Hornets stung by rampant Robins
With the need to stay local on Saturday afternoon it was a trip up the A24 to the Camping World Stadium to see if Horsham could maintain their excellent start to the season or whether Carshalton Athletic would come to spoil the party.
The Isthmian League Premier Division is I think definitely the hardest to call this year, certainly in the south of the country. With Worthing now having moved upwards there is a nice open feel to the league this year and there are at least eight clubs I reckon who believe they can win the title at least.
Once again the temperatures gave us a hot afternoon on the pitch and in the stands, but it won’t be long until those days are in the distance behind us, make the most of the balmy evenings and football in the sunshine.
I expected a fast start from the Hornets but instead the Robins were the ones that gave us the early impetus. Just two minutes on the clock, the visitors were in the lead, Walter Figueira who I saw play for Kingstonian last season had Carshalton off the mark before some were settled in their desired place to watch.
But rather than seemingly spark Horsham into action it seemed to be almost the opposite. Whilst looking good when Lee Harding came forward down the right wing, the balls into the box only reached a Carshalton head or found any shot blocked by a red shirt, the midfield area was being dominated by the Robins as well, leaving the Horsham fans around me pretty frustrated.
Former Barnet winger Iffy Allen crashed a header against the underside of the bar as the home side really struggled to get a foothold in the game and were made to pay again eight minutes before the break.
A silly free kick given away outside the box and Robins skipper Tom Beere curled a superb free kick beyond Mitchell Beeney to double the visitors advantage. Already in the early stages of the season I’ve seen some fantastic dead ball goals, most from poor fouls given away but keepers are doing nothing wrong in trying to keep them out, they are just top drawer strikes.
As expected Horsham came at their visitors in the second half and with a couple of substitutions as well they looked a completely different proposition, the more likely to score as Carshalton defended wave after wave of attacking football.
They got their just rewards 11 minutes into the half as Lucas Rodrigues headed home to give the Hornets some momentum and a way back into the match. But, that was to be short lived as Horsham seemed to take their foot off the gas and despite still pinging balls into the box they once again found Carshalton heads.
Figueira had two glorious chances to put the game out of reach of the home side, heading over from inside the six yard box and then hitting the post when unmarked not long after with another header.
With the game heading towards its conclusion the Robins looked the more likely to score on the counter as Horsham had to push forward in search of the equaliser and it was substitute Calvin Ekpiteta who smashed the ball past Beeney for the visitors third of the afternoon five minutes from time to complete a dismal afternoon for the Hornets.
Well deserved win for Carshalton and as always great to see Steve McKimm and Barry Moore before the game, a nice little squad put together there and in Figueira there will be goals.
Also good to see Hornets assistant manager Adam Westwood before kick-off, nice to know so many when you come to these grounds especially those closer to the action, another top man like Steve and Barry and all three will expect their team in the mix come the end of the season.
It was also a chance to meet up with fellow Substack blogger Lee Wellings, funnily enough we were chatting for the first time the day prior about blogging on the platform and Horsham are Lee’s team, I just happened to have decided upon this game long before that, what are the chances!
Another superb crowd in attendance of 822 too, people really are coming out to watch non-league football again this season which is great to see, long may it continue.
One final note on Hornets new keeper Mitchell Beeney, I used to watch his father play in goal for Maidstone Utd back in the late 80’s, top class keeper who found his way onto Brighton and Leeds after leaving the Stones, if he’s half as good as his dad, he’s a very able replacement for Sam Howes.