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What
should have been a three point banker turned into a nightmare
afternoon as another failed Dave King dribbled clearance cost
not only a goal but also the services of our mighty stopper.
Andrew
Howell blasted an early half chance over the bar, but it was
the visitors who showed the most commitment in the opening
exchanges, keeping King busy - but gathering rather than
saving. On ten minutes Ellis Green released Alan McLeod,
who was overlapping down the right flank from his starting
position of fullback, but his shot was wide. A minute
later the same players performed the same move in reveres
rolls and with a similar outcome.
Chris
Sullivan had clearly decided that the only way he was gong to
get any service would be to fetch the ball himself and his
seventeenth minute dribble from the left, starting deep within
the Terrors half and culminating in a shot near the
oppositions 'D' was to be repeated at regular intervals.
Sadly none made the target, but the move was exciting to watch
and commitment good to see.
Stuart
Myall, playing against his old teammates won a corner which
quickly turned into a lightening three against one breakaway,
fortunately Aaron Goode was on hand to clean up.
The
turning point of the game came in the twenty fifth minute and
stemmed from another Horsham raid down the left, Dave King
took control of the ball and decided to dribble it around the
attendant Sigere but, with echoes of Canvey ringing loud, only
succeeded in giving the ball away to the forward.
Unfortunately, rather than just concede the goal, Dave decided
to take down the man, leaving Mr O'Brien with no option but to
banish him.
Joe
Vines, never one to shirk a challenge, donned the gloves but
was powerless to prevent Peauroux from converting the spot
kick. Reverting to three at the back Terrors started to play
with much more purpose. Joe settled into his new role like a
duck to water, never looking in any real trouble as Horsham
struggled to work out how best to unlock the 11 versus 10
puzzle. With no fullbacks to contend with the preferred
route proved to be via the wings, but a combination of poor
finishing and sensible goalkeeping prevented the visitors from
extending their lead.
Meanwhile
Chris Sullivan continued to pose problems with his runs from
deep but was unable to convert his enterprise into any direct
threat on Tolfrey. Towards the break Horsham finally started
to implement their revised game plan and started to put the
home side under pressure, coming closest when Vines tipped
over a Carney shot following a corner. Into injury time and
Joe again saved low from Knee in another breakaway move.
Half Time 0-1
Gary Charman is 106 - or at least that is
how it appears to Tooting fans, as it seems that he has been
making the trip to Mitcham since time began and on each
occasion returns South with a goal or two to his name.
This seasons addition to the collection came five minutes
after the interval when he ran onto a breakaway ball from the
right and calmly lobbed it first touch over Vines from 20 odd
yards.
Tooting, most notably Paul Vines and Aaron
Goode, refused to concede defeat. Paul worked his way
into shooting positions a couple of times, first shortly after
the goal as his low shot just evaded the post, then with a
similarly fated effort after70 minutes. Goode seemed to
have doubled the length of his legs as, despite having the
entire middle defence area to patrol, he managed to have a
foot or leg in place to nip any potential threat in the bud.
Myall and Green made way for Pinnock and
Henry-Hayden in an attempt to freshen up the attack but whilst
the approach work was good the keepers gloves remained
unsullied, with any half chances either missing the target or
being easily defused.
The game eventually fizzled out. In
the closing minutes Chris Sullivan finally ran out of steam to
be replaced by Ben Abbey and just on time Paul Vines sent
another pot shot wide.
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