Counted this up before the game, we’re on eight, unsure as to how many we are allowed to make in a season.Whoryer wrote: Tue Nov 11, 2025 7:27 pm Also no Richards in the squad after 1 game. How many loan players are we allowed in a season,cause guessing we must be on about 8 or 9 already?
Horsham tonight
-
TW2-Beaver
- Site Admin
- Posts: 345
- Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2021 6:02 pm
General Notes
"We wunt be druv", roars the defiant motto of non-conformist Sussex. Well, a few of us were certainly 'driven' tonight. Tommy Rance picked me up at the corner of Montrose Avenue and Percy Road in Whitton and we drove into Sunbury to be joined by Ollie Palmer at Sunbury Railway Station (poor Ollie had needlessly travelled from Whitton, Tommy neglected to notify him of the amended meeting point!); we then picked up Casey Jones on the opposite side of Sunbury Cross. With the car full, we entered the M3 from Sunbury Cross at exactly 17:32 and were on our way, travelling via the M25 then A24. Ironically, we drove past Leatherhead en route, the location of this Saturday's FA Trophy fixture. Ollie Palmer took photographs of the match; James Wood was present filming videos; Lloyd Hassell provided commentary for Mixlr. Bertie the Beaver unexpectedly made the trip as well, and was paraded around the pitch alongside home mascot, Howie the Hornet, prior to kick-off (unfortunately, it appears the club are still promoting the name "Billy the Beaver", an unpopular Petruzzo-era imposition). Seb White was in the Bertie costume. Earlier in the day, Hampton had announced the departure of goalkeeper James Holden, stating that he had been released; Holden seemed to have a different interpretation of events, judging by his response to the club on social media!
Horsham are the second club this season (and second in a row!) to charge £3.50 for their matchday programme offering, perhaps this is becoming the norm? The team sheets were issued free of charge, being handed out by a nice lady in the clubhouse at 19:10. Curiously for Armistice Day there was no silence before kick-off, but I suppose all sides in the division had paid their respects before the weekend fixtures. I have to note that Horsham's staff and volunteers were a friendly bunch. I received a warm welcome from the lady in the club shop when purchasing my programmes; one of their stewards wondered around in the first half and complimented our team's performance and generally there is a friendly feel to the club. Speaking of the club shop, it was oddly located outside of the main ground, I had to pass through a gate which took me behind the stand and into a separate area facing a small 3G pitch. At half time, ticket 19322 was called out as the winning 50/50 number, worth a jackpot of £211, very handy for somebody!
Pre Kick-off
Hampton arrived in Sussex desperate for points, with Alan Julian's men defeated in each of the last eight matches in all competitions; by contrast our hosts sat in fourth position in the league, undefeated since September in all competitions - the Hornets' last league defeat was 20th September against AFC Totton; and their last overall defeat was a week later in the FA Cup, when Folkestone Invicta unexpectedly knocked them out. Since then it's been four draws and five wins for Dominic di Paola's in-form side. Light rain filled the air as we arrived at Horsham's modern and tidy stadium, parking opposite the B2237 (Worthing Road) in the park and ride. Alan Julian made plenty of changes to Saturday's line-up. Surprisingly Rohan Ince, Reece Grego-Cox and Carlos Richards were not named in the visiting Hampton squad. Soul Kader was relegated to the bench, being replaced up front by debutant Junior Dixon; Charlie Sayers reverted to a more defensive role; with Sam Deadfield and Mike Atkinson moving into the centre of the field. Debutant Junior Dixon led the forward line.
