CARSHALTON ATHLETIC 0 HORSHAM 3

HORSHAM U18s:
1.Tom Baxter 2.Adam Hutchings 3.Andy Whittingham 4.Matt Dingle (Josh Eades) 5.Harry Pleece 6.Danny Hutchings 7.Matt Whiteford (Tony Nwachukwu) 8.Elliot Hawkes (Joe Baker) 9.Dean Wright 10.Michael Dale 11.Fred Bowles. Sub not used: Darren James
Scorers: Wright, Hawkes, Bowles

Horsham got their Ryman Youth League campaign off to a great start with a 3-0 victory against Carshalton at the War Memorial Ground. Horsham were sweating on whether brothers Danny and Adam Hutchings would get to the ground in time for kick off as the pair returned from a holiday in Greece that afternoon. Landing at Gatwick at 5pm, and rushing straight to Carshalton they arrived, with 45 minutes to spare and were both included in the starting line-up. Horsham made a good start to the game and had the hosts on the back foot, with the central midfield pairing of Danny Hutchings and Michael Dale wining all the early battles in the middle of the park. Carshalton eventually settled and began to put together some good passages of play but lacked an on target finish to any of their moves. The Hornets defence were having to work hard with Harry Pleece and Matt Dingle dealing with a number of long balls down the middle and any that did get through were smartly swept up by 'keeper Tom Baxter. Against the run of play it was Horsham who went ahead after 35 minutes when the lively Matt Whiteford won the ball and supplied a slide rule pass through to Dean Wright who showed great composure to tuck the ball past the Carshalton 'keeper. The home team could hardly believe they were behind and struggled to find a way back into the game before the half time whistle came.

Horsham expected a tough start to the second half but it was not long before they were starting to dominate proceedings with left back Andy Whittingham getting forward and setting up a number of attacks on the Robins goal. Just before the hour mark, Horsham doubled their lead when striker Elliot Hawkes made no mistake when put through on goal. Horsham now began to pile on more pressure and Carshalton were reduced to trying to stop the Hornets playing with a few choice challenges. Any threat on goal they did make was dealt with by the Horsham back four where Adam Hutchings at right back showed what a great prospect he is with a series of well timed tackles. Josh Eades replaced Dingle at centre half before Horsham sealed the win with the goal of the game - a rocket of a shot hit on the volley from 25 yards out by Fred Bowles which gave the 'keeper no chance at the aptly named Fred's End part of the ground. In the last ten minutes Horsham used two more substitutes with Tony Nwachukwu replacing Whiteford and Joe Baker coming on for Hawkes. The Hornets could have extended the lead but squandered a couple of late chances as the game ended 0-3. Manager Ivan Raby was delighted with his teams performance and said "I am very proud of the way the team played tonight. Because of holidays we have not been able to gauge much from our pre-season games and, with many new faces in the squad this season, it was great to see them play good football coupled with a terrific team spirit. We will enjoy the victory this evening but won't be getting carried away as we know there is a long season ahead of us"

NEXT MATCH: v AFC Wimbledon (h) Monday 3rd September ko 7.45pm