Lordswood had a poor season last year in the Kent League, finishing bottom of the table, though improving their form after former Horsham striker Jason Lillis took over the managerial reins in November 2009. Situated in an impressive sports facility which contains two cricket fields, a rugby pitch and numerous other facilities, the football ground is a tidy, compact arena with a small seated stand in need of some repair, and a flat pitch that had been baked hard in the sun with the consequent uneven bounce causing a few problems to both sides.

Lordswood took to the field in unnumbered white shirts and the lack of team sheets made it impossible to tell which of their players was doing what. Not that the Kent side ever did much to threaten. For the second time in the pre-season Mark Zawadski had an easy time of things, saving a sharp header in the fourteenth minute and a shot in the last minute; the sum total of Lordswood's threat on the Horsham goal. At least his concentration was tested in the hot sun and when he was called into action, he passed the tests with flying colours.

The game quickly settled into a pattern with the Kent men working hard, but Horsham controlling most of the possession and making all of the inroads at goal. The excellent Pat Harding was unlucky when his backward header rebounded off the right post in the twelfth minute from a John Westcott corner and Horsham's top scorer of last season again came close when he was played clean through on goal by Dean Wright two minutes later, but the onrushing Lordswood keeper made an excellent save.

It was good to see former Horsham Youth product Wright in such good form; his control of the ball was first rate and he put the Hornets into the lead on fourteen minutes. Sam Tucknott, again impressive, side-stepped two opponents before playing Westcott through on the right. The winger's cross sailed to the far post where Wright controlled the ball before firing an angled drive into the far corner. Horsham were in total control at this stage, but suffered a blow when Harding was forced to withdraw on twenty minutes through injury.

Though Horsham retained control of the game, they lost a lot of their edge up front and did not register another decent chance until the thirty-seventh minute when Callum Murray laid the ball on to Mark Knee who appeared surprised to have got past two defenders as he charged into the box and consequently sent his shot wide.

H/T Lordswood 0 Horsham 1

At half-time Jack Page came on for Tucknott, with Jay Lovett moving up to the right wing and Westcott switching to the left. Lovett made an instant impression as he began to beat his full-back with impressive regularity and sent over a stream of quality crosses. On fifty minutes a perfect centre was met by Westcott at the far post who had the easiest of chances to head the ball into an empty goal, but somehow contrived to miss. Fortunately, he was able to make amends a few seconds later as he stooped to head home from another terrific Lovett cross.

As they played the game out, Horsham eased the pressure but had the occasional stab at goal. Murray saw a header held by the Lordswood goalie on sixty-five minutes, and seconds later Lovett headed wide from Knee's centre. Tom Graves replaced the tiring Wright, taking his place up front, and soon became involved in Horsham's best chance of the latter stages when he headed Ian Payne's ball across the penalty area with Westcott shooting narrowly past the far post. At the other end Ben Andrews' strategic handball stopped one promising Lordswood attack, and Horsham ended with Knee and Graves up front when Murray came off with a back strain.