If Horsham are to maintain their hopes of chasing a promotion play-off place in the New Year, they will have to do it without Jack Lyons after the midfielder announced that he will be headed to Brisbane within the next 72 hours. The Eire Youth international had intended to depart at the end of January to undertake a 6 month playing contract in Australia but now hopes to fly out to the Gold Coast on New Year's eve after receiving confirmation that his visa has been granted. Jack joined the club in the Summer and made 16 appearances, scoring 2 goals.

John Maggs faces the prospect of losing another key member of his squad next year after Jack Lyons revealed his plans to go 'Down Under' at the end of next month, having been offered a 6 month contract to play football in Australia. "At the moment, he's waiting for his visa to come through but it all looks on the cards," said Maggs who will be wondering when his luck will change. Having seen Rob Tolfrey, Russell Eldridge and Lee Carney leave the club, and long term casualties Scott Harris and Gary Charman unlikely to play again this season, Maggs then suffered a burst pipe that flooded his home on Christmas Day. "I suppose we've just got to get on with things but I think I'm due a bit of luck !"

Tonight's Ryman Premier Division meeting with Ashford Town has been POSTPONED due to a waterlogged pitch. Our next match is scheduled for Saturday 2nd January when we host Bognor Regis Town at Gorings Mead, kick-off 3pm

There was to be no fairytale ending to Lee Carney's Horsham career as the Hornets were held to a 1-1 draw at Bognor Regis this afternoon. The midfielder, playing his final match before dropping in to the County League with Three Bridges, was substituted in the 70th minute of a fairly even encounter in which both goals came in a 2 minute spell midway through the first half. Pat Harding gave the visitors the lead with his 3rd goal in as many games but Bognor equalised  through Gary Norgate after Horsham had failed to clear a free-kick. Both sides had chances to claim a winning goal but had to settle for a point apiece before meeting again on January 2nd at Gorings Mead. Full report...

Ben Andrews delivered some festive cheer today by announcing his decision to remain at the club, despite attracting interest from Bognor Regis Town. A delighted Kevin Borrett paid tribute to the central defender who joined the Hornets from Worthing during the Summer. “Ben has distinguished himself in the 5 months he has been with the team and has, since October, forged what is one of the best centre back pairings in the league with Sam Page. This was instrumental in the autumn turnaround in results and played a huge part in the team’s performances that saw us top the Ryman Premier Division form guide. I am delighted he remains with the club and am keen to see this partnership develop.”

Boxing Day sees us travelling to Bognor Regis for a 4th consecutive league match on the road, and the chance to avenge September's Sussex Senior Cup tie defeat. The match marks the end of Lee Carney's 8 year career with the Hornets and supporters will be hoping for one of his trademark performances as we try to arrest a 3 match losing streak against the division's bottom side. More...

The news no Hornets fans wanted to hear has become reality with the announcement that Lee Carney will be joining County League side Three Bridges. Arguably Horsham's most gifted player of the last decade, Carney will make his final appearance in the amber and green shirt in the Boxing Day fixture at Bognor Regis Town after the club was unable to match the lucrative deal offered by the ambitious Crawley based club. A player dubbed "one of my most outstanding signings" by boss John Maggs, Carney is an undoubted match winner and was an integral part of the club's promotion to the Ryman Premier Division as well as the record breaking FA Cup run two seasons ago. Horsham Chairman Kevin Borrett called him "an inspirational and hugely gifted player (who) so often acted as a talisman and seemed to lift the performance of the whole team." More...

John Maggs is confident that Ben Andrews will remain a Horsham player for the foreseeable future, despite receiving an approach for his versatile central defender from divisional rivals Bognor Regis Town. The former Worthing man has been in inspired form in recent weeks, helping sure up the Hornets fragile defence and inspire a steady climb up the Premier Division table, and his departure would be a further blow to Maggs after Lee Carney's move to Three Bridges was confirmed today. "My gut feeling is that Ben will stay," said the Horsham supremo. "He's enjoying his football with us but feels he would like to speak to Bognor out of courtesy but I will be very surprised if he were to go."

