AFC WIMBLEDON 0 HORSHAM 0

AFC WIMBLEDON:
1.Andy Little 2.Luke Garrard 3.Michael Haswell 4.Rob Quinn 5.Jason Goodliffe 6.Anthony Howard 7.Steve Ferguson 8.Jake Leberl 9.Richard Butler 10.Robin Shroot 11.Tony Finn Subs: 12.Sam Hatton 13.Paul Seuke 14.Sebastian Kneissl 15.Chris Hussey 16.Will Salmon

HORSHAM:
1.Alan Mansfield 2.Tom Graves 3.Nigel Brake 4.Eddie French 5.Andy Howard 6.Lee Carney 7.Jacob Mingle 8.John Westcott (Taylor) 9.Simon Austin 10.Carl Rook 11.Gary Charman Subs: 12.Kevin Hemsley 14.Lewis Taylor 15.Yinka Salaam 16.Stuart Myall 17.Rob Frankland

reporter: Mark Wells
Photographs: John Lines

Horsham's AFC Wimbledon hoodoo extended to a seventh match after a goalless draw at the Cherry Red Records Fans' Stadium. This FA Cup 3rd Qualifying round tie was seen by many as John Maggs' side's best opportunity of ending that dismal record but their recent run of six successive victories seemed light years away as Tuesday's poor performance against Staines Town continued with misplaced passes, unforced errors and a general lack of fluency that threatened to curtail their attempts to reach the final qualifying round for the first time since 2002. That they remain in the hat for Monday's draw was down to some desperate, perhaps heroic, defending and their opponents' own fragile confidence in front of goal that has now seen them fail to score in three of their last four games.

Despite a large following from Horsham, the Dons' decision to advance the kick-off time to 1pm to avoid clashing with England's televised Wembley meeting with Estonia backfired with a disappointing crowd of just 1564 - the South Londoners' lowest ever FA Cup attendance - and, from that perspective, Horsham will be delighted to have the opportunity of a rematch on Tuesday night to recoup some of the financial shortfalls from what had been anticipated to be a bumper payday. Yet if Maggs had felt short-changed by a crowd that had been expected to comfortably exceed 2,000, he would have been happier with the charity shown by the home side's forward line that spurned at least half a dozen good openings to win the tie provoking frustrated boos from sections of the crowd at the final whistle.

The visitors showed just one change from the team that had lost their 100% home record during the week, Eddie French replacing Kevin Hemsley in the heart of the defence, but there was no place in the squad for Lee Farrell who suffered a reaction to his injured knee after Tuesday's brief run-out against Staines. The home side had Andy Little back in goal, after illness had forced him out of Tuesday's 0-0 draw with Folkestone, and Luke Garrard returned at full-back after injuring a shoulder in last weekend's win against Maidstone United. Suspension ruled Mark Beard out of the match but former Chelsea pro Sebastian Kneissl was added to the squad after returning from overseas.

Horsham began brightly and forced a second minute corner from which Jacob Mingle fired in a shot that was too high and Lee Carney went close when his dipping 30 yarder just cleared the crossbar just a minute later. A fifth minute free-kick saw Andy Howard having to head the ball off the goal-line after Alan Mansfield had fumbled Michael Haswell's inswinging cross and Nigel Brake did just enough to prevent Anthony Howard from getting enough power behind his shot as the game began at a good pace. A swift break by the Dons saw the ball moved quickly from one penalty box to the other but Haswell's low side-footed effort brought a comfortable save from Mansfield and Howard came to Horsham's rescue once more when a mistake by French saw him robbed of the ball by Richard Butler but, with Robin Shroot waiting unmarked for his team-mate's pass, Howard got in a timely interception and the danger was averted. Gary Charman's speculative volley gave Little a comfortable save before the Kingsmeadow crowd were calling for a penalty when Butler went down under Brake's clumsy challenge. The home fans were again left rueing their luck on twenty minutes when Steve Ferguson skipped past French inside the box before teeing the ball up perfectly for Shroot but the Northern Ireland U20 midfielder saw his shot cannon away off of John Westcott. With his side beginning to feel the pressure somewhat, Maggs replaced the sluggish French with Hemsley and the former Crawley Town defender was instantly involved in another penalty appeal from the home fans when a determined run by Ferguson was ended when he tumbled over the combined efforts of Hemsley and Brake in the area but, once again, the spot-kick claim was turned down by referee Thompson.

The Dons' were making frequent use of their talented winger, Tony Finn, spreading the ball out to the left flank at every opportunity and Horsham were forced to double up on him with Westcott helping out the increasingly overworked Tom Graves. But it was Ferguson who continued to catch the eye, bringing another save out of Mansfield after twisting and turning in midfield to create a shooting opportunity just before the half hour mark. Horsham's own number seven, Mingle, then showed a neat touch to release Westcott down the right and when his cross was inadvertently played in to the path of Simon Austin by defender Rob Quinn, the striker hit his volley straight at Little who made an uncomfortable save. A good interception from the impeccable Haswell, later to be voted the sponsors' man of the match, broke up a good move involving Carl Rook and Charman and Little made a spectacular parried clearance from Carney's free-kick as the action continued to swing from end to end. Mansfield produced a routine save from Finn's run and shot and another promising attack from the hosts was repelled by Hemsley's well-timed challenge on Butler as a generally entertaining half came to a close.

H/T: AFC Wimbledon 0 Horsham 0

The second period saw Maggs making an immediate substitution, sending on former Dons player Lewis Taylor for Westcott. Butler spurned the best chance of the game, just three minutes after the break, when a throw-in left him unmarked and in the clear on the edge of the Horsham box but the terrace favourite snatched at the shot, sending it wide of the target. A long ball over the defence almost proved Horsham's undoing when Mansfield advanced to the edge of his area to head clear from Butler only for the two players to collide but, fortunately for Horsham, Mansfield was able to scramble to his feet and hack the ball to safety ahead of the lurking Finn. Mr Thompson angered the home fans for failing to play the advantage when Hemsley tangled with Garrard but the Hornets captain became the first player to enter the official's notebook for bringing down his man. Brake quickly became the second when he was harshly adjudged to have brought down Ferguson on the edge of the box and the fans were calling for his dismissal moments later when a desperate lunge sent Butler sprawling near the corner flag with the hosts now seemingly permanently encamped in the Horsham half. 

Mingle and Taylor combined for a rare breakaway by the visitors but the substitute's miscontrol saw the ball run harmlessly back to the 'keeper before Quinn's late challenge brought an angry reaction from Carney and a yellow card from the referee. From the resulting free-kick, Charman's goalbound shot was deflected behind for a corner off Garrard but the visitors' second half display was summed up when Carney's attempted short corner towards Taylor saw possession conceded and a caution for Taylor for pulling back his man. Horsham's goal threats had become minimal with Rook and Austin starved of service in the face of a resolute defence and, with fifteen minutes left, Maggs signalled his intentions to see out the draw by replacing Charman with defender Stuart Myall. Two further substitutions by the home side did little to threaten the score although a deflected shot from Jake Leberl looked to have wrong footed Mansfield who recovered to make a comfortable claim. A speculative volley from the same player flew over the top before a mistake by Little provided the Hornets with the chance to claim an injury-time winner when a sliced clearance presented them with a corner that was cleared off the line by Kneissl with the final whistle being blown just seconds later.

More match photos can be found here

NEXT MATCH: v AFC Wimbledon (h) Tuesday 16th October ko 7.45pm