First Half
Shooting towards the covered terrace furthest from the turnstiles, Hampton appeared to play a 3-5-2 with Harry Gardner (right) and Kai Innocent (left) as wing backs; Alex Wilkie (right), Harry Thomas (centre) and Charlie Sayers (left) making up the back three; in midfield Sam Deadfield, Mike Atkinson and George Penn dominated the early exchanges to provide several promising balls towards the forwards Ronan Silva and Junior Dixon. Dixon was disappointed not to put the Beavers into an early lead, timing his run perfectly to connect with the ball in the area, but blasting just over the crossbar. Dixon played the furthest forward, but seemed keen to track back and move for the midfielders which helped to create some of the early chances. In the 12th minute Kai Innocent battled off challenges to cross into the danger zone from the bye-line, his deflected effort found George Penn in the area, but yellow Horsham shirts promptly surrounded him and he was unable to control the ball and get a shot away. Hampton enjoyed several other half chances before Alex Wilkie picked up a yellow card in the 17th minute for a late challenge just outside the Hampton penalty area.
The first half had settled into an exciting contest, with both sides playing the ball along the floor of Horsham's artificial surface, which appears to be one of the better maintained ones in the league, and looking to create chances. Just before half time, Hampton won a free kick 20 yards out, Sam Deadfield's curled effort bounced out of play but there were loud shouts for a penalty as Harry Thomas, running towards the far post, appeared to be bundled over. It wasn't to be and the half time whistle went soon after. Bertie the Beaver and Howie the Hornet, the two club mascots, went head to head in a penalty shootout at half time, I think it ended in a 3-3 draw. It was noticeable that this unusual form of half time entertainment captured the attention of both sets of supporters in a way that youth kickabouts do not seem to.
Second Half
A contender for worst chant of the season emerged early in the second half, with Horsham fans, now enjoying the covered terrace at the far end, entering into a slow chant of "Horsham, Horsham" (in the same way that Liverpool fans sing their club's name, a song which is clearly designed for teams with three syllables in their name, not two!). Anyway, Hampton broke forward and Junior Dixon whipped a ball across the area for Ronan Silva, who attempted a volley from six yards out but scuffed his shot into the travelling fans.
Hampton appeared to switch to four at the back for the second half, organising themselves in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Harry Gardner, Ronan Silva and George Penn forming a three behind Junior Dixon and the experienced Sam Deadfield sitting back alongside Mike Atkinson. In the 54th minute, Soul Kader replaced George Penn. The Egyptian's bad luck in front of goal continued in the 57th minute: after a good through ball from Ronan Silva, Kader, still searching for his maiden goal, unleashed a powerful shot from inside the area... and struck the post. Play was briefly stopped in the 60th minute for a Horsham player to receive treatment just next to the halfway line seats. When play resumed, so did Hampton's dominance, as the Beavers played with an enthusiasm and creativity which had been missing in recent weeks. In the 72nd minute, loud appeals for handball came from Hampton players against a Horsham defender, but these were waved away by the referee, Zachary Cunningham. Horsham's Harvey Sparks was yellow carded in the 73rd minute for dissent, protesting against Hampton winning a throw-in. From the throw-in, Hampton won a corner, annoyingly taken short, it found its way to Soul Kader who frustratedly blasted the ball high into the netting behind the goal.
Horsham made a substitution in the 75th minute, the announcement of former Yeovil Town frontman Rhys Murphy over the public address system was a bit ominous, given his goal-scoring credentials. Nevertheless, Hampton continued to probe in what was turning into a really positive performance, forcing another two corners in quick succession. The first was taken short and wasted. The second was aimed into the area but headed away by Horsham's Greg Luer. The rain intensified in the 77th minute as the attendance was announced, a healthy 967. The match never really felt like it would end 0-0, there was a moment of horror in the 81st minute as Horsham's Ricky Aguiar found himself in space just on the 18 yard line, but his shot was weak, low and easily retrieved by Rowley, who once again looked assured whenever called upon.
