Horsham go down again in a tight match

Relegation threatened Thanet Wanderers caused the upset of the day when they beat fourth placed Horsham in a close game at Broadstairs.

This was Horsham’s third defeat in a row but the margin in each game has not been more than four points.

The Green and Whites will have the opportunity to amend the loss when they travel to East Kent again in two weeks in the third round of the National Intermediate Cup.

The match was played in front of a large crowd many of whom had attended a charity fund raising lunch in memory of a former player.

A frustrated Horsham coach Nick Stocker said: “We prepared well but failed to execute. We had first phase possession and territory but having dominated then switched off thinking the job was done.

We get ourselves into a good position but when the opposition get their tails up we start to panic and start offloading out of contact, making silly passes and kicking in the wrong areas.

We need to get a good win under our belts and have the chance to rectify this in two weeks.”

Horsham made a confident start. Several phases of controlled play was followed by a break from Mike Watts which lead to a penalty which James Johnson slotted from in front of the posts.

Matt McCabe was controlling the game well at fly-half and a delightfully weighted chip over the onrushing defence created an attacking position in the corner. When this was cleared by Thanet Wanderers the two Horsham second rows, Simon Gaynor and Jonny Whiting, combined on the charge in open play, and when Thanet Wanderers Number 8, Tom Markham made a tackle without using his arms he was yellow carded.

Thanet Wanderers were having to absorb a huge amount of pressure in the scrums but Horsham were not clinical in their play and a number of chances went begging.

Then on 20 minutes following some good multiphase play involving breaks by Watts and Johnny Ordidge, a show and go by Joe Wilde saw him run around the Thanet Wanderers to cross the line. The conversion attempt was missed and Horsham lead 8-0.

James Johnson then put in a long kick for position and this was followed by more fine attacking play with width and good handling resulting in a try for Michael Tredgett, which was converted by James Johnson and Horsham lead 15-0 and in command.

The home side had other ideas. Full back Arthur Robinson made a lovely chip over the Horsham defence which he regathered and then second row Brad Turner made a powerful run through several tackles. This lead to a penalty in the corner for Thanet Wanderers to set up a maul and after a couple of phases Markham drove over to score from five yards, although the referee had a tough call to make as to whether there had been a double movement.

The score gave Thanet Wanderers confidence. Will Johnson made a good tackle to prevent a possible try and then when Horsham strayed offside on the stroke of half-time Ryan Copp accepted the offer of three points and Horsham went into the break with their lead narrowed to 15-8.

Horsham started the second half strongly. Scrum-half Joey Walker, making his first start for the 1st XV, made a break off the back of a line-out and offloaded to the supporting Nick Bell to score. Even though the conversion attempt was missed there was little sign of the turnaround to come.

The Green and Whites were now conceding penalties in the face of concerted pressure from the home side which created the field position for Copp to break and pass to centre Antony Clement who scored under the posts although there was doubt as to whether the ball had actually been grounded as a result of Will Johnson’s last ditch tackle. The try was converted and Horsham’s lead had been chipped away to 20-15.

Thanet Wanderers now had real belief that they could cause an upset and soon had the Green and Whites under pressure again. Deep in the 22, Horsham asked Ordidge to take the ball up rather than kick to relieve the danger and when the ball was recycled, James Johnson’s kick was charged down and a Thanet Wanderers player was first to follow up. It was a close call as to whether he brushed the corner flag in the act of scoring and even though the kick at posts was missed the home side had leveled the scores at 20-20 after 57 minutes.

Thanet Wanderers now had their tails up as Horsham became increasingly ragged, struggling to comprehend what was happening. The home supporters were then in seventh heaven when awarded a penalty in front of the posts and the three points were confidently taken by Copp as Thanet Wanderers took the lead 23-20 for the first time going into the last ten minutes.

There was still time for Markham to be issued with a red card for a second bookable offence for again not using his arms when making a tackle, which gives Thanet Wanderers a concern as it is their fourth red card of the season, and just one away from possible administrative sanction from the authorities.

Despite having an attacking five yard scrum, Horsham conceded a front row penalty and were unable to convert their numerical superiority into points and Thanet Wanderers were able to hold on for an unexpected victory to the delight of their supporters.

Horsham’s next fixture is a local derby at home to Hove on 30 January.

Horsham: Watts; W Johnson, J Johnson, Ordidge, Wilde, McCabe, Walker; Talbot (capt), Grantham-Hill (Brady), Barber; Gaynor, Whiting; Harcus, Bell (Thompson), M Tredgett (Smith)