| Hastings United | (1) 1 | - 0 (0) |
Horsham
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Rose 26
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United's magnificent start to the season continued at the Pilot Field this afternoon, as a first half header from defender Kevin Rose saw them collect three points from a Sussex derby against Horsham, and brought them victory number four out of four home Premier Division contests. A much depleted United line-up appeared likely to struggle against more experienced opponents, but the strength in depth of Nigel Kane's squad, which had been called into question by some supporters this season, passed its first real test of the campaign with flying colours, although United were grateful for a stunning double save from keeper Lee Worgan in the dying moments, which preserved their slender winning margin.
Sam Adams' fractured hand kept him out of action for the fourth match running, while Tim Olorunda was once again forced to sit out and rest a niggling groin injury, so United were already two key men down, even before skipper Sean Ray and leading scorer Ade Olorunda were forced to drop out with a knee injury and a dead leg respectively. Kevin came in to partner Rhys Whyborne at the heart of the defence, Tuesday's goalscoring hero Dan Williams returned to the starting eleven alongside Scott Kirkwood in central midfield, and John Bradley was paired with Danny Ellis in an unfamiliar two man attack. Nima Cham and David Henham joined the squad from the Reserves, while substitute keeper Jani Seitsonen was named for the first time, along with new signing Tom Poole, who was badly held up en route to the game, yet still turned in a superb cameo performance after coming on late in the day. Horsham also suffered from some late arrivals and were forced to rejig their starting line-up as a result. Injuries to strikers Lee Farrell and Lewis Taylor meant that former United player of the year Carl Rook and recent United transfer target Simon Austin led the visitors' front line, while another former United star in midfielder Stuart Myall started on the bench. The visitors had made a promising start to the season, winning four and losing only one of their first five matches, before the setback of a midweek defeat away to bottom of the table Leyton.
Horsham enjoyed the better of the early exchanges, with Tom Graves and Rook going close from set pieces, but it was United who created the first clearcut opening, Jimmy Elford sending Danny Ellis clear on goal, but keeper Alan Mansfield denied him with a fine save. What proved to be the only goal of the contest arrived from a twenty-sixth minute corner, swung in by Russell Eldridge, which presented the unmarked Kevin with a simple headed chance from six yards out that he gratefully accepted. Within two minutes, Jimmy inadvertently headed a Lee Carney free kick against his own upright, as United almost gifted Horsham a cheap equaliser, but the contest was then soured by an unfortunate injury to the visitors' left sided midfielder Gary Charman, who was knocked unconscious and left with a hairline fracture of the jaw, after an accidental collision with Danny Spice. The incident clearly angered Charman's on-field colleagues and the Horsham management team, who seemed to infer that Danny had deliberately caught his opponent with an elbow, although vindication surely came from the fact that the well positioned referee saw nothing illegal in the challenge. Thereafter, the half rather petered out, with Horsham still looking marginally the better side, but failing to unduly trouble United's steadfast defensive unit.
The opening stages of the second half further suggested that United were looking comfortable in defending their lead, although Austin, Rook and substitute Jacob Mingle were all guilty of wasting presentable opportunities. United then rode their luck somewhat as Horsham struck the woodwork for a second time when a Carney shot rebounded to safety off the post, after which Danny Ellis missed a good chance to extend the lead after powering through the visitors' defence. The introduction of Tom for the final quarter of an hour brought sudden life to the increasingly stagnant proceedings though, and he might have got his debut off to a dream start, were it not for Mansfield saving with his legs, after he had been put through by Russell. Lee Carey went close after a quick counter-attack, and Tom shot across the face of goal after creating another opening out of nothing, as United sought to take advantage of Horsham's search for a late leveller. Rook and Nigel Brake ought to have done better when well placed, and Tom was again denied by Mansfield, while Jimmy got away with an apparent handball in the area, and in a frantic finish, Lee Worgan produced two saves of sublime quality in rapid succession and from virtually the last kicks of the game, to preserve United's third clean sheet of the season.
Having created several late chances and twice hit the upright, Horsham will understandably feel their efforts to have merited a point from this encounter, but with United's playing resources enormously stretched, it would ultimately be harsh to pass the result off as anything but another well deserved three points for Nigel Kane's hard-working team. In any event, this was far from the backs-to-the-wall display that many would have feared, given United's list of absentees, and in Tom Poole, United may just have unearthed a true diamond. Tom will have to wait a while before his next chance to impress though, as he will be ineligible for next Saturday's FA Cup first qualifying round tie at home to Ramsgate.
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| Hastings United (4-4-2) | Horsham (4-4-2)
| 1 Lee Worgan | 1 Alan Mansfield
| 2 Danny Spice | 2 Andy Howard
| 3 Jimmy Elford | 3 Nigel Brake
| 4 Rhys Whyborne | 4 Eddie French
| 5 Kevin Rose | 5 Kevin Hemsley
| 6 Dan Williams | 6 Tom Graves
| 7 Lee Carey | 7 Lee Carney
| 8 Scott Kirkwood | 8 John Westcott
| 9 John Bradley | 9 Simon Austin
| 10 Danny Ellis | 10 Carl Rook
| 11 Russell Eldridge | 11 Gary Charman
| Substitutes |
| 12 Tom Poole (for Williams 76) | 12 Stuart Myall (for Howard 78)
| 14 Tom Cusden | 14 Yinka Salaam (for Graves 64)
| 15 David Henham (for Bradley 86) | 15 Dean Wright
| 16 Nima Cham (for Kirkwood 59) | 16 Jacob Mingle (for Charman 34)
| GK Jani Seitsonen | GK Rob Frankland
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Attendance 560
Referee Andy Davies (Southampton)
Assistants Philip Wilks (Hove) & John Pike (Hurstpierpoint)