Hampton crafted another notable opportunity in the 82nd minute, some fast interplay between Mike Atkinson, Alex Wilkie and Junior Dixon almost saw an opening for the latter, but an offside flag caught the debutant. At the other end, Matt Rowley parried away a great 25-yard sizzler from James Hammond, who shot low through a crowded field, with Rowley diving to his left. Harry Gardner attempted an ambitious long-range strike for Hampton in the 85th minute after seeing Horsham keeper Lewis Carey off his line, his effort wasn't a million miles away, but there were probably better options available to him. Both sides pressed for the points, Soul Kader broke through the middle of Greg Luer and Leone Gravata in the 86th minute, storming into the box and shooting narrowly over the crossbar.
Our second substitution of the night saw Luke Robertson replace Harry Gardner in the 89th minute. Four additional minutes were called out. In the event, five were played. Hampton won a corner, it was cleared by Rhys Murphy and Horsham quickly broke; Soul Kader finding himself in an unfamiliar defensive position, lost the ball to Ricky Aguiar who briefly looked like he might slip through the last two men, but he played it wide, and thankfully the resulting cross was too long for anyone to reach. In the final excitement of the night, Horsham struck the crossbar with a glanced header. At the whistle, travelling fans were clearly happy with a point, although with several scoring opportunities it could have been three. Hampton's losing streak has ended; Horsham's unbeaten run continues!
Stats
Horsham: 1 Lewis Carey, 3 Harvey Sparks, 4 Charlie Hester-Cook, 5 Isaac Philpot, 7 James Hammond, 8 Daniel Barker, 14 Shamir Fenelon, 15 Jack Brivio (c), 17 James Roberts, 18 Reece Myles Meekums, 23 Leone Gravata
Subs: 2 Jake Elliott, 9 Rhys Murphy (on for Fenelon, 75'), 10 Lucas Rodrigues (on for Myles Meekums, 71'), 12 Greg Luer (on for Roberts, 63'), 20 Lee Harding, 25 Ronnie Brian Gorman, 26 Ricky Aguiar (on for Hester-Cook, 67')
Hampton: 26 Matt Rowley, 5 Ronan Silva, 8 Sam Deadfield (c), 11 Junior Dixon, 15 Harry Thomas, 23 Charlie Sayers, 25 Harry Gardner, 27 Mike Atkinson, 28 Kai Innocent, 30 George Penn, 31 Alex Wilkie.
Subs: 3 Jude Mason, 6 Luke Robertson (on for Gardner, 89'), 13 Luka Ziger, 17 Finn McGreevy, 18 Ben Parkinson, 21 Soul Kader (on for Penn, 54')
Referee: Zachary Cunningham
Assistants: Daniel Smith, Andrew Crossley
Fourth Official: Oscar Whiting
Attendance: 967
"We wunt be druv", roars the defiant motto of non-conformist Sussex. Well, a few of us were certainly 'driven' tonight. Tommy Rance picked me up at the corner of Montrose Avenue and Percy Road in Whitton and we drove into Sunbury to be joined by Ollie Palmer at Sunbury Railway Station (poor Ollie had needlessly travelled from Whitton, Tommy neglected to notify him of the amended meeting point!); we then picked up Casey Jones on the opposite side of Sunbury Cross. With the car full, we entered the M3 from Sunbury Cross at exactly 17:32 and were on our way, travelling via the M25 then A24. Ironically, we drove past Leatherhead en route, the location of this Saturday's FA Trophy fixture. Ollie Palmer took photographs of the match; James Wood was present filming videos; Lloyd Hassell provided commentary for Mixlr. Bertie the Beaver unexpectedly made the trip as well, and was paraded around the pitch alongside home mascot, Howie the Hornet, prior to kick-off (unfortunately, it appears the club are still promoting the name "Billy the Beaver", an unpopular Petruzzo-era imposition). Seb White was in the Bertie costume. Earlier in the day, Hampton had announced the departure of goalkeeper James Holden, stating that he had been released; Holden seemed to have a different interpretation of events, judging by his response to the club on social media!
