Three first half goals saw Guildford City cruise to victory over Horley Town. Ben Camara, Ben Rayner and Jack Guilford all scored before the break, with John Eldred reducing Horley’s deficit thanks to a second half penalty. Both sides ended with a player sent off following a scuffle towards the end of the game.
This was Horley’s second visit to the Spectrum in as many weeks, after an FA Vase match a fortnight ago. Horley Town were the livelier side in the opening exchanges, but it wasn’t long until City stamped their authority. Ben Camara, latched on to a through ball, beat his marker and buried a powerful shot past Joe McLoughlin in the visitors’ goal. Guildford then dominated the rest of the half against a surprisingly lacklustre Horley side.
On the half hour mark some excellent build up play saw the ball arrive at the feet of Ben Rayner, who fired home a crisp shot from just outside the penalty area for his first goal of the season. From here on there was no doubt where the three points would go. Shortly before half time, Jack Guilford extended the lead further as he slid in to score from a neat cross.
The three goal lead didn’t look threatened despite Horley raising their game in the second half. The hosts, who were without a number of first team regulars, were happy to see out the game. City were bossing the midfield, with Joel Hughes and Tony Chaplin looking especially bright on the wings. Antony Hall in the City goal was rarely worried, with Dave Brown and Charlie Adsett coming closest. On 60 minutes, Hall came out to save at the feet of the incoming Gary Thomlinson, managing a clean catch before the striker clattered into him. The referee saw this as a foul by the Guildford keeper and John Eldred dispatched the penalty to make it 3-1.
There was to be no repeat of the comeback Horley staged a fortnight previously, with the only talking point after this the dismissal of Will Heavey and Toby Gilbert for a spat late in the game.
