Horsham remain top of the table after tense nail-biting encounter

This was one of Horsham's toughest encounters of the season to date and Bromley are surely to be in the promotion mix at the end of the season.

As a result of a serious injury to winger Lee Taylor after 56 minutes with a dislocated hip and fractured pelvis, following a delay of twenty minutes the game was moved to an adjoining pitch. The remaining 24 minutes were played as two halves to negate any unfair advantage from the slope and the low sun in the sky.

Tom Johnson’s kick off went out on the full and from the ensuing scrum Horsham exerted their power to secure a scrum penalty. Johnson kicked for the corner and then when Horsham's backs attacked when the ball was being spun left, Bromley’s defence held firm.

Moments later the Green and Whites switched the attack to the right and Gibbs thought he had scored but the ball was knocked forward in the tackle. The referee brought the play back to an earlier penalty offence and on 4 minutes Will Bell kicked Horsham into the lead from in front of the posts.

Bromley countered and when a couple of penalty kicks failed to find touch, Johnson delayed in getting his clearance kicks away and the visitors strong chase game lead to charge downs, but on each occasion Will Bell was there to tidy up.

Horsham were dominating in the scrum and driving Bromley backwards, and they probed for chinks in the opposite defence by attacking from side to side but made little headway. Finally Will Bell was able to make a weaving run from full back but Jonny Whiting was unable to hold his offload.

Following several minutes of pressure and mistakes by Horsham, the Green and Whites were awarded a penalty following a high tackle on Jonny Whiting which Will Bell was unable to convert.

Finally Bromley succumbed to the pressure when their player received a yellow card for stopping a Horsham attack with a one handed deliberate knock on.

On 19 minutes, Gibbs pounced on a loose pass by a Bromley player to round his man to score under the posts and the try was converted by Will Bell to take Horsham into a 10-0 lead.

Horsham’s set piece dominance saw another scrum penalty awarded and Johnson kicked to the corner. Sean Tuhakaraina made a great outside break which he was unable to finish off and Bromley cleared their lines by kicking deep into the Horsham half.

Nick Bell was yellow carded for hands in the ruck and Tom Beaumont for Bromley slotted the penalty from in front of the posts to reduce the deficit. Bromley took advantage of the extra man and got their rolling maul going, and when this was stopped their outside centre went on a fine stepping run before the ball was moved wide for a well executed score which was disallowed for a forward pass. On the stroke of half time Beaumont kicked another penalty and Horsham went into the break 10-6 up.

The game was in the balance and the breakdown was ferociously contested between two evenly matched sides. Horsham had the edge in the tight but failure of execution prevented the Green and Whites from turning this slight advantage into points.

Horsham were awarded another scrum penalty but Will Bell’s long range attempt fell just short, then when Tuhakaraina made a break followed by a multi phase attack, Johnson crossed the line for a try on 48 minutes which was unconverted.

Johnson made an intercept to run 50 yards and with the defence closing in made a great grubber kick forward which Bromley were relieved to clear off the field. From the quick line out Taylor was clattered from behind by a legitimate tackle but forcing his serious injury necessitating the lengthy stop in play.

The game restarted on an adjoining pitch after a 20 minute delay as both sides tried to retain their focus following 56 minutes played with such intensity.

Horsham were continuing to apply pressure in the scrums but despite going backwards Bromley managed to launch counter attacks of their own to almost outflank the home defence as the game ebbed and flowed.

Ben Rush made a sniping run, then Gibbs made a break which was followed on by James Whiting. Johnson kicked for the corner and when Horsham switched direction Tuhakaraina made a floated pass to Gibbs which was not held when a try looked certain.

As the sides turned around for the second period of play on the adjoining pitch, after 68 minutes Horsham stole a Bromley line out, and following an offence by the visitors the kicking duties were handed over to Johnson who licked a penalty from 35 yards to take the Green and Whites into what looked to be a comfortable 18-6 lead.

Bromley had other ideas and following a penalty to the corner they put together an excellent catch and drive from the line out to send George Scott over in the corner. The try was unconverted and the deficit reduced to 18-11.

The visitors continued to press in search of a converted try to level the scores and a fine tackle by Tuhakaraina stopped the counter attack, then when Jordan Smith stole a loose ball which was followed up by a break from Arun Thompson, the referee blew the final whistle.

Horsham coach Nick Stocker reflected on what he saw as a poor performance by his side, “We should have had three or four more tries which would have reflected our domination. We were snatching at the ball and gave away too many penalties. They had a good tackling defence but for most of the game we neutralised their driving maul.

We should have converted our opportunities. We were slow at the breakdown, kicked the ball away needlessly, made too many errors and had several kicks charged down. We were not as fluid as we were against Heathfield last week, and perhaps we were over anxious however the first time we played through the phases we scored. We were well and truly below par and there was a collective malaise however we are looking forward to the return.

We wish Lee Taylor well and a speedy recovery. His injury is disappointing for him as he has only just returned following concussion.

I thought Will Bell was one of the few players to do himself justice and Liam Brady had a good game on his first start.

It is annoying because we dominated first phase possession but we were too wasteful with the ball we got. Our defensive structures were good and we limited their opportunities but I am disappointed that we handled the ball on the floor which lead to the yellow card and allowed them back into the game.”

Horsham’s next league game is at home to Grasshoppers from Isleworth in Middlesex in the second round of the Senior Vase on 8th November with kick off at 2.00pm.

Horsham: Talbot (capt), Stone, Brady; Grover, Jonny Whiting; Thompson, N Bell (Pirt 40) (Smith 60), Tredgett; Rush, Johnson; Gibbs, Tuhakaraina, Ordidge, Taylor (James Whiting 56); W Bell