Littlehampton Town provide the opposition when we begin our Brighton Charity Cup campaign with a trip to the Marigolds' Sportsfield ground on Tuesday 12th January. There is a rather lengthier journey to undertake, seven days later, when we travel to Billericay Town while the home matches against Waltham Abbey and AFC Hornchurch will take place on 26th January and 2nd February respectively. A date has yet to be agreed for Saturday's postponed match with Dartford.

U18s striker Patrick O'Sullivan has failed to make it in to the England Schools and Colleges squad, despite impressing during his latest trial. The 17 year old followed up his goalscoring exploits of his first trial by claiming one of South East England's goals in a 4-1 success at Uxbridge, earlier this month, and was naturally disappointed to miss out on a place in the final 32. Nonetheless, the cub is extremely proud of Patrick's achievements and would like to congratulate him on him making it through to the latter stages of a selection process that began with some 2000 players nationwide.

Today's Ryman Premier Division clash with Dartford has been postponed due to an unfit playing surface. The club would like to express their sincere appreciation to everyone who helped clear the pitch of snow ahead of this morning's pitch inspection.

The Club is looking for help in clearing the pitch of snow ahead of tomorrow's Ryman Premier Division match with Dartford. A pitch inspection is due to take place at 1030am so if anyone has a spare shovel, and an hour or so tomorrow morning, please let John Lines know on 07721 418889 or via email at linesj@tesco.net. Lines says "The ground beneath the snow is good, it is not frozen and the snow should blanket the surface from freezing. The forecast is reasonably good. If we can at least get the lines cleared tomorrow morning before the pitch inspection at 10.30 then there is a chance it can be on."

Horsham's players won't need any extra motivation for Saturday's visit of league leaders Dartford, according to John Maggs. The Kent side have been beaten just once in the league, and have a 100% away from Princes Park but that's the sort of challenge that Maggs believes his players relish. "They're all up for this one, you can be sure of that," he said. "Everyone wants to beat the leaders and only Hornchurch have done that so far this season. We want to be the next." James Nicholls may miss out through illness but Steve Sargent returns from suspension and Jack Lyons will be added to the squad after missing the last 2 matches through injury. More....

Members of the Horsham side of the 1940s and '50s will be at Gorings Mead for this Saturday's match against Dartford for the official launch of Adam Hammond's book 'Farewell to the County, 1946-1951'. John Elphick, Peter Wilkins, Owen Parker, Albert King and Roy Spriggs are among those to have have confirmed their attendance, with copies of the book available for £9.95. Click here to read more about Adam's review of the club's post-war period

Our congratulations go out to Mr O'Malley who wins himself a European holiday, a £600 holiday voucher or £500 IN CASH in the November Holiday Club draw. Click here for details on how you could be a winner, from just £2 per week.

Fears that Jack Lyons may be out of action for up to 6 weeks were quashed this week with the news that he has not broken his toe after all. The former Eire U19 international missed the defeats at Aveley and Wealdstone after injuring his foot in training but could now feature in Saturday's clash with Dartford after an x-ray revealed that he has suffered only bruising.

Two goals from Ryan Ashe sent Horsham tumbling to a 3rd consecutive defeat at a freezing Ruislip this evening, despite the Hornets having taken the lead straight from the kick-off. Just 12 seconds had elapsed when Pat Harding converted Alex Haddow's 'assist' but that's about as good as it got for John Maggs' team who, despite enjoying a decent amount of possession, went down to a goal in each half to a Wealdstone side inspired by recent loan signing Billy Gibson. The result sees the Stones leapfrog Horsham in to 5th place, sending their opponents down to 7th. Full report & photos

Horsham are sweating on the fitness of Ben Andrews ahead of Tuesday's visit to 10th placed Wealdstone after the big defender suffered a back injury during the weekend loss at Aveley. Steve Davies will replace the suspended Steve Sargent but Jack Lyons remains on the sidelines pending the results of an x-ray on a suspected broken toe. More...

More than 100 goals are featured on a new 49 minute DVD covering our year 'in exile' at Worthing last season. Highlights include action from the FA Cup ties against Stevenage Borough, the Sussex Senior Cup triumph over Lewes and the 5 goal thriller against Carshalton and will be available to purchase at Saturday's Ryman Premier Division match with Dartford. On-line purchases may also be made via the link on the homepage.

