Horsham 4-1 Chipstead: Hornets progress in FA Trophy

The match, played under the floodlights at Gorings Mead on Friday evening, started slowly before bursting into life in the second half.

Goals from Gabriel Odunaike and Billy Dunn after half time looked to have sent the Hornets through - but Carlton Murray-Price struck for Chipstead with five minutes to play, before even later goals from Odunaike and Ross Morley added a touch of gloss to the scoreline.

The result, in addition to the Hornets’ FA Cup exploits, means the club has now earned more than £10,000 in tournament prize money this season.

The reward for Horsham is a trip to Hastings United in the First Qualifying Round of the FA Trophy.

The first half of the match was one to forget as both sides struggled to create chances.

Horsham captain Gary Charman played for just nine minutes before injury ended his night, though replacement Tom Graves proved a solid presence in the back line.

Tony Nwachukwu looked most likely to make a breakthrough for the hosts, but was fouled often by the robust Chipstead defence, as Jack Guilford and Scott Simpson threatened for the Surrey outfit.

But a dour first 45 minutes was followed by a thrilling second half.

Odunaike set the tone - racing on to Michael Hunter’s long kick that had been flicked on by Nwachukwu, and beating Chipstead goalkeeper Anthony Hall.

And Dunn’s fine solo effort just after the hour mark doubled Horsham’s advantage.

Picked out by Scott Harris’ searching through ball, Dunn held the ball up in the penalty area to wait for a gap in the defence, and when he found it, the winger drilled a low left foot shot into the net.

Dunn’s goal sparked a minor Chipstead onslaught, with Junior Kaffo forcing a superb stop from Hunter and Dan Moody striking the post from the resulting corner.

Jahmahl King lunged to expertly block a goalbound Tyrone Pink effort as Chipstead cranked up the pressure.

And the game became suddenly tense when Murray-Price diverted a corner into the net after 85 minutes.

In the past Horsham may have succumbed to the pressure, but this team merely restored the two goal lead a minute later to seal their progress.

Hall parried Morley’s shot straight to Odunaike, who pounced to score his fourth goal in two games against Chipstead this season.

The energetic Nwachukwu was replaced by Kery Kedze - who made an immediate impact in injury time by sprinting to close down Hall and forcing the keeper to clear the ball straight to Morley, who made no mistake to make it 4-1.

Horsham: Hunter, Hamilton, B. King, J. King, Charman (Graves 9), Napper, Morley, Harris, Dunn (Mitchell 86), Odunaike, Nwachukwu (Kedze 89)