Much changed Horsham side complete the double over Beckenham

LONDON 1 SOUTH
Saturday 21st December 2019
Horsham 12-3 Beckenham
Report by Richard Ordidge

After a series of defeats against the top sides in the league Horsham go into the Christmas break in better heart with two successive wins against London Cornish and then Beckenham 12-3 to climb to eighth and away from their brief flirtation with the relegation zone.

Horsham and Beckenham know each other well having both been promoted last season from London 2 South East with the Kent side as champions and having enjoyed many a competitive contest with each other over the past few years. Beckenham beat Horsham twice last season, but with the Green and Whites having won at Coolhurst 32-22 in September they were keen to complete the double when they travelled to Balmoral Avenue.

Both sides had undergone several selection changes going into the game due to injury and unavailability but with Horsham making five positional changes from last week in the back line alone it was the Beckenham side that had the more familiar look.

With part of Beckenham’s main pitch under water the game was switched to a junior pitch and combined with the heavy, muddy conditions the match was always likely to become a tightly fought arm wrestle. With line breaks at a premium, and a world away from the pristine surface of the Artificial Grass Pitch at Horsham which the Green and Whites are used to playing on, the match could have gone either way.

A jubilant Horsham head coach Nick Stocker said after the game: “The game was moved to an unfeasibly narrow third team pitch which will have suited Beckenham’s large pack and nullified our dangerous backs. However, from the off it was clear that we were up for this game playing with a directness and physicality that ensured we dominated large swathes of the game.”

Following good defence Horsham built a field position and eventually on 15 minutes a good inside pass to Ciaran Preston saw him line break and pass to the supporting Kemp Price to step his man and finish out wide from 25 metres. The game was being played in the central part of the pitch and with both defences holding firm there were no other scores and Horsham went into the half time break leading 5-0.

Early in the second half Johnny Ordidge powered through the centres to then pass to the supporting Declan Nwachukwu who chipped on ahead and with the ball bobbling around Nick Bell was the first to follow up and ground the ball under the posts. The try was converted by Jordan Bell and after 47 minutes Horsham were leading 12-0.

Beckenham narrowed the deficit with a penalty kick, but they lost a player to the sin bin with a desperate high tackle on Nwachukwu making a come-back unlikely as Horsham saw out time to win 12-3.

Stocker went on to say: “Kemp Price’s try was testament to this hard work where Ciaran’s angle in attack and composure to put Kemp away was just rewards for the patience we showed all afternoon.

This patience was especially evident despite the expected advantage of Beckenham having to play with 14 men following early injuries to two front row players never materialising on account of the narrowness of the ground.

Perhaps the starkest example of this performance today was the grand total of three penalties conceded all game which in wet and muddy conditions with a huge number of phases was very impressive.

With all players producing good performances, in particular players like Dan Cass, Ciaran Preston, Jonny Goward, Jordan Smith and Declan Nwachukwu were all instrumental in getting us front foot ball.

Johnny Ordidge had a great carrying game relishing the opportunity to run at one of our former players all afternoon and making great yards on every occasion, whereas Kemp Price, returning from two years out with injury showed his class from the off. However, despite all these strong performances, we settled on awarding man of the match to debutant and current colt Ollie Chennell who alongside Ord in the centres had a great start to his 1st team career.

We finally get a well-deserved break for the next couple of weeks and return with a home fixture versus HAC on the 4th January 2020 which will be a tough fixture in the back of the undoubted seasonal joy that the squad will partake in over the coming weeks. We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.”

Horsham: Condon; Nwachukwu, Chennell, Ordidge, Squire; Johnson S, Bell J; Bell N (Barber), Preston, Cass; Osgood, Goward; Smith J, Grief (Lewis), Price