Horsham are the second club this season (and second in a row!) to charge £3.50 for their matchday programme offering, perhaps this is becoming the norm? The team sheets were issued free of charge, being handed out by a nice lady in the clubhouse at 19:10. Curiously for Armistice Day there was no silence before kick-off, but I suppose all sides in the division had paid their respects before the weekend fixtures. I have to note that Horsham's staff and volunteers were a friendly bunch. I received a warm welcome from the lady in the club shop when purchasing my programmes; one of their stewards wondered around in the first half and complimented our team's performance and generally there is a friendly feel to the club. Speaking of the club shop, it was oddly located outside of the main ground, I had to pass through a gate which took me behind the stand and into a separate area facing a small 3G pitch. At half time, ticket 19322 was called out as the winning 50/50 number, worth a jackpot of £211, very handy for somebody!
Pre Kick-off
Hampton arrived in Sussex desperate for points, with Alan Julian's men defeated in each of the last eight matches in all competitions; by contrast our hosts sat in fourth position in the league, undefeated since September in all competitions - the Hornets' last league defeat was 20th September against AFC Totton; and their last overall defeat was a week later in the FA Cup, when Folkestone Invicta unexpectedly knocked them out. Since then it's been four draws and five wins for Dominic di Paola's in-form side. Light rain filled the air as we arrived at Horsham's modern and tidy stadium, parking opposite the B2237 (Worthing Road) in the park and ride. Alan Julian made plenty of changes to Saturday's line-up. Surprisingly Rohan Ince, Reece Grego-Cox and Carlos Richards were not named in the visiting Hampton squad. Soul Kader was relegated to the bench, being replaced up front by debutant Junior Dixon; Charlie Sayers reverted to a more defensive role; with Sam Deadfield and Mike Atkinson moving into the centre of the field. Debutant Junior Dixon led the forward line.
First Half
Shooting towards the covered terrace furthest from the turnstiles, Hampton appeared to play a 3-5-2 with Harry Gardner (right) and Kai Innocent (left) as wing backs; Alex Wilkie (right), Harry Thomas (centre) and Charlie Sayers (left) making up the back three; in midfield Sam Deadfield, Mike Atkinson and George Penn dominated the early exchanges to provide several promising balls towards the forwards Ronan Silva and Junior Dixon. Dixon was disappointed not to put the Beavers into an early lead, timing his run perfectly to connect with the ball in the area, but blasting just over the crossbar. Dixon played the furthest forward, but seemed keen to track back and move for the midfielders which helped to create some of the early chances. In the 12th minute Kai Innocent battled off challenges to cross into the danger zone from the bye-line, his deflected effort found George Penn in the area, but yellow Horsham shirts promptly surrounded him and he was unable to control the ball and get a shot away. Hampton enjoyed several other half chances before Alex Wilkie picked up a yellow card in the 17th minute for a late challenge just outside the Hampton penalty area.
The first half had settled into an exciting contest, with both sides playing the ball along the floor of Horsham's artificial surface, which appears to be one of the better maintained ones in the league, and looking to create chances. Just before half time, Hampton won a free kick 20 yards out, Sam Deadfield's curled effort bounced out of play but there were loud shouts for a penalty as Harry Thomas, running towards the far post, appeared to be bundled over. It wasn't to be and the half time whistle went soon after. Bertie the Beaver and Howie the Hornet, the two club mascots, went head to head in a penalty shootout at half time, I think it ended in a 3-3 draw. It was noticeable that this unusual form of half time entertainment captured the attention of both sets of supporters in a way that youth kickabouts do not seem to.
Second Half
A contender for worst chant of the season emerged early in the second half, with Horsham fans, now enjoying the covered terrace at the far end, entering into a slow chant of "Horsham, Horsham" (in the same way that Liverpool fans sing their club's name, a song which is clearly designed for teams with three syllables in their name, not two!). Anyway, Hampton broke forward and Junior Dixon whipped a ball across the area for Ronan Silva, who attempted a volley from six yards out but scuffed his shot into the travelling fans.
