referee Mr Black with Simon Huckle, in particular, fortunate to avoid caution after twice clattering into Andy Walker. Walton looked lively up front and when Rob George won the ball in midfield to release Eben Allen, the former Croydon Athletic striker flashed a shot across the face of the goal. Huckle showed he had the talent to go with the brawn when he hit a snapshot that was well held by Gareth Williams, and the Horsham 'keeper pulled off a good save from Bobby Traynor's fierce free-kick. Horsham, who had been restricted to a lone shot from distance by 'new-boy', Stuart Myall, almost fell behind in the seventeenth minute when a quick counter attack saw the impressive Byron Brown send in a cross that just eluded Allen who had run sixty yards to arrive unmarked in the penalty area.

Eddie French looked to have executed the perfect tackle on Traynor but, as the ball broke free, the Swans striker was quickest to his feet, sending a fizzing left foot shot just over the crossbar. The hosts had the bit between their teeth and, when Allen turned Tom Graves to send a shot narrowly wide of the post, it was clear that the visitors were going to have to dig deep if they were to maintain their impressive unbeaten run that had seen them to second spot in the table. They showed promise, albeit briefly, when Carl Rook flicked on towards Jamie Taylor and collected the return pass before sending John Westcott free down the right flank but home goalkeeper Nick Gindre did well to catch the flighted cross under pressure from Rook and the danger was averted. George gave Allen further sight of goal on twenty-three minutes but, this time, French timed his challenge to perfection and the ball was cleared. With the home side's frequent strong challenges continuing to go unpunished, it was ironic when Rook collected the first booking of the night.....for dissent !

The deadlock was broken after thirty-five minutes. Lee Carney, who was to have a wholly unproductive night, lost possession midway inside the Walton half and Huckle quickly spread the ball out wide to Traynor. The former Brentford man showed Graves a clean pair of heels, powering his way to the touchline and drilling a dangerous low cross into the area for Wes Goggin to fire home from six yards. Huckle continued to lead a charmed life after another foul on the unfortunate Walker went unchecked and the Horsham bench was further incensed when Carney received a booking for telling the official what he thought of the incident. Gindre came out quickly to deny Taylor with his feet, after the Horsham man had got the better of Brown, although the referee's inconsistency again blighted proceedings when he allowed the stopper to get away with a tirade of abuse towards him, peppered with four letter expletives, after Gindre felt Taylor had fouled his man. Horsham fans, meanwhile, were bemoaning the linesman's failure to spot a clear foul on Taylor by the home custodian.

Rook should have brought the sides level, five minutes before the break, when a corner was only partially cleared as far as Westcott and his excellent cross picked out the unmarked Rook at the far post but his volley seemed to sum up Horsham's first half display as it flew high over the crossbar and into the darkness that enveloped the terracing at the far end of the ground. The final incident of the half saw Graves out muscled by Traynor on the touchline who played the ball on to Louis Clark then, in turn, to Goggin who shot across goal. Curiously, despite Horsham physio Geoff Brittain being called onto the field of play on at least four occasions, and frequent delays to the game while calls went out for a replacement ball, Mr Black blew for time on exactly forty-five minutes to further question his already diminishing reputation.

The Horsham players were left in no doubt as to what their manager felt of their first half display as he launched into a stringing attack on his underperforming side during the interval, a verbal volley that could be heard in the neighbouring car park, and the players re-emerged doubtless looking to put in an improved display. However, whatever plans they had of nullifying Walton & Hersham's threat were thrown into disarray as they found themselves three goals down inside the opening six minutes of the restart. A minute in, Allen easily turned Graves, provoking Bake into a desperate lunge that sent the striker sprawling inside the box to give Black possibly his easiest decision of the night. Traynor despatched the spot-kick with distinction, sending Williams the wrong way as the ball nestled into the bottom corner of the net. Carney might have pulled a goal back following good work from Goncalves but, moments later, it was 3-0. Michael Murphy was booked for remonstrating with the referee for preventing him from taking a quick free-kick but up stepped Allen to blast the ball into Williams' bottom right corner to double his side's goal tally for the season.

