Horsham 10 - Newhaven 0

Report by Eddie Hufford

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The main headline coming into this Sussex Senior Cup clash was that Hornets boss Dom Di Paola made eight changes to the side that secured a valiant draw away at Chelmsford City on Saturday, naming a virtually new-look starting XI that included the long-awaited debut of midfielder Niall McManus and a first start for under-18 goalkeeper Callum Furber. For the visitors, this was a second fixture at the Fusion Aviation Community Stadium in just a matter of days, as they looked to make amends for the 2-1 defeat they suffered against Roffey at the weekend.

The Dockers’ manager, Sean Breach, who has managed the club for over a decade over two stints, first on a joint basis with now Head of Football Andy Cook and now on his own, also opted to make wholesale changes, with regular starting goalkeeper Fraser Trigwell relegated to the bench and joint-top scorer Ezra Roeg omitted from the squad entirely.

Despite a famous cup upset being a possibility, Horsham instantly asserted their dominance as they took control of possession in the opening stages and the three-division gap became increasingly obvious. Captain-for-the-night Reece Meekums rewarded his manager’s faith by opening the scoring for the revamped Hornets in the 7th minute. A precise lofted delivery from McManus released Harry Hedges on the right flank and his cross found Meekums, who took a touch round the goalkeeper and slammed home into an empty net.

Horsham were determined to put any chance of a cup upset to bed and continued to flood forward, with Freddie Hammond’s left-footed crosses causing havoc in the opposition box. Despite the hosts’ early dominance, Newhaven attempted to pass out from the back whenever they were allowed time on the ball, never resorting to physical tactics to contain the Hornets.

Just as the momentum looked to have started to shift, another Meekums goal after 22 minutes pegged the visitors back. Hammond was once again the creator, splitting the Dockers’ defence down the middle and releasing the Hornets’ skipper to finish comfortably past Barnes-Galloway for the second time. As the visitors’ heads started to drop, the Hornets took full advantage and another lofted cross, this time from Archy Taylor, found the unmarked Nadesan who tapped in from close range to extend the lead to three just before the clock reached the half-hour mark.

Next, a mazy run from Marco Haigh gave defender Reece Bickerton little choice but to bring him down, and Nadesan converted in style from the spot to increase the Hornets’ lead to four by half-time.

Half-time:  Horsham 4 – 0 Newhaven

Both sides shuffled their packs at half-time, with Ashley Nadesan being denied the chance to score a maiden Horsham hat-trick, as he was replaced by fan favourite Dan Ajakaiye. Meanwhile, the Dockers subbed off former Haywards Heath Town playmaker Joe Radley-Martin, with George McCarthy coming on in his place.

The Hornets’ sub made an instant impact as he burst down the left flank and crossed for Hedges to slot home and add salt to the already sore Newhaven wounds with forty minutes still remaining. Di Paola soon rotated in some of his regular starters, bringing on Danny Barker and Jack Brivio in preparation for Saturday’s big game, with McManus and Ryan Bartley coming off to standing ovations. Just as things seemed they could not get any better for the Hornets, they produced a beautiful team goal, finished off by Marco Haigh after Hedges and Ajakaiye exchanged passes, leaving Haigh with a chance he simply could not miss.

Di Paola denied another player the chance of a hat trick as he withdrew Meekums and Ronan Silva before the former could score a third, with Jamie Yila and Harvey Sparks getting a run-out for the last thirty minutes. The goals kept coming, as Haigh pounced on Bickerton’s half-clearance from Ajakaiye’s cross to make it a brace for himself, before the Hornets were awarded a second penalty after Bickerton handled on the goalline and was shown a red card, with Ajakaiye converting the spot-kick.

Anyone who thought that was the Hornets’ last chance would have been mistaken, as Yila tapped in a ninth from another Ajakaiye assist, before Ajakaiye converted a simply marvellous Taylor assist seconds before full-time to cap off an amazing display which ended in a way even the most optimistic Hornets fans would never have anticipated.