Hampton appeared to switch to four at the back for the second half, organising themselves in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Harry Gardner, Ronan Silva and George Penn forming a three behind Junior Dixon and the experienced Sam Deadfield sitting back alongside Mike Atkinson. In the 54th minute, Soul Kader replaced George Penn. The Egyptian's bad luck in front of goal continued in the 57th minute: after a good through ball from Ronan Silva, Kader, still searching for his maiden goal, unleashed a powerful shot from inside the area... and struck the post. Play was briefly stopped in the 60th minute for a Horsham player to receive treatment just next to the halfway line seats. When play resumed, so did Hampton's dominance, as the Beavers played with an enthusiasm and creativity which had been missing in recent weeks. In the 72nd minute, loud appeals for handball came from Hampton players against a Horsham defender, but these were waved away by the referee, Zachary Cunningham. Horsham's Harvey Sparks was yellow carded in the 73rd minute for dissent, protesting against Hampton winning a throw-in. From the throw-in, Hampton won a corner, annoyingly taken short, it found its way to Soul Kader who frustratedly blasted the ball high into the netting behind the goal.
Horsham made a substitution in the 75th minute, the announcement of former Yeovil Town frontman Rhys Murphy over the public address system was a bit ominous, given his goal-scoring credentials. Nevertheless, Hampton continued to probe in what was turning into a really positive performance, forcing another two corners in quick succession. The first was taken short and wasted. The second was aimed into the area but headed away by Horsham's Greg Luer. The rain intensified in the 77th minute as the attendance was announced, a healthy 967. The match never really felt like it would end 0-0, there was a moment of horror in the 81st minute as Horsham's Ricky Aguiar found himself in space just on the 18 yard line, but his shot was weak, low and easily retrieved by Rowley, who once again looked assured whenever called upon.
Hampton crafted another notable opportunity in the 82nd minute, some fast interplay between Mike Atkinson, Alex Wilkie and Junior Dixon almost saw an opening for the latter, but an offside flag caught the debutant. At the other end, Matt Rowley parried away a great 25-yard sizzler from James Hammond, who shot low through a crowded field, with Rowley diving to his left. Harry Gardner attempted an ambitious long-range strike for Hampton in the 85th minute after seeing Horsham keeper Lewis Carey off his line, his effort wasn't a million miles away, but there were probably better options available to him. Both sides pressed for the points, Soul Kader broke through the middle of Greg Luer and Leone Gravata in the 86th minute, storming into the box and shooting narrowly over the crossbar.
Our second substitution of the night saw Luke Robertson replace Harry Gardner in the 89th minute. Four additional minutes were called out. In the event, five were played. Hampton won a corner, it was cleared by Rhys Murphy and Horsham quickly broke; Soul Kader finding himself in an unfamiliar defensive position, lost the ball to Ricky Aguiar who briefly looked like he might slip through the last two men, but he played it wide, and thankfully the resulting cross was too long for anyone to reach. In the final excitement of the night, Horsham struck the crossbar with a glanced header. At the whistle, travelling fans were clearly happy with a point, although with several scoring opportunities it could have been three. Hampton's losing streak has ended; Horsham's unbeaten run continues!
Stats
Horsham: 1 Lewis Carey, 3 Harvey Sparks, 4 Charlie Hester-Cook, 5 Isaac Philpot, 7 James Hammond, 8 Daniel Barker, 14 Shamir Fenelon, 15 Jack Brivio (c), 17 James Roberts, 18 Reece Myles Meekums, 23 Leone Gravata
Subs: 2 Jake Elliott, 9 Rhys Murphy (on for Fenelon, 75'), 10 Lucas Rodrigues (on for Myles Meekums, 71'), 12 Greg Luer (on for Roberts, 63'), 20 Lee Harding, 25 Ronnie Brian Gorman, 26 Ricky Aguiar (on for Hester-Cook, 67')
Hampton: 26 Matt Rowley, 5 Ronan Silva, 8 Sam Deadfield (c), 11 Junior Dixon, 15 Harry Thomas, 23 Charlie Sayers, 25 Harry Gardner, 27 Mike Atkinson, 28 Kai Innocent, 30 George Penn, 31 Alex Wilkie.
