It wasn't quite the finale that he might have hoped for but, in his final game in the famous yellow and green strip, Lee Carney left Horsham with a reminder of the talents that had made him such a firm favourite with the club's fans by laying on their goal in this ultimately disappointing Boxing Day derby that saw the Hornets held to a 1-1 draw by the division's bottom side.

The travelling faithful were hoping for something special from their idolised talisman before his departure into County League football and they would have been saddened that his farewell appearance was ended after 69 minutes but that didn't stop them singing his name throughout this contest in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the club's successes in an 8 year career that had racked up over 330 games. Having set up Pat Harding’s 19th minute opener, Carney was instrumental in Horsham’s efforts to regain the lead after Bognor had found an instant equaliser but those hoping for a fairytale ending were left disappointed as Carney bowed out in untypically subdued style and both sides had to settle for a point.

The Hornets showed 3 changes from the side beaten at Wealdstone last time out with Steve Sargent returning in place of Steve Davies, Jack Page for Tony Nwachukwu and James Nicholls coming in for for the absent Alex Haddow on the ground on which he made an inauspicious debut for the Hornets, having been dismissed after just 2 minutes of September's Sussex Senior Cup tie. Bognor gave a debut to 17 year old Brighton & Hove Albion centre-back Grant Hill, in for the suspended Tim Bond, while fellow Seagulls loanee Lewis Ide was among the substitutes. 

Bognor remained rooted to the foot of the table despite collecting 4 points from their previous 2 outings and it was they who had the game's first chance when Richard Hudson hit a long range shot that was caught high by Hornets 'keeper Craig Bradshaw who would endure a busy opening to the game. Gary Norgate ran onto Jason Prior's through ball but his weak shot was stopped again by Bradshaw, who dived low to his right to cling onto the ball, and Hudson then tried his luck with an optimistic effort that was looping towards the far post but the backpedalling Bradshaw collected the ball with ease.

Hudson was at the heart of the Rocks' attacks and he connected with a low ball from a corner to smash the ball towards goal but Bradshaw was again equal to the shot and blocked with his legs, and the overworked custodian was then able to smother the ball away from danger following a goalmouth scramble. The next move saw Horsham muster their first attack of the half when a fumbled ball from the rangy  Hall allowed Claude Seanla to snatch possession on the edge of the box but he dragged his shot wide of the goal.

A surging ball forward by recent Rocks' target Ben Andrews was headed on by Harding who found Seanla lurking in the penalty area and his goalbound shot was palmed away by the hosts goalkeeper, Andres Pernecky, but Harding’s persistence earned his side a corner. Carney's inswinging ball found Harding in yards of space inside the six yard box and the striker had time to pluck the ball from the air and smash it into the roof of the net to give Horsham the lead.

The Hornets joy wasn’t long lived, however, as Norgate struck an equaliser just 2 minutes later when a free-kick was headed back across goal by Hudson and poor defending from the visitors allowed Norgate to scramble the ball past Bradshaw from close range, despite the efforts of skipper Sam Page who had twice blocked shots from the Bognor striker.

Horsham’s next attack showed some great instinctive football, with some quick fire passing around the edge of the box confusing the Bognor back four, and Carney found Jack Page in plenty of space but his teasing low cross was sent over the crossbar by Harding who was only yards from goal. Bognor then tried their best to take the lead for the first time in the game but a wide shot from James Crane was cleared off of the line by Andrews. Pernecky ensured that the half would finish all square when his instinctive save kept out an effort from Harding from point blank range after Horsham's frontmen showed great understanding in creating the opening.

H/T Bognor Regis Town 1 – 1 Horsham

Sadly for the spectators who had passed up an afternoon of cold turkey sandwiches and the dubious delights of television's festive offerings in favour of a few hours on the Sussex coast,  the second half bared little resemblance to the first with the lack of action failing to create any real goal threatening chances.

Yet the second period began in encouraging style when good link up play between Seanla and Mark Knee allowed Seanla to square the ball to Harding who forced an easy low save from Pernecky. The game then waited a while for its next chance when, after showing good strength, Seanla dragged his shot disappointingly wide.

Bognor’s only real chance of the second half saw Prior go through on goal but the home fans were left frustrated when the club's leading scorer made a mess of his potential match winning one on one chance with Bradshaw and blazed over the bar. A string of substitutions broke any flow in the game, especially after Carney was withdrawn from the field, bringing the curtain down on his Hornets career.

Jack Page's shot was kept out by Pernecky but he didn’t hold onto the ball and it was nervously scrambled away as the Rocks cleared their lines and Dan Beck had the last chance of the game when, after showing good control, he worried Bradshaw with his shot but it rolled wide.

NEXT MATCH: v Ashford Town Mx (h) Tuesday 29th December ko 7.30pm