HORSHAM 2 ASHFORD TOWN (Mx) 1

HORSHAM:
1.Paul Seuke 2.Tom Graves 3.Nigel Brake 4.Eddie French 5.Andy Howard 6.Lee Carney 7.Lewis Taylor 8.Danny Davis (Austin) 9.Lee Farrell 10.Jacob Mingle 11.Gary Charman Subs: 12.Simon Austin 14.Gavin Bolger 15.Yinka Salaam 16.Kevin Hemsley 17.Matthew Geard
Scorers: Davis (3), Austin (68)

ASHFORD TOWN:
1.Paul Burgess 2.Russell Canderton 3.Darren Deegan (Todd) 4.Ricky Wellard 5.Stuart Manford 6.Adam Logie 7.Wes Goggin 8.Gavin Bamford 19.Gavin Smith 10.Byron Harrison 11.Anthony Joseph (Harris) Subs: 12.Scott Weight 14.Scott Todd 15.Guy Hollis 16.Warren Harris 17.Craig Ross Scorers: Smith (19)

reporter: Mark Wells
photographer: John Lines

Horsham ended a troubled week with a deserved win against in-form Ashford Town to move back in to the promotion play-off places. Danny Davis' 3rd minute goal, his first for the club, was all the Hornets had to show for a dominant first half display and it was something of an injustice that they went in to the interval on level terms after peppering the Ashford goal, hitting the woodwork and missing a hatful of chances, but half-time substitute Simon Austin poked home the winner that might just give the club the kick-start their promotion aspirations need after going 5 games without a victory.

After a disastrous 7 days that had seen the club's proposed move to Crawley apparently fall through, floodlight failure at Shoreham and a parting of the ways with assistant coach Alan Kenworthy, not to mention a mauling at Harrow Borough, the last thing manager John Maggs would have wished for was a visit from the division's form side. A run of 7 games without defeat had put Ashford Town among the possibles for a late surge in to the top 5 places and, with the Hornets having collected just 2 points since winning at Hornchurch last month, the pre-match odds of 3/1 on an away win looked a good bet.

Maggs' hopes of fielding new signing Dwain Clarke were dashed when the player's late arrival at the ground meant the deadline for his registration, and subsequent eligibility for this match, was missed by just 45 minutes leaving the former Lewes and Staines Town midfielder to wait another 7 days before making his debut. More positive news, though, came in the form of Nigel Brake who proved his fitness in the 45 minutes available to him at Shoreham on Wednesday and was set to make his first league start in 6 weeks following an ankle injury. Gary Charman, the victim of a virus during the week, was given the all clear to return to action and supporters eagerly anticipated the reunion of this exciting left-sided pairing. The other change of note in the home line-up was that of former Ashford man Jacob Mingle partnering Lee Farrell in attack, a position the skilful midfielder had been familiar with during his days at Charlton Athletic and Short Lane.

Maggs had demanded that his players ignore the distractions of the saga concerning the ground and channel their efforts on to the pitch and they almost made the most emphatic of starts when, within 30 seconds of the kick-off, Mingle picked out Davis' run through the middle and the ex-Worthing man let fly with a looping volley that beat goalkeeper Paul Burgess and crashed down off the crossbar before being cleared by the defender. Immediately the Tangerines broke away and a long throw-in was hoofed in to touch on the far side by Charman after the ball had bobbled dangerously inside the Hornets' 6 yard box.

The hosts continued their positive start and went in front after just 3 minutes. A header from Brake fell nicely for Farrell who took advantage of a slip to race away and pull the ball back invitingly for Davis who bundled the ball home from close range. Again, though, the visitors responded and Eddie French put in a crucial header as Russell Canderton's cross looked to pick out either of 2 team-mates stationed inside the penalty area. A harshly awarded free-kick, 20 yards from the Hornets' goal, gave Ashford skipper Gavin Bamford the opportunity to try his luck but when his shot squeezed through the defensive wall, Andy Howard was on hand to clean up. Mingle was then booked for catching Darren Deegan with a challenge, low on the shin, that looked innocuous and, from the resulting free-kick, the ball was eventually played in to the path of Wes Goggin whose low shot forced Paul Seuke into his first save of the afternoon.

Farrell spurned a gilt-edged opportunity to double the home side's advantage on 12 minutes when a corner from Davis was headed on by French but the goal maker couldn't turn goalscorer when he fired the loose ball over the top from less than 5 yards out. The former Lewes marksman failed to convert a further opening when Charman cut inside and unleashed a drive that Burgess spilled into Farrell's path but the 'keeper was a relieved figure when the rebound was blazed over the top. The visitors stunned the majority of the crowd when, in the 19th minute, they equalised against the run of play. Brake, who had looked every inch a player lacking in match practice, conceded possession to Canderton who played a neat one-two with Goggin and crossed from the byline for Smith to head home, unmarked, inside the 6 yard box.