John Maggs believes that the club will 'lose its heartbeat' if Lee Carney is allowed to join Three Bridges. Commenting on a recent approach by the County Leaguers for his talented midfielder, Maggs has said that he hopes the board will do 'everything within their power' to ensure that Carney remains a Hornet if the club is to remain in the Ryman Premier Division. "If you lose Lee, you lose the heart of the club. Lee has been a magnificent player for us and, in my view, owes us nothing. You look back at his performance against Maidenhead in the FA Cup. If it wasn't for that display, and his 2 goals, we might never have played against Swansea and we'd have missed out on the financial windfall that came with that. I'll be gutted if we lose one of our best players to the County League and I'm sure the supporters will feel the same. Lee has told me that he doesn't want to leave the club but, unfortunately, the Three Bridges offer ticks all the boxes so I'm just hoping that we can do something to persuade him to stay."

Horsham's ill-luck with injuries seems set to continue after it was revealed that Jack Lyons suffered a suspected broken toe in training and could be out for up to 6 weeks. The Eire U19 international missed yesterday's defeat at Aveley and the news will be a further blow to boss John Maggs who is also likely to be without Gary Charman for the remainder of the season after an operation to repair his fractured cheekbone.

Horsham's first visit to Aveley in 13 years ended in disappointment this afternoon with a 2-1 loss that sees them slip out of the promotion play-off places. All the important action took place during the first half, with Aveley's Mitch Hahn pouncing on a slip from James Nicholls to put his side ahead after just 4 minutes. Pat Harding levelled after half an hour but Aveley regained the lead, against the run of play, when leading scorer Martin Tuohy converted from close range after Craig Bradshaw had kept out an effort from Junior Dadson. The Hornets produced little after the break and the home side should have extended their lead when substitute Che Studhart headed wide of an open goal. Full report & photos...

Horsham will travel to Aveley tomorrow without Delando Smith after John Maggs decided to release the former Sutton man this week. "Tony Acheampong's playing so well at full-back at the moment that I can't see Delando getting much of a look in so I've asked him to find himself another club," said Maggs. "He's done a good job for us this season but he was unfortunate to get injured and, with the defence looking so strong, he's not going to benefit from sitting on the bench all the time." Horsham should be back to full strength after being without Ben Andrews and Sam Page in midweek as the Hornets look to make it 7 league wins in a row with their first visit to Mill Field since 1996. More...

Craig Bradshaw went from hero to villain after his mistake gifted YMCA the first of their two goals that sent the Hornets crashing out of the Championship Manager Cup at a rain-swept Gorings Mead this evening. Saturday's penalty hero fumbled a free-kick from ex-Hornet Nigel Brake to enable Tom Manton to bundle the ball home on 21 minutes and Horsham's misery was completed, late on, when Terry Dodd converted from close range. Lee Carney forced a fine save from Tony Di Bernardo early on, and Jack Lyons shot wide when well placed but a disappointing display from the Hornets was almost compounded in the final minutes when Gavin Geddes' goalbound effort was held up in the mud on the goalline before being hacked away to safety. Full report...

Mark Knee returns to the Hornets line-up for tomorrow's League Cup tie with Horsham YMCA as the 2 sides go head-to-head for a first ever time in the competition. Last season's Player of the Year has been out of action since suffering a serious chest injury against Cray Wanderers a month ago and is one of a number of changes likely to be made by John Maggs as he looks to use his fringe players and those returning from injury. More...

The club was very saddened to hear of the death of Albert ‘Tinker’ Browning, who passed away last Friday at the age of 97. Albert was the last survivor of the famous Horsham teams of the 1930s that dominated the County football scene. Tinker first joined the club as a replacement for centre-forward George Cox, who had been signed by the Arsenal, and his goalscoring helped the team maintain their tremendous record of success, as they won the Sussex County League championship six times in seven years and the Royal Ulster Rifles Cup seven times in eight years. His form was so good that he was offered trials by Chelsea, though circumstances meant Tinker was unable to take up this offer. At the end of the Second World War, Albert did not rejoin Horsham, but went on to play for the YMCA. His interest in the senior club remained, though, especially when his son, Michael, began to play and eventually went on to emulate his father’s terrific goalscoring record. Our thoughts go out to Michael at this sad time, and to Albert’s wife, Norah. The couple had celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary earlier this year.