Subs: 3 Jude Mason, 6 Luke Robertson (on for Gardner, 89'), 13 Luka Ziger, 17 Finn McGreevy, 18 Ben Parkinson, 21 Soul Kader (on for Penn, 54')
Referee: Zachary Cunningham
Assistants: Daniel Smith, Andrew Crossley
Fourth Official: Oscar Whiting
Attendance: 967
A very decent performance. Both teams had chances I’d say we probably created a few more and edged it. Thought Junior Dixon played well up front on debut and Soul Kader did well when he came on. Just can’t quite find the finish Soul narrowly wide or over the bar on a few occasions.
-
HamptonLifer5
- Posts: 118
- Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2023 11:30 pm
Last night was a performance and result to be very pleased with. We created numerous good chances, and looked dangerous throughout the game. Ronan Silva, Soul Kader, and Junior Dixon all had good opportunities to score but we just lacked the finishing touch. Aside from games against Totton and Maidstone, between now and the New Year, we have to play 14th, 15th, 17th, 20th, 21st, 22nd. Lots of great opportunities to pick up points, and if we play like we did last night, then I have full confidence in the team. The league this year feels weird, I didn't personally think Horsham were very good, more because we cancelled them out, but they were able to bring on the likes of Luer and Rhys Murphy off of the bench, both players that are of a very good standard at this level, we didn't quite have the same quality off of the bench, even if Kader was a livewire all evening, but that will be solved with injuries returning. Last 5 minutes there were the nerves of conceding a really harsh losing goal, with Horsham hitting the bar and Rowley being called upon twice, but overall a superb evening. Onto Leatherhead, a tough test, but nevertheless a good opportunity to win and score some goals in the process!
-
Lord Elpus
- Posts: 1016
- Joined: Thu Jan 21, 2021 3:09 pm
Should also point out that I enjoyed the visit to Horsham generally...a well stewarded car park in the adjacent park and ride was good (even if they could do with a bit more lighting in that driveway up to the ground) and a friendly bunch of supporters/stewards once in. Nice enough ground for a modern one too. A good example of how to get things right.
Another thumbs up here for Chris's report - excellent!
I note the comments about Bertie/Billy the Beaver and was thinking about that myself while listening to Lloyd Hassel on Mixlr commentating on the half-time mascot penalty shootout (I must say Lloyd does a consistently great job on commentary).
Lloyd called him "Bertie the Beaver" and I see the club tweets last night also said Bertie (although maybe from the same source.) I also see Horsham's Howie the Hornet (who has his own Twitter account!) called our mascot Bertie initially, but later changed to Billy
Lots of tough challenges for the club management at the moment, but clearing up the mascot name confusion and formally restoring the "Bertie" name might be a nice easy fix.
I note the comments about Bertie/Billy the Beaver and was thinking about that myself while listening to Lloyd Hassel on Mixlr commentating on the half-time mascot penalty shootout (I must say Lloyd does a consistently great job on commentary).
Lloyd called him "Bertie the Beaver" and I see the club tweets last night also said Bertie (although maybe from the same source.) I also see Horsham's Howie the Hornet (who has his own Twitter account!) called our mascot Bertie initially, but later changed to Billy
Lots of tough challenges for the club management at the moment, but clearing up the mascot name confusion and formally restoring the "Bertie" name might be a nice easy fix.
-
TW2-Beaver
- Site Admin
- Posts: 345
- Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2021 6:02 pm
With sincere apologies to Howie, Horsham's mascot name has been corrected in my report above. I note the irony of getting their mascot's name wrong while moaning about our club doing likewise to Bertie! 