Roffey held at Epsom - and Horsham lads miss out in cup final

Epsom & Ewell 0 Roffey 0 - report by Sam Chapman

With only Josh Maher missing from the squad, Callum Jardim, Dan Pearse and Johden De Meyer who had all come on against Wick, kept their places in the starting line up.

How Horsham FC turned positive into negative to reach final.

The hosts started quickly and in the first 20 minutes the Roffey rearguard were kept busy and behind them, Rhys Hughes made two good stops to keep the lively Epsom forwards out. But after the initial pressure Roffey gained a foothold and started to threaten the home goal. Josh Neathey had 3 shots fly over the bar which on another day may have found the target but half time arrived with the deadlock still intact.

Roffey started the second half with much more confidence and gradually began to dominate their opponents. Neathey was clipped inside the box and despite the clearly visible and audible contact, the referee’s response was to book the Roffey number 11, much to the disgust of the away fans and the relief of the Epsom defenders. With the visitors playing more directly into Tiago Andrade and De Meyer up front, the chances started to come.

Horsham YMCA back on track.

Dan Pearse was picked out at the far post but his goalbound effort was heroically headed off the line when a goal looked certain. Neathey burst through down the left but could only blast his shot into the side netting. Several goalmouth scrambles were cleared as the game remained scoreless and Roffey had to be wary of the pace of Kofi Quartey.

As the match entered the last ten minutes Neathey jinked past two defenders in the box and was cleaned out by the second. All eyes turned to the referee who was sprinting off in the other direction shaking his head, possibly anticipating another protest. Other than Hughes getting down to save a long shot, most of the remainder of the match took place in Epsom’s defensive third but Roffey could not find the target to get the extra two points.

This leaves the Boars 5 points clear of Midhurst but from a game more and 7 points ahead of Epsom on equal games.

Roffey: Hughes, Jardim, Robinson, H Neathey (Millborrow), Swaine, D Pearse, Wanstall, De Meyer, Andrade, J Neathey (J Pearse). Subs: Ryder, Collins, Neatherway.

Patcham United v Horsham Sussex WJ Jewell Trophy Under-12s final

A MoM display from Frank Morgan ensured Patcham United were Sussex W Jewell Trophy winners as they defeated Horsham 2-0 at Culver Road.

First-half goals from Samuel Wauchope and captain Isaac Omoyinmi put them in control before goalkeeper Morgan stole the show.

The keeper made multiple good saves, notably an injury-time penalty save from Horsham forward Cole Irving.

The first quarter of an hour saw Patcham assert their dominance, with an Omoyinmi shot saved by Horsham keeper Joe Buckle, then a shot hitting the crossbar in the 11th minute.

Horsham saw their first effort in the 13th minute thanks to Irving, latching on to a long ball but met with a routine stop from Morgan.

Five minutes later, Horsham’s failure to defend a corner saw midfielder Wauchope fire a shot that the keeper saved, but the assistant referee awarded the goal as it had crossed the line.

Striker Omoyinmi grabbed a much-deserved goal with his first-time strike powered through Buckle.

At 2-0 down, Horsham needed to find a way to get back into the game or face a rout. But they were awake as soon as the second half began.

Harry Semark was at the forefront of Horsham’s attacks. He blazed a first-time effort before creating their best chance in the 37th minute. A lovely display of dribbling on the flank found substitute Cyrus Sharpe, whose shot saw Morgan make a magnificent save.

It became end to end, with both teams creating chances. Omoyinmi found teammate Vincent Stevens who fired it across the goal but sailed narrowly wide.

The last five minutes of the game saw Morgan again prevail in the key moments.

Firstly, he saved Semark’s effort after he surged through Patcham’s defence before saving a penalty in the final minute.

Irving looked to convert the spot-kick, which would have given Horsham a lifeline. Yet, Morgan dived terrifically high to his left to palm wide, sealing the cup for Patcham.

Patcham managers Nick Graham and Andy Bellucci were proud of their side’s character despite not playing their best in the second half.

“We did play the best today, we know that. They (Horsham) were the much better team in the second half, you have to acknowledge that,” Bellucci said.

“But the resilience that these lads have got is phenomenal and that’s what got us through.”

Horsham’s Jamie Irving could not have been prouder of his team and their performance, though he did admit to a different tactical approach being the reason for their slow first half.

“The nerves got the better of the boys in the first half, started off a bit sloppy. We tried to adjust our formation to counter-react the opposition,” he said.

“Second half, we reverted pretty much back to how we like to play football and went for a formation that more suited our boys. I felt we came out the better team, just couldn’t convert our chances. Goalkeeper for Patcham, absolutely superb and just overall what a fantastic final.”

Horsham: Buckle, McClenahan, Sullivan, Dickinson, Miles, Vinnicombe, Irving, Harding, Semark.

Subs: Willard, Cairns, Girling, Sharpe, Moloney.

ROFFEY ROBINS

Roffey Robins Atletico under-13s were narrowly defeated 2-1 in a competitive encounter versus Crawley Down Gatwick.

Promotion chasing Gatwick were a well organised, quality side who dominated possession, but found Atletico hard to break down.

Goalkeeper Theo Botevyle had one of his best games of the season.

The assured shot stopper worked well with his defence of Henry Dinsdale, Dan Klamm, Josh Davidson, Fin Ledingham and Jack Dann who were equal to most of what was thrown at them.

Gatwick took an early lead through a slick counter attack, although it was not long before Atletico equalised through an Aaron Woodhams penalty after Will Anderson was bundled to the ground.

The first half was a tight affair with Gatwick edging into the lead with a cross cum shot after Botevyle had made a fine save.

The half-time score could have been worse for Atletico but for a stunning goal-line clearance from Davidson after sprinting back to his goal line as the ball looked sure to roll in to the net.

The second half followed a similar pattern, with Botevyle putting in a stunning performance.

Atletico continued to play good football and buoyed with confidence from their defensive performance started to push forward further. Josh Gibson and Joshua Bellamy created some opportunities from the wing and Michael Gomes was a threat as he drove forward.

A Daniel Gardiner snap shot was well held by the keeper. Woodhams and Anderson were menaces in midfield varying the ball forward and continuing to create opportunities. Bellamy was unlucky with a one on one opportunity and Romario Moratalla was unable to keep a shot down when he met a Bellamy cross.

Roffey manager Ricardo Moratalla said: “We put in a fine performance against one of the best teams in the league and I am really proud of the players.

“We have two games of the season left and this performance should give us a lot of confidence going into those games.”

sussexworld.co.uk