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Monday 26th September
FA Youth Cup 2nd Qualifying Round
Kingstonian 5 Horsham 1
at Whitehall Lane, Reigate (South Park Football Club)
The young Hornets bowed out of the FA Youth Cup at the hands of fellow Isthmian Premier League club Kingstonian at a chilly Whitehall Lane on Monday night, when a combination of poor decision making and an enterprising, and determined, opponent gave them an uphill task after going three goals down after only fifty minutes.
Despite playing some good attacking football, and getting the fourth goal of the night, K’s added a further two goals to cement their place in the 3rd qualifying round and end the Hornets’ own cup journey.
On an excellent, freshly laid, 3G surface both teams took to the pitch as the temperatures began to drop and it was Kingstonian that got the contest underway, retaining the ball in their own half for most of the opening eight minutes before the first goal arrived. Patient build up play worked an opening and, as pleading offside appeals rang out from Horsham the back line, M Haigh arrived late to beat the trap to coolly slide the ball beyond George Edgley.
Concerned perhaps that the K’s defence were enjoying a fairly easy time of it, manager Rob Semark tweaked the formation, pushing Tristan Pereira-Leatin further forward in support of Jack Wallace, and this was to reap apparent rewards soon after but not before James Archard’s good work to the byline, and whipped cross, just eluded Charlie Gibson at the far post.
Soon after, in the 16th minute, Horsham got the breakthrough they deserved as Pereira-Leeatin wriggled his way across the penalty area and was upended in the process. Up stepped Wallace, scorer of the winning penalty against Jersey Bulls in the previous round, but his spot kick lacked any real power and J Lohmeier, guessing the right way, got down well to smother the ball.
Far from being disheartened, Horsham continued to press their opponents and had arguably their best spell of the game. Archard flashed a free-kick just wide after Eugene Moteane had been fouled and then, after K’s had cleared Moteane’s effort, there were loud penalty appeals for what appeared to be a pull on Gibson in the penalty area.
K’s were dangerous on the break, however, and Edgley had to get down well to hold a shot from 25 yards with ten minutes of the half remaining. Somewhat against the run of play, K’s got their second. Capitalising on a ricochet, after Horsham had failed to clear their lines, Kingstonian broke forward rapidly three versus two and Q Patterson fed in Haigh who finished beyond the helpless Edgley to claim his second of the night before referee Horne brought the half to an end.
H/T: Kingstonian 2 Horsham 0
Semark brought on Max Morris for Josh Barlow after the break but it was Kingstonian who extended their lead on after an error Beau Walters will want to forget. Perhaps sensing his team mate Gibson was being closed down, Walters turned inside on the edge of his own penalty area where the alert I N Leon picked his pocket and made no mistake of slamming the ball home from close quarters to put K’s into an unassailable lead.
Horsham, admirably despite the scoreline, continued to search for an opening. Lohmeier fumbled a Gibson cross on 53 minutes but recovered before Moteane could take advantage and then Gibson himself was just wide with a good free kick from 28 yards. Semark then made his second chance of the evening, bringing on Alessandro Colombini for Wallace after 58 minutes, and it was the substitute that would give the Hornets a lifeline moments later when, after a scramble in the six yard box from a Gibson corner, he reacted quickest to stab the ball home from three yards.
Kingstonian weren’t finished, though, and Edgley had to be alert to push over from a dangerous strike form distance on 66 minutes before they then went on to add to the scoreline. This time a lightning quick break saw Leon cut the ball back to B Mitchell who gleefully thumped the ball toward the left of Edgley who, despite getting a hand to the shot, saw the ball roll in inside the post to put K’s 4-1 up.
Semark then replaced Pereira-Leeatin with Ryan Yoro Thomas with fifteen minutes of the contest remaining but, only a minute or so later, K’s increased their lead in emphatic style. D Ozer picked out Haigh on the left and, as he cut inside, the forward curled a wonderful strike which, despite getting a good hand to, Edgley could only see drop in as the lively striker claimed a well deserved hat trick.
There was still time for Yoro Thomas to surge into the box on the angle but Lohmeier was equal to it and, moments later, referee Horne brought the contest to an end.
Kingstonian were well worth their victory but Horsham will feel that, but for personal errors and missed opportunities, this game should have been a much closer affair than it actually was.
Any team that participates in four rounds of any cup competition, let alone the FA Youth Cup, can take a huge amount of credit but the young Hornets must now turn their attentions to the nitty gritty of Isthmian Youth League with an away trip to Bognor Regis Town on Monday 3rd October.
F/T: Kingstonian 5 Horsham 1
Horsham: George Edgley, James Archard, Charlie Gibson, Finlay Knight, Beau Walters, Ezekiel Ndhlovu, Josh Barlow, Ilias Al-Meskin Hazouza, Jack Wallace, Tristan Pereira-Leeatin, Eugenge Moteane.
Subs: Max Morris (for Josh Barlow, HT), Jack Hayes, Ryan Yoro Thomas (for Tristan Pereira-Leeatin, 75min), Sami Zagdouni, Alessandro Colombini (for Jack Wallace, 58min).
Manager’s Man of the Match: Tristan Pereira-Leeatin – Instrumental ob our dominant first half period and had plenty of good individual moments
Match report by Shaun Scott
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