Supporters with long memories will recall the close battles the two sides had in their efforts to escape the League's basement division in the mid 1990s but this was to be a far more one-sided game as the Hornets controlled the game for long periods, continuing to grow in confidence by every match as they look to give the club a season to remember in this final season at the Queen Street ground. Wealdstone know all about ground relocation, having spent the past seventeen seasons living a nomadic existence after selling their Lower Mead stadium and it is, perhaps, no surprise that the club has struggled to recapture their former glories of the 1980s when they became one of only three sides to win the non-league 'double' of the Football Conference Championship and FA Trophy. Although steadily climbing the non-league pyramid, they came into this match sitting in 18th place with just two wins in a hitherto injury stricken season but were able to boast  the threat of six goal Peter Dean, one of the division's leading marksmen, who was sure to prove a handful for the Horsham defence.

Having described his side's display against Hastings United in the week as 'the finished article', it was little surprise that Hornets boss John Maggs made just the one change from that which hammered their Sussex rivals 4-0 with Gary Charman returning in place of Stuart Myall, Brake reverting to full-back, with Kevin Hemsley having impressed enough to reclaim the captain's armband from previous incumbent Eddie French.

After a minute's silence, impeccably observed by the 414 crowd, in memory of Ifield Edwards manager Russell Penticost who tragically passed away this week, the Stones kicked off attacking down the slope and forced a couple of early corners but it was the home side who had the best of the opening exchanges, twice going close inside the opening seven minutes. Lee Carney hit a volley straight at Carr after John Westcott had nodded down Brake's deep cross and, in the next attack, Charman pounced on to Austin's deflected shot to curl a right-footed effort just wide of the post. Playing into the often blinding October sunshine, Wealdstone's attacks frequently came to nought with the Horsham rearguard looking composed under pressure and you had the feeling that it would be a case of when, not if, the home side would score. The answer almost came from Charman who stole in front of his marker at the near post but only received the ball rather painfully in his face from Carney's firmly driven cross. However, the pain was surely shortlived when another Brake-inspired move brought the first goal on twenty minutes. Collecting a pass from the majestic Jacob Mingle, the left back cut inside his marker before playing the ball into the penalty area where it bobbled about before being clinically despatched into the back of the net, courtesy of Austin's right boot. The former Maidstone striker's place could be in threat with the imminent availability of Lee Farrell and Chamal Fenelon but he would have given his manager food for thought when he scored his side's second goal, just five minutes later. A slip by Hemsley gave Ryan Ashe a sight of goal but he could only lob the ball tamely into Alan Mansfield's hands and the visitors were punished almost immediately when Carney released Westcott down the right and, with Rook making a nuisance of himself inside the box, Austin was left unattended to head home at the far post, directing his header perfectly across the 'keeper, glancing the upright before nestling in the back of the goal. At 2-0 down against a side oozing confidence, the game was already all but over for the Stones and the frustrated Dean earned the first of his side's four bookings with a wild lunge on Brake.

Westcott was denied a third after moving on to Charman's exquisite pass but he scuffed his shot past Carr and Jomo Faal-Thomas was able to clear the lines with some ease. The Stones' Alan Massey then went close at both ends with Carr sparing his blushes when a free-kick by Carney was nodded inadvertently towards his own goal by the central defender but he was less accurate at the other end when the visitors were awarded a free-kick and a poorly executed offside trap saw a free header put wide by the luckless number four. The burly Stephen Hughes went in to the book for a cynical foul on Charman, that prompted unnecessary involvement from Brake, but he showed good skill on the edge of the Horsham penalty area to spin away from Hemsley and Tom Graves to hit a powerful shot over the top and Dean went even closer when slack play in the midfield allowed the striker to take aim from twenty yards but the effort curled narrowly wide of the diving Mansfield and his right hand post to bring the first half to a close.

H/T: Horsham 2 Wealdstone 0

If the visitors were encouraged by their display towards the end of the half, they were quickly on the back foot once more when Rook claimed his tenth of the season just sixty seconds after the restart. Brake's quick feet gave him the room in which to get past Faal-Thomas and his pinpoint cross found Horsham's leading scorer unmarked at the near post to bury a header for his seventh goal in six games. Carney almost made it four, four minutes later, when a sensational shot from an apparently impossible angle rattled the angle of post and crossbar with the goalkeeper rooted to his line. The Hornets were now playing with a swagger and a dazzling move quickly turned defence into attack with Brake's pass helped on to the overlapping Charman by Rook and, when the ball was laid back into the path of Mingle, supporters braced themselves for a repeat of his recent spectacular winning goal against Chelmsford City but, sadly, the gifted midfielder got his angles all wrong and hit his shot some fifteen yards wide of the target. The ever willing Rook then chased a seemingly lost cause down the Horsham left, swinging his left boot from virtually on the byeline only to watch as the ball drifted agonisingly wide of the far post with Carr scrambling desperately across his goal. Midway through the half Leo Morris, in charge of the side in the absence of hospitalised manager Gordon Bartlett, made two changes to his side with former Staines Town midfielder Andre Delisser and Seye Adegoke replacing Ryan Ashe and Dean respectively and Maggs withdrew Mingle to enable Lewis Taylor to continue his recovery from injury. Wealdstone skipper Chris O'Leary had spent much of the afternoon incurring the wrath of the home fans with a number of niggling fouls and he was to finally fall foul of referee Woolford when he picked up a yellow card for crashing into Brake who, himself, was cautioned for dissent after accusing Adegoke of diving in one of several flashpoints that punctuated the second period.

Chris O'Leary hooked a shot wide from a throw and Hughes should have done better from Wealdstone's best move of the game, involving substitutes Graeme Montgomery and Adegoke, but he dragged his shot wastefully wide from ten yards out before Horsham made a further switch, replacing Charman with Stuart Myall - Charman opting to come off despite indications that it was Brake who was to be substituted and the full-back was to celebrate his reprieve in style later in the game. Another good break by the visitors saw Andy Howard block a Hughes shot at the expense of a corner that provoked another angry confrontation between Graves and O'Leary whose afternoon was to last just a few more minutes when a reckless challenge on Myall earned him a second caution and the obligatory early bath. Wealdstone had certainly put in an improved showing during the second period with the lively Montgomery showing some neat touches, including a skilful drag back and flick that bamboozled Westcott, but they failed to bring a single save out of Mansfield all game. Having withstood the visitors' attempted fightback, Horsham ended the game strongly with Carney blasting a shot over Carr's goal before the young 'keeper drew appreciative applause from the home crowd when he spectacularly clawed away Rook's close range header from yet another excellent Brake cross. He was powerless to prevent Horsham's final goal of the afternoon, however, when, from the resulting corner, Brake arrowed the loose ball into the bottom corner of the net to put the seal on an outstanding display from the former Sutton United man. There was still time for Taylor to somehow contrive to produce the miss of the season when Austin's right wing cross found the substitute unmarked, six yards out, but his header flew wide of the post.