A late penalty save from Craig Bradshaw helped secure a fine 2-1 win at Canvey Island to move Horsham in to 5th place in the Ryman Premier Division. The goalkeeper, playing only his 3rd game for the Hornets, conceded the 79th minute spot-kick after bringing down Gulls' leading scorer James Rowe but made amends with a spectacular save to stretch our unbeaten league run to 5 games. Claude Seanla had earlier given the visitors the lead, bundling home Jack Page's cross on 16 minutes, but Horsham were pegged back early in the second half when Jay Curran converted following a corner. Lee Carney's long range effort restored the lead and John Maggs' side had to withstand some heavy pressure before avenging the 2-1 defeat at Gorings Mead earlier in the season. Full report & photos...

Horsham Youth and, I'm sure, all Hornets followers would like to wish Patrick O'Sullivan the best of luck when he attends the next round of trials for the England Schools and Colleges squad at Uxbridge this Sunday. The U18s striker netted 5 of Horsham's 6 goals in the midweek cup success over Ringmer and is the youth team's leading scorer this season with 12 goals.

Horsham include Lee Carney, Mark Knee and Jack Lyons in the squad that travels to 3rd placed Canvey Island tomorrow, looking to extend their unbeaten run to 7 games in all competitions. The Hornets were 4-2 winners at Park Lane on the opening day of last season but the Gulls ended our unbeaten start to this campaign with a 2-1 win at Gorings Mead in August. More...

Christmas came early for Emma Williams this week when her number was pulled out first in the December draw of the 200 Club, winning her £300. If you want to stand a chance of winning a big cash prize with the Hornets next year, why not join up ? For a monthly subscription from just £2.50, you could win anything from £20 to £100 each month, with increased prizes on offer in June and December. For more details, click here

John Maggs revealed that Tom Lyons wasn't his first choice to take the penalty that earned Horsham a point in last night's match with Hendon but he's glad he did ! The former Lewes man had only been on the pitch for a matter of minutes when his new side were awarded a spot-kick but he was determined to mark his debut in style. "I was umming and aahing about who should take the kick," confessed Maggs," but Tom grabbed the ball straight away and said he was going to have it. Apparently he told the lads he'd never missed a penalty before and he hit a beauty, smashed it straight in to the corner. He's a confident lad so that gives us another option, along with Lee and Claude".

Gary Charman could be out for at least 2 months after suffering a double fracture of the cheekbone in last night's draw at Hendon. "Gary was taken to the hospital at Wembley and has to return to see the same consultant tomorrow when the worst of the swelling has gone down" explained Club Secretary John Lines. "It was pretty awful and there was a lot of blood which made it difficult for Gary to breathe as most of it was coming through his nose. (Physio) Andi Marfleet decided against moving him in that situation so the paramedics were called. We're expecting him to undergo an operation next week but it's got to be at least 2 months, maybe more, before we're likely to see him back in action"

Our congratulations go to John Maggs who was named Manager of the Month for November in the Ryman League's monthly awards. Its not the first time that Maggs has been the recipient of this honour but admitted that the latest award came as something of a surprise. "I didn't know anything about it until Rob Frankland called me to tell me," he revealed today. "To be honest, I didn't think we'd played that many games but we won 4 out of 4 so I guess that's what did it. I would have expected it to have gone to Hastings so I suppose us beating them last week must have clinched it. It's nice to get the recognition because it means that the team's obviously playing well."

Tom Lyons rescued a point for Horsham on a dramatic night at Vale Farm that saw the hosts open the scoring in the 17th of 21 minutes of first half injury time, the result of a collision that saw Gary Charman taken to hospital with a suspected broken cheekbone. The debutant, who had only been on the pitch for 5 minutes, scored with virtually his first touch of the ball, converting a 66th minute penalty, to equalise Kevin MacLaren's opener but the match failed to provide too many highlights after play was held up, early in the first half, while paramedics treated the stricken Charman. Goalscoring chances were few and far between but the Hornets twice went close when Alex Haddow clipped the frame of the goal and only the width of the post prevented Ben Andrews from notching a late goal that would have secured a first win in 6 games against the Middlesex club. The result sees the Hornets slip down to 9th place in the Ryman League Premier Division. Full report & photos...