Guildford City (0) 0, Horley Town (1) 1
by Harry Vidgen
There had been no game midweek so Guildford had been given a break before this game, but there were few signs of their injury crisis subsiding with both Nemo Adams and Tom Griffin dropping out on the day through illness, to add to the five other senior players missing through injury. It was not surprising therefore that Guildford struggled, especially in an attacking sense. The horrendous weather conditions badly hindered both sides. The wind was so strong that throughout the match the wind completely changed the flight of the ball, making it extremely hard for both teams to play exciting football. Guildford did have a few chances early on. In just the third minute, Benga Ogunseye was released down the left and he cut inside but his effort was tame and was easily gathered by the Horley Town goalkeeper. Benga Ogunseye then put Eli Ogunseye through in the 10th minute but he couldn’t quite reach it before the goalkeeper and the chance was lost. Horley Town slowly grew into the game and began to have a few chances themselves. 14 minutes in and one pass split the Guildford defence and Callum Phillips of Horley Town drove into the box but was denied a goal-scoring chance due to a brilliant tackle by Luke Beale. Two minutes later, Horley Town were awarded a corner and it was taken short, Zac Powell of Horley floated a cross in but his teammate was unable to direct his header towards goal and it went out for a goal-kick. The gusting wind proved to be a huge problem for both sides and in the 25th minute a Horley defender cleared the ball up-field from inside his own half and the wind caught it and nearly blew it into the Guildford goal, but Stuart Norman quickly backtracked and tipped it over his bar. As half time approached Eli was put clean through but he squandered a one on one as he opted to take it round the keeper instead of shooting past him and fortunately for Horley this decision allowed them to recover and they cleared their lines just in time. The only goal of the game came with only a few minutes left of the first half. Horley Town took a goal kick and David Burton who was playing centre back in this game misjudged the flight of the ball and it ended up going straight over him and allowed Zac Powell to gather it and he drove forward and he cut it across the box for No.11 of Horley Town, James McGilligot to meet and he drilled it into the goal. Horley Town had the advantage at the break.
Second half began in a similar fashion to the first as both sides struggled to hold possession. The awful conditions seemed to take a toll on the players as few decisive passing moves were put together and for the most of the second half the ball was found in the centre of the pitch. Benga Ogunseye seemed to be very isolated throughout the match as there was no clear link between midfield and attack. However, there were a few chances before full time. Nathaniel Williams collected the ball on the left and cut inside past a Horley defender but his shot, carried by the wind, flew way over the bar. Just before the final whistle the wind proved to be Stuart Norman’s biggest threat throughout the match as Horley nearly scored from a corner as the wind gave the ball extra curl but luckily Stuart Norman just about managed to keep it out once more. Another loss for Guildford City but I believe that it easily could have been a draw as both sides didn’t particularly deserve to win the game as the strong winds prevented both sides from showing what they were capable of. It was unfortunate for Guildford but they will be sure to try and bounce back in their next game.
Team: Stuart Norman, Sean Mason, Josh Burrowes, Jamie Phillips, Luke Beale, David Burton, Eli Ogunseye, Dean Band, Benga Ogunseye, Kiye Martin, Nathaniel Williams. Unused subs: Dominic Easton, Dan Hurlow.
Referee: Mark Edwards
Attendance – 70
