Promotion destiny is back in Horsham's hands again

The victory puts Horsham’s destiny back in their own hands as they moved up to third, two points behind the side they defeated and also have a game in hand.

Leaders London Edwardians’ title charge also took a hit as they went down to a shock 4-0 defeat away to Trojans, leaving them five points clear at the top.

Horsham manager Al Campbell said: “This was a must win game in order to stay in contention. We’re now two points adrift of second place with a game in hand.

“At least that means we’re masters of our own destiny – if we win all our remaining games we go up.”

The visitors got off to a flying start with two goals inside the first five minutes which set the foundations.

The first came when slick passing amongst the forwards split the home defence and John Burroughs finished from close range.

Seconds later quick thinking by midfield maestro Freddie Campbell resulted in a short corner that saw Matt Hough convert for his eighth goal of the season.

Tulse Hill fought back hard as the Horsham defence, who are still without coach Dom Male, also lacked lynchpin Dom Cohen and seasoned campaigner Mark Bryan. However, such is the strength and depth of defenders that the young back line coped admirably, Dan Humphreys and Noah Chinn in particular rising to the occasion.

The teams turned around at 2-0 – but a 10-minute purple patch at the start of the second half saw an onslaught from the home team and they levelled the scores after 15 minutes.

At one end, Horsham forced chances in the opposition D, at the other, goalkeeper Andy Isaacs kept them in the game with some acrobatic saves.

It looked like remaining honours even until, four minutes from the whistle, Burroughs made the space to find Dean whose shot from 12 metres out was unstoppable.

InjuMale visits a specialist this week to see if his broken hand will need an operation.

Horsham’s next game is against league leaders London Edwardians in Battersea on Saturday.

n Horsham ladies drew 1-1 in their South League Division 1 match with Reading.