Entry £6
Programme £1
Tea £1
Raffle £1
Bovril £1
Total £10
This weekend we were visiting friends in Sussex, so I delved into my Non League Directory for grounds local to Horsham. I plumbed for the local option of Horsham YMCA, with nearby grounds including Crawley, Brighton, Three Bridges and Dorking.
Truth be told I am not that familiar with Sussex, so it was with some curiosity that we set off on Friday night. As it turns out the county is best characterised by a sprinkling of smaller towns, with Gatwick Airport to the north east, and Brighton to the south. Horsham itself is reportedly the best of the bunch, with rows of independent shops, and trendy bars/restaurants aplenty. The town also has a rich heritage - before lunch we visited the museum, which has a miscellaneous collection of paraphernalia to do with the town. Some links were a little tenuous - particularly these section on 'Horsham dinosaurs' - but I liked the pride in the town.
After lunch I sauntered off to Gorings Mead, leaving Mrs Hopper to catch up with her friend over a hot chocolate. The ground is at the end of a long cul de sac just to the east of the town centre, and I parted with £6 at the entrance, where the woman proclaimed 'shocking weather!' It was indeed pretty shocking with constant rain exacerbated by wind and dark skies.
Gorings Mead is apparently regarded as one of the best grounds in the league, and I could see why. There are 3 covered areas. To my right on the long side was a row of 3-4 terraces with the club's name painted in red on the roof. Directly opposite was the main seating area - the Victor Gladwish Stand - with rows of blue seats. The most distinctive feature of this was that it the roof was held up by concrete girders, which emerged from the clubhouse directly behind it. To the left of this was another seating area, clearly a recent development. Not a bad set up at all.
The match - in the newly named Southern Combination (effectively the old Sussex County League) - was a bit of anticlimax. Horsham - in a blue kit - played the better football from the start, and were happy to get the ball on the floor and play it through midfield. The first thing I noticed was the vocal reaction of the Shoreham players to the award of a corner to the home side - it was as if it was the biggest injustice in the world!
Horsham took the lead when Sam Schaat slotted in after comfortably evading the away defenders. It was far too easy and Shoreham's defence was too soft and ineffective. The home side's Ash Dugdale was looking particularly sharp on his surges forward. They then made it 2-0 when Dean Wright tapped in after the away keeper pawed away a cross. Horsham's Dave Brown then fired fractionally wide after a neat one-two. The only threats from Shoreham were some innocuous efforts from Craig Goodsil and Okwute Izuchukwu.
Half time brought a welcome Bovril (thankfully they do it down South too!) and I headed back out for the second period. For a few minutes it looked like Shoreham could put on a game here and at least match their opponents. Horsham's Donaldson drilled low and wide before Shoreham's Liam Hunter's speculative shot drifted just over on the roof of the net. Hunter was then booked for a nasty late tackle, and from that point on it was all Horsham. Dean Wright screwed wide after a fumble by the keeper and Dave Brown made it 3-0 with a low free kick which somehow dodged the wall. The same player then exacted some revenge on Hunter with a crunching challenge - with another yellow card the result.
I then shifted my position and stood behind the away goal where most of the action was now. It was well worth it as I had a fantastic view of Horshams 4th when Dan Evans cracked a great lob over the hapless keeper. Horsham's Luke Donaldson then had a near post drive saved to stem the flow. So it had been a poor showing for Shoreham. The only bright spot was their sub Jason Edwards who made some excellent runs through and carried the most threat for the away side. The game was not the greatest but I've seen a lot worse. Horsham looked like a competent side who should finish in the top third of the table and maybe they will sneak into eligibility for Step 4 promotion.
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