WORTHING MINORS 0 HORSHAM 6

HORSHAM U16s:
Dominic Burchell, Joseph Giacomelli, Ben Mulcahy, Anthony Dumbrill, Sam Lee, Matthew Rance, Adam Hutchings, Jordan Ruff, Patrick O'Sullivan, Darren James, Alexander Green, George Magnus, Theo Mefsut,
Scorers: O'Sullivan (5), Ruff

Horsham Youth Under 16’s began their 2007/8 campaign in the prestigious County Cup with an emphatic 6 – 0 win over Worthing Minors Youth at an extremely wet and windy Highdown fields on Sunday Morning.

The past couple of weeks had seen Horsham start to gel together as a team after a slow start that had seen just the one game played in the whole of September. Therefore it was no surprise when Patrick O’Sullivan opened the scoring in a half that was to be Horsham’s, with only two minutes on the clock, looping a header over the 'keeper following a delightful cross from Jordan Ruff. Patrick scored a somewhat fortuitous second, two minutes later, from all of 35 yards when a big looping forward ball bounced on the edge of the box and looped high towards the goal. The goalkeeper seemed to have stopped it however the ball seemed to slip out of the his hands and, agonisingly for him, crept into the back of the net. Horsham’s third and fourth came in quick succession with O’Sullivan heading home to complete his hat trick and Ruff driving the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the Worthing penalty area. O’Sullivan's fourth was his best when some terrific skill saw him control the ball and swivel in one movement before volleying into the roof of the net. The scoring was completed before the break first half when, once again, Patrick was on hand to stab home a corner from the ever industrious Matt Rance.

The second half saw Horsham kicking into a wind which was getting stronger as the game went on but, despite constant pressure, they were unable to turn possession into goals. The first half had seen Horsham play some of the best football that you are likely to see at this age and, with six goals scored, the job was done so you can forgive them for a blank second 45 minutes. Defensively Horsham looked strong, limiting the Worthing forwards to only a couple of long range pot shots, none of which troubled Dominic Burchell in the Horsham goal.