Bashley 1 v Horsham 1
Saturday 17th December 2005
Ryman League Division One

Horsham emerged with a point from a bruising encounter against Bashley that leaves the Hornets with a three point lead at the top of the Ryman League division one table.

On a bitterly cold afternoon, Horsham were looking for another three points to cement their promotion bid but, with Andy Walker and Ian Payne missing due to work commitments, it was never going to be easy against a Bashley side that had lost just two of its previous nine matches. James Cant was recalled into the right-back spot for his first start in twelve games and the travelling supporters had the welcome sight of John Westcott - out of action since receiving an injury at Arundel two months before - as he took his place on the substitutes' bench

With the mid-winter sunshine causing problems, Hornets' skipper Eddie French elected to change ends, having won the toss, and the visitors began the game strongly, calling Bash's Stacey Harper into action after just five minutes - the young 'keeper diving at the feet of Gary Charman after good work out wide by Lee Carney. Four minutes later, Horsham had an even better chance to score when Florian Mateos should have done better than head a good cross from Jamie Taylor wide of the target.

Bashley indicated that they weren't prepared to let their high-flying opponents dominate proceedings and the lively Richard Gillespie forced Gary Elliott into a smart save at his feet as the hosts began to enjoy some good possession. Horsham were letting their opponents get too many crosses into the box from wide areas and they were nearly punished after 12 minutes when Dave Wakefield curled in a free-kick that went in off Gillespie, via a touch from Andy Culliford. Fortunately for the visitors, the referee deemed that Gillespie was in an offside position when he put the ball into the net and the goal was ruled out, much to the annoyance of the few home fans that were in attendance.

This alarm call went unheeded by the Horsham defence as Bashley took the lead on sixteen minutes when Culliford's cross allowed Wakefield to head home at the far post - the former Havant Town man proving his worth to the New Forest club after his sacking as player-manager just a few weeks before.

However, John Maggs' side were behind for just six minutes when a moment of brilliance from Gary Charman brought the sides level. A good ball from Taylor was played to the Horsham wide man who sent an unstoppable shot into the top right hand corner from twenty-five yards for his sixth goal in as many games since returning from Walton & Hersham. However, the moment was not without controversy as the hosts felt that the goal had come from a quick breakaway that had left one of their players lying prone in the Horsham penalty area following a tackle from French. At the same time, Lee Carney also limped off the field to receive treatment and, at this stage, it didn't look good for the Horsham midfielder with the Horsham bench seemingly prepared to introduce Dominik Hudak in his place. However, after further treatment, Carney was able to continue and he immediately became involved in a heated exchange with Culliford. Carney, who had been the recipient of some robust challenges during last season's corresponding fixture, was then caught by a cynical tackle from Gary Lorimer who was shown the yellow card as the match became highly competitive.

Horsham continued to give their hosts too much time on the ball and Gillespie and Danny Gibbons both had chances to give their side the lead - the latter heading straight at Elliott and, later, firing over after the defence had failed to clear a Wakefield free-kick.

French received a yellow card, on thirty-nine minutes, after a clash of heads with Culliford for which the referee decided the Horsham captain had swung an elbow and Culliford was fortunate to remain on the pitch after shoving Carney to the ground in full view of the referee. Gary Charman nearly worked his magic again, five minutes before the interval, when he fired in a shot which Harper did well to push out and then, from a resulting chance, Florian Mateos somehow missed the target with a header from only a few yards out.

On the stroke of half time, a long throw from Lee Carney was flicked on by French and the ball fell invitingly to Taylor who sent a header looping inches over the crossbar.

As the players and officials left the field at the break, it was clear that the referee had not endeared himself to either side’s supporters !

With the low December sun now all but vanished, the teams returned for the second half and it was Bashley who made most of the early running with Elliott producing a good save, low to his left, to deny Culliford on fifty-four minutes. Four minutes later, Steele Saunders got the better of French but pulled his shot wide from only ten yards out and, soon after, the same player fired in another shot straight at Horsham's young 'keeper.

John Maggs decided on a tactical change on the hour, sending on Hudak to replace James Cant with Tom Graves reverting back to the right back position, but it was the home side who continued to press. Horsham had a let off on sixty-five minutes when Jimmy Anderson sent a long ball over the top for Gillespie to race on to but, after taking it round the advancing Elliott, the Bashley striker could only hit his shot against the post from the narrow angle.

This close shave spurred the Hornets into action and Taylor hit a volley wide from ten yards and Charman headed just wide when under pressure from a home defender. Horsham then enjoyed a little spell of possession but the final ball was not of good quality and there was no end product for their endeavours.

With ten minutes remaining, Westcott came off the bench to replace the ineffective Mateos who was playing his last match before returning to France for the Christmas break and only a timely intervention from Matt Geard prevented Bash from taking the lead as Gillespie charged through on goal. Sadly, Geard injured himself as a result of his heroics and had to be replaced by John Farley.

The last few minutes saw Horsham apply more pressure and they could well have gone on to win this game. The introduction of Farley, and the presence of Graves, gave the Horsham defence a more assured look and Bashley’s breakaways were no longer as frequent or dangerous as they had been.

A quick free-kick between Westcott and Carney saw Taylor through on goal but the striker was denied a clear shooting opportunity after a timely challenge by a Bashley defender that resulted in a couple of corners. But, as seemed typical of Horsham's afternoon, the quality of the deliveries were poor and failed to beat the first defender.

Good link up play between Taylor and Carney saw Carney get in a shot on goal from fifteen yards out but he was frustrated by another good save by Harper. Then, in the dying seconds, Charman was denied what would have been a winning goal when, after the ball had twice been cleared off the Bashley goal-line, his volley was brilliantly saved by Harper.

Bashley: 1.Stacey Harper 2.Paul Gazzard 3.Mark Preston (Rink) 4.Steve Riley 5.Matt Parnell 6.Josh Thomas 7.Andy Culliford 8.Dave Wakefield 9.Danny Gibbons 10.Richard Gillespie 11.Jimmy Anderson Subs: 12.Steele Saunders 14.David Elm 15.Gary Lorimer 16.Sayem Kabir 17.Zeke Rink

Horsham: 1.Gary Elliott 2.James Cant (Hudak) 3.Matt Geard (Farley) 4.Eddie French 5.Andy Howard 6.Mark Hawthorne 7.Lee Carney 8.Florian Mateos (Westcott) 9.Jamie Taylor 10.Tom Graves 11.Gary Charman Subs: 12.Dominik Hudak 14.John Farley 15.John Westcott 16.Rob Frankland


Goalscorers

Bashley: Wakefield (18)

Horsham: Charman (24)

Att: 98