TOOTING & MITCHAM 7 HORSHAM 0

HORSHAM U18s:
Tom Baxter, Harry Pleece, Andy Whittingham, Matt Dingle, Josh Edes, Matt Whiteford (Elliot Hawkes), Danny Hutchings (Joe Baker), Michael Dale, Jordan Williams (Tony Nwachukwu), Pat Surlis, Dean Wright Unused sub: Fred Bowles

Horsham Youth manager Ivan Raby climbed from his sick bed for this tie in the 1st qualifying round of the FA youth Cup against Tooting and Mitcham at the Imperial Fields but cannot have returned feeling any better a few hours later after seeing his team go out of the competition without putting up much of a fight and on the end of a 7-0 drubbing.

There was no sign of what was to come in the opening quarter of an hour as both sides looked well matched and, indeed, it was the Hornets who should have struck first through the lively Matt Whiteford who just failed to connect with a cross which ran across the face of the Tooting goalmouth. Minutes later, the the hosts struck at the other end after indecision in the Horsham defence to take the lead. Horsham tried to hit straight back and won a number of free kicks in decent areas but failed to put the Tooting 'keeper to the test and suffered another blow when losing the ever threatening Whiteford to injury. Tooting then put Horsham under pressure and struck with two more goals in as many minutes. As the Hornets desperately looked for something to keep them in the game before the break, a misplaced pass out of defence meant it was game over at 4-0 at half time.

Horsham came out determined to put a bit of pride into their second half performance and, for a while, it seemed like they may be able to stem the Tooting attacks with Matt Dingle working his socks off at the heart of the back four. But injuries and tiredness took its toll and after 65 minutes United scored their fifth. Horsham had by now used all their substitutes and were reliant on goalkeeper Tom Baxter to keep the score down on more then one occasion. In the final part of the match Tooting struck with a further two goals to confirm their place in the next round where they will meet Chertsey Town.

NEXT MATCH: v Tonbridge Angels (a) Wednesday 10th October