HORSHAM 3 BROVE UNITED 1

HORSHAM U18s:
Tom Baxter, Danny Bryant (Pete Wells), Mark Cossins, Harry Pleece, Tom May, Jordan Williams (Matt Whiteford), Elliott Hawkes, Michael Dale, Danny Hutchings, Dean Wright, Tony Nwachukwu (Pat Surlis) Unused subs: Adam Hutchings, Joe Lees.
Scorer: Wright (2), Surlis

They say that in the cup all that matters is to be in the hat for the next round and not to worry about the performance. If that's the case the Hornets should not lose to much sleep about a game in which they should have scored double figures.

In the very first minute, Horsham could have gone ahead when a Dean Wright effort went just wide of the post but the striker did not have to wait long to open his account when, in the sixth minute, he finished well to open what many thought would be the floodgates. But chance after chance went a begging as Horsham enjoyed a massive amount of the possession. Often it was the final ball that was wrong or just plain old bad finishing as Brove worked hard to get men behind the ball. Horsham were getting a lot of joy on the left flank where Tony Nwachukwu was getting the better of the visitors' full-back on plenty of occasions. It just seemed a matter of when, and not if, for the second goal with Michael Dale instrumental in the centre of midfield. As the half wore on, United started to gain more confidence and came close to levelling after 'keeper Tom Baxter miscontrolled the ball on the edge of the box and the Hornets went in with a slender lead at the break.

Horsham changed formation for the second half and came out with fresh instructions to be more clinical in front of goal but it seemed to be the same old story as they continued to struggle to make an impact around the opposition box. Matt Whiteford and Pat Surlis were introduced to replace Nwachukwu and Jordan Williams on the wings and both started using their pace to upset the Brove defence. Midway through the second half it was Surlis who broke down the left into the box and placed his shot past the keeper to make it 2-0. Horsham immediately fell into the trap of relaxing as they thought the game was won, and they paid the price a minute later as Brove were able to break through the Hornets defence for Tony Casula to pull a goal back for the visitors. Horsham now lost shape for a spell as United sensed they could cause an upset and throw all they could at Horsham. But a Hornets counter attack resulted in good work from Whiteford on the right wing who cut the ball back from the byline for Wright to score his second and, this time, Horsham were able to kill the game off.

After the game, manager Ivan Raby commented "We really made hard work for ourselves today in a game we should have had wrapped up by half time. We will need to practise on our finishing at training because it is a part of our game we need to improve on. A positive we can take from the match was the return of Matt Whiteford and Pat Surlis from injury who both looked sharp and will benefit from the run out. Also, Adam Hutchings was able to play a full match for our under 16 side in the afternoon so we are almost back to full strength."

Horsham now visit Haywards Heath Town in Round Three on Sunday 11th November.

NEXT MATCH: v Staines Town (h) Monday 29th October ko 7.45pm