Horsham got off to a winning start in their pre-season campaign as they travelled to Burgess Hill where John Maggs looked to show off his new players in preparation for the forthcoming season. Both Jay Lovett and Paul Kennett were named in the starting line-up that still had familiar faces from last season, with Player of the Year Ben Andrews forming a new central defensive partnership with trialist Jamal King following the recent departure of Sam Page to Sutton United.

It was a slow start to the game as the players were trying to regain much needed match fitness for the new campaign. The experienced Lovett added a touch of class to proceedings as the former Brentford man looked a cut above the rest. On this evidence, he is going to be a key man for Horsham and another fantastic signing by Maggs, who could have finally found a replacement for Lee Carney.

Horsham took the lead just before the half hour mark, when a cross from Jack Page was bundled down by another debutant, Kennett, and stroked past the goalkeeper with ease. The rest of the half saw no more goals but Burgess Hill had a shot cleared off the line by Page and a chance well saved by returning goalkeeper Mark Zawadski, high above his head.

The second half saw a few changes for the Hornets as Tom Graves and Steve Davies came on for Kennett and Ian Payne. A lack of fitness from both sides really showed in the second half and it was half an hour before we saw another goal. Burgess Hill changed their goalkeeper, who looked shaky from the start, but it didn't take Pat Harding long to take advantage as he raced away from the defence and slotted into the bottom corner of the net.

Another familiar face once again reunited with John Maggs was Dean Wright who was invited back to pre-season training after gaining some much valuable experience at Three Bridges. He looked determined to prove a point as he chased down every ball and fought for everything he could and, in the end, his much appreciated effort paid off as he took a smart touch to gain a yard on the defender and slotted into the same corner as Harding. This sent Horsham clear and dry and on the way to victory in their first game of the season but they were unable to keep a clean sheet as they conceded a penalty in injury time that was perfectly placed by Hillians skipper Steve Harper who beat Zawadski's despairing dive.

"It couldn't have gone better for us," reflected Maggs after the match. "We won't go overboard because, at the end of the day, the important thing about these games is to get the lads back out on the pitch but we looked in good shape, the boys were fit and really up for it. We looked a good unit and got better as the game went on. We made 5-6 changes and, unsurprisingly, we lost our shape a bit but we came strong again at the end."

The reassuring presence of Ben Andrews at the back gave reason to believe that the Hornets might not suffer from the absence of the departed Page but it was Lovett who drew the biggest praise from his new manager. "Ben was his usual, solid self but Jay was a class above everyone. His fitness levels are superb and his experience will help us no end. I'm sure he'll become a big hit with the supporters. Dean Wright did very well for us, too, and looked sharp when we brought him on. He scored a very good goal and I was delighted with his performance."

The boss' final words, though, centred on a player who took no part in the afternoon's proceedings; Tony Nwachukwu. "I'm very disappointed with some of the comments on the forum," he continued. "Tony and I have had a couple of chats, he even rang me after the game to see how we got on, and I've offered him what I feel is a good compromise for him. I'm not prepared to discuss the full details but I will tell all our supporters exactly what I told the lad and that is that the door remains fully open to him if he wants to come back to training, and to be a part of Horsham Football Club. He has plenty of potential, and I know that he is very popular with the fans, but if they knew the full picture then I'm sure some of them would take a different view of things." 

NEXT MATCH: v Eastbourne Town (at Worthing FC) Tuesday 20th July kick-off 7.45pm