HEYBRIDGE SWIFTS 3 HORSHAM 2

HEYBRIDGE SWIFTS:
1.Ollie Morris-Sanders 2.Ryan Hull 3.Jordan Collins 4.Robbie King (Passfield) 5.Daryl Bourgeois 6.Tom Devaux 7.Nathan Clarke 8.Adam Gillespie 9.Stafford Browne 10.Neil Cousins (Savage) 11.David Wareham (Lay) Subs: 12.Reggie Savage 14.Adam Passfield 15.Mark Reddaway 16.George Lay 17.Jamie Bowyer
Scorers: Browne (14,45,67)

HORSHAM:
1.Alan Mansfield 2.Andrew Howard (Salaam) 3.Stuart Myall 4.Eddie French 5.Tom Graves (Hemsley) 6.Gavin Bolger 7.Jacob Mingle 8.Dwain Clarke 9.Lee Farrell 10.Gary Charman 11.Matthew Geard Subs: 12.Yinka Salaam 14.Simon Austin 15.Kevin Hemsley 16.Ian Payne 17.Rob Frankland
Scorers: Farrell (6), Clarke (41)

reporter: Mark Wells
photographs: John Lines

In a season in which Horsham's struggles in front of goal had seen them slip disappointingly out of the promotion race, it was ironic that this final day defeat should come courtesy of a hat-trick by one of their former players. Stafford Browne, the striker who enjoyed a brief spell at Queen Street in 1996 before going on to make several Football League appearances for Brighton & Hove Albion, twice equalised for the home side before hitting the second half winner that consigned Horsham to their 5th successive league defeat.

With Heybridge's Premier Division safety assured, thanks to last weekend's victory at Maidstone United, and Horsham's play-off hopes simultaneously extinguished at the hands of Billericay Town, this 4th league meeting between the sides had the classic end of season feel to it yet the warming April sunshine drew a healthy sized crowd to Scraley Road and they were suitably entertained with 5 goals, a sending off and some passionate vocal support from both sets of fans.

John Maggs made just the one change to last Saturday's line-up with Gavin Bolger coming in for Simon Austin while 'want away' midfielder Lewis Taylor was omitted from the squad. Tom Devaux was rewarded with a place in the home team's starting line-up after coming off the bench to hit the Swifts' crucial winning goal against the Stones, with the popular Daryl Bourgeois returning to the defence and Neil Cousins making his first start of the season in attack.

It was the Hornets who drew first blood, taking the lead after just 6 minutes. A short corner from Stuart Myall found Matt Geard and a quick exchange of passes with Dwain Clarke saw the midfielder burst in to the penalty area only to have the ball taken off his toes by Lee Farrell. Geard's clear frustrations were quickly forgotten, though, when his team-mate slotted the ball in to the unguarded net after Gary Charman's shot had fallen kindly on the edge of the 6 yard box.

The home side almost produced an instant response when Tom Graves brought down Nathan Clarke, whose angry reaction earned both players a lecture from referee Neil West, and the Heybridge man would have exacted the perfect revenge had he not put his header too close to Alan Mansfield from the resulting free-kick. David Wareham was proving a threat down the Heybridge left flank, causing makeshift full-back Andy Howard plenty of problems and, inevitably, the equaliser came through the pacy number 11. Howard was caught out by Ollie Morris-Sanders' hasty clearance and the winger was away from his man, taking a couple of paces before slipping an inch-perfect pass in to the path of Browne who converted with ease. 

Despite the early season sunshine, a strong wind was making conditions difficult and a number of free-kicks and goal-kicks proved ineffective. One such delivery from Myall sailed beyond the far post to waste a good opening for the Hornets but, when the ball was played on the deck, both sides looked threatening. Nathan Clarke's purposeful run took him in to the heart of the Horsham penalty area where Graves was forced to concede a corner at the near post and a quick ball to Charman's feet earned Ryan Hull a caution for upending his man.

Mansfield punched clear a dangerous free-kick and Devaux clipped a half chance over the top before Myall was forced in to a goal line clearance to keep the scores level, five minutes before the break. A corner from Wareham was headed powerfully towards goal by Bourgeois and only Myall's outstretched leg prevented the home side from taking the lead. That honour befell the visitors when, from the resulting corner kick, Charman helped on Jacob Mingle's clearance to Dwain Clarke and the former Staines man raced half the length of the field unchallenged before lobbing the advancing goalkeeper for a fabulous goal.

Arguably the honesty of Clarke's namesake Nathan denied the home side a penalty when he reacted quickest to chase a ball out of defence and take it round Mansfield, appearing to get impeded by the 'keeper as he ran the ball out of play, but there was no disputing the 45th minute award that sent the sides in to the break on level terms and Horsham a man down. An interception from Eddie French gave Heybridge another corner and, in a carbon copy of the one minutes earlier, Bourgeois rose to meet Wareham's cross only to be denied illegally by Myall whose instinctive reactions saw his raised hand stop the ball from crossing the line. Mr West had little choice in dismissing the errant defender, despite the ball entering the net a split second later. Unperturbed by the delay while Myall left the field, Browne strode forward to beat Mansfield from 12 yards and the Hornets had barely enough time to restart before Mr West brought the first half entertainment to an end.

H/T Heybridge Swifts 2 Horsham 2

A man down at the interval, Maggs opted for a three man defence and, unsurprisingly, it was the hosts who would go on to dominate the majority of the second period. Nathan Clarke missed a good chance on 48 minutes when he combined well with Browne and Wareham before putting the ball wide of Mansfield's right hand post. There were half hearted appeals for a penalty, when Cousins went down under challenge from French, and Mansfield was out quickly to deny Clarke after Robbie King had threaded the ball through a huge gap in the Horsham defence.

A marginal offside decision prevented Farrell from troubling Morris-Sanders in a rare opening for the yellows who enjoyed a few periods of decent possession themselves, prompted by the diligent Mingle, that belied their numerical disadvantage. However, the writing was on the wall once Browne struck his hat-trick goal on 68 minutes, getting between Bolger and Howard to convert Cousins' cross to beat the static Mansfield from close range for the striker's second treble of the season. That was to be Cousins final contribution as he was immediately replaced with the fresh legs of Reggie Savage, the Swifts' matchwinner when the sides met at Queen Street back in February.

To their credit, the ten men refused to buckle and Farrell came agonisingly close to claiming his second of the game when he collected Mingle's pass on the edge of the area, turned sharply, and fired in a shot that Morris-Sanders scrambled unconvincingly away with Devaux completing the clearance before Charman could convert the loose ball. A double substitution followed for the visitors, with Yinka Salaam and Kevin Hemsley taking the places of Graves and Howard, but Mingle was unable to capitalise on any confusion in the home ranks by firing the subsequent corner high over the crossbar.

Wareham's speculative volley failed to trouble Mansfield and, at the other end, some close control by Farrell saw Devaux apply another hasty clearance off the line with the goalkeeper beaten. But, despite a strong finish, matched by the support from the travelling faithful, Horsham were unable to take further reward from the match and were grateful to Mansfield for a fine stop to prevent Browne from adding to his personal tally. As the final whistle blew, Horsham's loyal band of followers ignored the attempted intimidation from a small band of home fans to salute the players who had given them so many memories during this long and unforgettable campaign.

NEXT MATCH: v East Preston (h) Tuesday 29th April ko 7.45pm