Smith's sly kick on Lee Carney saw the lanky forward caught by a flying elbow from the Horsham midfielder that went unpunished, despite the goalscorer's attempts to convince the referee that he had been hurt, and he was only inches away from connecting with Goggin's measured through pass that saw Seuke win the race for the ball. Davis sent a volley over the crossbar after Charman and Farrell had linked up well down the Horsham left and Mingle headed over the top, albeit from an offside position, after Charman's hooked effort had found his team-mate unmarked at the far post.

Davis almost capitalised on some hesitating defending from Deegan, jabbing a toe in as the full-back tried to shepherd the ball back to Burgess, only for the goalkeeper to fall on the ball at the second attempt. Two minutes later, Lewis Taylor powered past a couple of opponents to send Farrell scampering away inside the penalty area only for the midfielder to scuff the return pass wide of the gaping goal with not even the sweeping rain offering Taylor a valid excuse for his glaring miss. Horsham were almost made to pay within minutes when, in Ashford's next attack, Smith took the ball round Seuke only for the cool-headed Tom Graves to mop up. The crowd were generous in their applause in the 38th minute when Charman, showing an encouraging appetite for the game, almost produced a goal to equal that of Brake and Mingle's early season efforts. Ricky Wellard's foul on Taylor gave Horsham a free-kick that Graves hit long to the far corner of the visitors' penalty where Charman swivelled to hit a spectacular first-time volley that was destined for the far corner of the net had it not been for the intervention of Burgess who flung himself full-length to palm the ball away to safety.

The chances continued to go begging for the home side and Mingle was the culprit, 5 mins from the break, when some neat interpassing found the makeshift striker inside the box and a neat turn away from Stuart Bamford warranted a better end product than a shot in to the side netting. Yet it was the visitors who might have gone in to the half-time interval in front when Seuke reacted well to Smith's flick after Byron Harrison had won the ariel duel with Andy Howard and then, a minute later, the Hornets stopper did just that to prevent the unmarked Goggin from scoring with a far post header.

H/T Horsham 1 Ashford Town (Mx) 1

The start of the second half saw Simon Austin on for Davis, who was unable to continue due to a back problem, but the pattern of the first half continued when Mingle dragged a shot wide after Charman's header had caused problems for Stuart Bamford and, on 50 minutes, Howard embarked on a run from the halfway line that ended with Burgess getting down low to field the central defender's bobbling shot. 

More industry from Goggin paved the way for the Tangerines' first effort of the half when he ran to retrieve Smith's overhit pass and worked it back into the penalty area where Anthony Joseph flashed a fierce drive wide of the upright. For 10 minutes, Horsham struggled to find their earlier fluency and Ashford began to enjoy the greater possession but a free-kick for the hosts provided an opportunity to bring the big guns up from the back and the biggest of them all, captain French, headed the ball narrowly past the post with many fans believing the ball had entered the net.

A rash tackle from Brake on Joseph somehow escaped censure from Mr Smith and, from the resulting free-kick, Harrison drifted into the penalty area to connect first time but could only direct the ball wide of the target. Some questionable distribution from Seuke put his side under pressure on a couple of occasions but they survived and Mingle brought yet another save out of Burgess when he linked well with Farrell to send in a right-footed shot that was easy for the Ashford 'keeper. Yet Burgess won't be happy with his contribution for Horsham's second, and decisive, goal of the game on 68 minutes. A quickly taken throw from Charman sought out Mingle in midfield and his defence splitting pass put Austin in the clear to tap home after his first effort had been fumbled by the 'keeper.

Ashford boss, Mark Butler, needed to shake things up and Joseph and Deegan were replaced by Warren Harris and Scott Todd respectively and it took a brave block from French to prevent Gavin Bamford from troubling Seuke. Charman attempted another acrobatic volley, getting his timing badly wrong this time, but Horsham were struggling to clear their lines and retain possession as the visitors went in search of a second equaliser. Carney joined Mingle in the referee's notebook for a trip on Harris but the defence, inspired by French's commanding presence, stood firm.

Ashford enjoyed the greater possession in the final few minutes but lacked the cutting edge to threaten Seuke's goal and Stuart Bamford's frustrations got the better of him when he was booked for his protests at the awarding of a Horsham corner. Some ill-conceived attempts by the home side at retaining possession in the corners of the pitch frequently came to nought to keep the home fans on the edge of their seats but 5 minutes of injury time failed to produce another goal and Horsham were left to celebrate their 12th home success of the campaign while Ashford, although still within sight of the play-offs, know that they can ill afford to drop any further points if they are to stand any chance of being in the promotion shake up come the end of April.

NEXT MATCH: v Staines Town (a) Tuesday 18th March ko 7.45pm