Fair Result in the End

It became even more welcoming when, after 5 minutes, Horsham gave up the ball and Uckfield's Lee Evans scored in the corner after a sweeping backs move.
Horsham started to dominate territory and possession but Uckfield's defence was strong. They tended to cancel each other out and stalemate set into the match. Simon Matterface was injured at the end of the 1st quarter. The question was could Horsham remain dominant with Simon off the field.
Horsham received a penalty and Aled Price, in his first start for the 1st XV kicked the 3 pointer. However, as so often happens, the opposition were immediately awarded a penalty and Horsham's considerable effort and dominance were essentially wiped out by Joe Miller's kick.
Just before half time Aled made a lovely break, beating 3 players before releasing the always electric Jamie Gibbs for a try in the comer. And then Price had a second chance and kicked a further penalty ahead of the half time whistle.
Horsham continued their dominance in the second half but seemed devoid of attacking creativity, partly due to the superb defence offered by Uckfield. Horsham could not make headway and again a sort of stalemate descended on the match.
Price scored from another penalty and Miller missed one and then Uckfield tried a drop goal that fell short. At this point it looked like Horsham might sneak it. Then Miller made amends and put another 3 points on the board from yet another penalty. The game continued in turgid fashion and teams then took to swapping yellow cards with both sides punished for persistent infringement.
Then in the final moments Uckfield were awarded a penalty in front of the posts. That looked like the end for Horsham, game over, and then Miller inexplicably hit the outside of the post with most of Coolhurst convinced the game was lost. The sigh of relief could be heard in the town centre......
The game was played in great spirit as always between these sides. A draw seemed a fair result but Horsham will feel that the game was there to win.