Horsham 4 - Cray Valley PM 3

A brace from Shamir Fenelon, and goals from Lucas Rodrigues and Tom Day, earned the Hornets a 4-3 win in a ding dong encounter with Cray Valley Paper Mills in the last of our scheduled pre-season friendlies.

The Millers, who the Hornets have never previously faced competitively or otherwise, ply their trade at step 4, having played in the Isthmian South East Division since the 2019/20 season. After two unfinished campaigns due to COVID-19, manager Kevin Watson’s side achieved a creditable 5th place finish last season, qualifying for the promotion play-offs where they lost 1-0 at Ashford United in the semi-final.

Their pre-season form has been mixed, somewhat similar to ours, with two wins, two draws and three defeats, although two of their defeats came at the hands of National League sides Maidstone and Welling. The Hornets, having played four, winning two and losing two, went into this match having played three games less than our visitors and, with a number of players unavailable and a few nursing injuries, it was a somewhat depleted squad that manager Dom Di Paola could select from as he brought in three trialists, including Worthing’s Luca Cocoracchio, to make up the numbers.

So, on another very warm day with water breaks at the ready, the Millers kicked off attacking the clubhouse end of the ground in front of a fairly sparse crowd.

In a fairly open start to the match, it was the Hornets that created the early chances. First Rodrigues, operating in central midfield, played in Fenelon but his snapshot was blocked by the legs of ‘keeper Joe Docherty. And, just after, a sustained build up ended with Tom Richards knocking the ball in from the left which fell favourably for Lee Harding but he failed to get sufficient power in his shot to trouble the visitors goalie.

But despite the Hornets promising start, it was the blues who were to take the lead in the 14th minute. Pacey right winger Denzel Gayle broke away from Cocoracchio, and crossed into an unmarked Adam Coombes who rifled into the top corner from twelve yards.

Despite this setback, Horsham were controlling possession better than their opponents and, after a period of sustained attacks, Harding forced a good save from their ‘keeper. But it was Rodrigues who provided the breakthrough, thumping  home the equaliser in the 18th minute with the outside of his right foot.

But within minutes, more poor marking at the back was again the undoing of the Hornets. Day was left two-on-one in the box and a simple sideways pass from Coombes put Kershaney Samuels clear on goal and the much travelled midfielder, who notched up 43 appearances for Kingstonian last season, made no mistake in picking his spot.

But the men in green and yellow were not in arrears for long! A loose pass in midfield gave Harding possession and he jinked his way past his opponent and delivered in a low cross that evaded everybody except Fenelon, who was stealing in at the far post for an easy tap-in.

Horsham’s big chance to take the lead came on 35 minutes when the lively Harding emerged with the ball following a tussle in the box and was judged to have been upended as he wriggled away from his opponent. Maybe a soft pen but referee Ciaran Fidler immediately pointed to the spot. Up stepped our new signing Jack Mazzone, only to put his kick well wide of the right hand post.

With both defences looking suspect, it was no surprise that there were further goals before half-time. First, Dan Bennett latched onto Samuels’ through ball and curled his shot in off the post. And then came an almost instant response from the Hornets. Once again it was Fenelon, this time latching onto a ball played in from the left and rifling in his precise shot to beat the ‘keeper at his near post.

In case you’ve lost count it’s 3-3 as the referee blows for the interval.

H/T Horsham 3 Cray Valley Paper Mills 3

Undoubtedly the main theme of the half-time team talks in both dressing rooms would have been concerned with tightening up defensively and cutting out mistakes. And there was a marked improvement as only one more goal in the second half would testify.

That goal came from Horsham in the 63rd minute and it came from a period of pressure when Rodrigues, who looked to be enjoying his midfield role, burst into the box and was brought down for a second penalty. This time the taker was central defender Day, who confidently went for power rather than placement and smashed the ball high into the net to put the hosts in front for the first time in the match.

With all the remaining substitutes now on the pitch, it was a slightly more cautious last twenty minutes and Horsham were rarely troubled as they controlled possession, frustrating their opponents who couldn’t really get on the front foot.

It was probably frustration that earned Connor Dymond and Adam Coombes yellow cards for dissent as they engaged in a prolonged argument with the referee over a free-kick, awarded when Harding went to ground just outside the box. He had been a thorn in their sides for much of the match and was probably the Hornets’ stand out performer.

Match report by Darryl Jacobs
Images by John Lines