Horsham 0, Herne Bay 2: Hornets fall five points adrift

Horsham fell five points adrift at the foot of the Ryman League South Division table with a 2-0 defeat at home to Herne Bay this afternoon.
JPCT 020115 S15010048x Football. Ryman League South Division: Horsham v Worthing -photo by Steve Cobb SUS-150201-092014001JPCT 020115 S15010048x Football. Ryman League South Division: Horsham v Worthing -photo by Steve Cobb SUS-150201-092014001
JPCT 020115 S15010048x Football. Ryman League South Division: Horsham v Worthing -photo by Steve Cobb SUS-150201-092014001

A goal in each half from Ben Brown and Michael Turner saw the visitors clinch their first win in seven to halt Hornets’ resurgence.

A 5-1 win for fellow strugglers Redhill away at Corinthian Casuals was another bitter blow to Horsham, who remain rock bottom.

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New signings Trevor McCreadie and Tom Vickers both started, fellow new recruit Saul Otobo was on the bench, although Balio Camara missed out owing to work commitments.

There were also more departures prior to the game with Max Miller being released and Ryan Marriott also moving on.

In the early exchanges Herne Bay had muted shouts for a spot kick as Lewis Hamilton jumped into Danny Williams at the far post, but referee John Pike was unconvinced.

On eight minutes, Ben Brown jinxed through two tackles and drove into the box, but his shot, from just inside the area was parried by Gareth Williams, who also claimed Stuart King’s follow up.

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Straight back down the other end, Tony Nwachukwu headed a cross back across the face of goal and George Branford was millimetres away from tapping the ball home.

Nwachukwu should have put the home side ahead of 12 minutes as a lovely ball from Branford found him in acres of space on the left, but he dragged wide across goal instead of putting it in the bottom corner.

The visitors, however, took the lead three minutes later as Ben Brown released Danny Williams on the right and he drove into the bottom far corner with a smart finish past his namesake.

Horsham did not let up and Nwachukwu headed a cross just wide, before forcing smart save from Jack Delo after he brought down a clipped ball from Oli Lockyer.

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After a timely delay for a replacement corner flag, a well-timed Tom Gilbert ball set the dangerous Nwachukwu away on the right and his cross-shot looked to be creeping in at the far post, but for a header over the bar by captain Liam Quinn.

Bay ended the half in the ascendency as Steve Ita continued to cause problems down the wing and some tricky footwork from Stuart King saw him beat Jack Page and Callum Sheriff before flicking straight at Gareth Williams.

The visitors should have been 2-0 up within a minute of the second half as a deflected shot fell to Ita in the box, but somehow he skewed wide.

Horsham’s best move of the match gifted McCreadie a free header on 53 minutes but he someone nodded wide. Great play by Vickers put Nwachukwu on the right and his pin-point cross found a free McCreadie.

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A minute later, however, the visitors did double their lead as a speculative effort from full-back Michael Turner was fumbled by Gareth Williams.

Horsham battled to try and carve out chances but were often let down by the final ball and were shut out by a sturdy defensive showing from Bay for the remainder of the second half.

Horsham: Williams, Akande, Page, Sheriff, Hamilton (Berry 90), Lockyer (Welch 69), Branford, Gilbert (Otobo 55), Vickers, Nwachukwu, McCreadie. Unused subs: Berry, Storey, Smith.

Herne Bay: Delo, Turner, Brunn (Johnson 81), Quinn, Sayer, Eastwood, Nelder, Ben Brown (James Brown 84) , Ita (Hasler 71), Williams, King. Unused subs: Casey, Turner, Brown.

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