The Horsham defence were at sixes and sevens and Brown might have got his reward for a fine display when he headed Allen's probing cross wide of the far post. A rare mistake by the home defence saw Taylor latch onto Murphy's underhit backpass but Gindre spread himself well to block the shot. Huckle finally overstepped the mark when he was booked for delivering a hefty whack on Walker's shin but even the eventual caution was tinged with controversy as Black appeared to reach for the red card after the Swans player jabbed a finger towards the official in a show of petulance. But the man in the middle relented, preferring to give the tall striker a brief lecture before waving him away. With just over half an hour remaining, Maggs made a double switch, replacing Myall and Goncalves with Charman and Taylor while the Swans' caretaker manager, Lloyd Wye, sent on Ben Thorne in place of Allen. Walton & Hersham went in search of a fourth goal and Williams had to make an uncomfortable save after Graves had deflected George's goalbound shot.

Gindre had been barely troubled during the preceding sixty minutes but he did brilliantly to deny Charman at the far post, getting down well to turn away a powerful header. Jamie Taylor then volleyed Westcott's cross wide as the visitors attempted to restore some pride but it was the home side who created the next opening when Brown began and finished a sweeping move. Combining well with Traynor, Brown galloped into the area before sending in a useful cross that pinged around the danger area before finding its way back to the full-back who, stretching, couldn't turn the ball in at the far post. Lewis Taylor's weak backpass almost let in Clark but Williams was smartly off his line to hack the ball clear but it wasn't long before the home side got their noses further in front when a searching crossfield pass was missed by Graves allowing Traynor an unimpeded run on goal, finishing well past the exposed Williams.

That was to be the striker's final contribution to the game, receiving warm applause from the home fans as he left the field to be replaced by Scott Edgar with fifteen minutes remaining. Westcott did well to get in a good cross but could probably count himself fortunate not to  have  been booked after a blatant tug on Browns' shirt as the ball was worked clear. The energetic Brown was soon popping up at the other end, curling a dangerous cross just past the angle of crossbar and post before Westcott gave his side an unlikely lifeline when he volleyed home Rook's cross to make it 4-1 with nine minutes remaining. French, justifiably angered as another strong challenge by Huckle into the back of Walker was ignored by Black, launched himself into a reckless challenge on the edge of the area, sending Edgar flying. He retrieved the situation by getting a vital toe to the dangerous looking free-kick to avert the danger and a good move involving Brake, Charman and Jamie Taylor ended with the Hornets' striker forcing a good save from Gindre. Carney's hastily taken free-kick found Charman at the far post but his header hit the back of a defender and went behind as the visitors enjoyed their best spell of the match. From the corner, Walton broke quickly and George advanced menacingly towards goal only for his shot to hit Walker and roll kindly to Williams. Rook's header brought an acrobatic save from Gindre, albeit the linesman's flag had gone up to signal an offside offence, and the home side rubbed salt into Horsham's self-inflicted wounds by adding a fifth goal, just before the close. Another Horsham free-kick was wasted, a frequent feature of their play on the night, and Thorne was away down the left wing. His cross picked out the unmarked Clark at the far post and he was sent sprawling to the ground by the overworked French to give the hosts their second penalty of the night. Again, Williams was left helpless as Murphy crashed the ball home to send the Hornets crashing to their heaviest away defeat in the league since the 6-1 drubbing at Lewes almost exactly three years ago. Lewis Taylor managed a late shot on goal that should have been converted but it was too little too late as the final whistle blew and Horsham's dejected players and supporters trudged away to reflect on a missed opportunity to leapfrog Bromley at the top of the table after the Ravens had drawn 0-0 at Margate.

Walton & Hersham: 1.Nick Gindre 2.Will Jenkins 3.Byron Brown 4.Matt Ruby 5.Michael Murphy 6.Wes Goggin 7.Rob George 8.Simon Huckle 9.Eben Allen (Thorne) 10.Louis Clark (Francis) 11.Bobby Traynor (Edgar) Subs: 12. Stuart Cooper 14.David Francis 15.Adrian Blake 16.Scott Edgar 17. Ben Thorne

Horsham: 1.Gareth Williams 2.Stuart Myall (L.Taylor) 3.Nigel Brake 4.Eddie French 5.Tom Graves 6.Andy Walker 7.Lee Carney 8.John Westcott 9.Jamie Taylor 10.Carl Rook 11.Jose Goncalves (Charman) Subs: 12.Gary Charman 14.Lewis Taylor 15.Jamie Baxter 16.James Cant 17.Alan Mansfield

Goalscorers:

Walton & Hersham - Goggin (35), Traynor (pen 46, 75), Allen (51), Murphy (pen 89)

Horsham - Westcott (81)

Attendance: 167