Guildford City put on a first half finishing masterclass to comprehensively defeat Horley Town at Spectrum. A first half hat-trick from the prolific Dan Moody, sandwiched between goals from Joel Hughes, put City five goals to the good at half time. They had to wait until the 90th minute to add to the tally, Jack Guilford netting past Horley’s third goalkeeper of the afternoon.
Joel Hughes netted first for City after 18minutes, ending an opening period in which both sides pressed each other hard, as he nodded home after Austin Gacheru’s effort came back off the bar. Minutes later Dan Moody latched on to a long pass forward, cutting inside his marker before finishing past Chatfield in the Horley goal. In the 29th minute the hosts extended the lead further as Dan Moody produced another calm finish. It was all one way traffic so it was no surprise that City added another one within ten minutes. This time Jaydon Gibbs raced away down the left wing before a low cross was converted by Moody to grab a well deserved hat-trick. He turned provider minutes before half time, doing well to find Hughes who slotted home for City’s fifth of the afternoon.
The second half was never likely to live up to the standard of the first, but City came out on the attack and could have scored straight from the kick-off as Tony Chaplin’s cross was hit wide by Hughes. On the hour mark, Horley ‘keeper Ian Chatfield was replaced in goal by one of his defenders – presumably because of injury. After a couple of nervy touches, the replacement was then replaced after himself suffering an injury! With their third goalkeeper of the day in goal, Horley managed a pair of dangerous counter attacks against a high Guildford back line – and should have done better with the finishes. In the last minute of normal time, Jack Guilford popped up to hit Horley for six – equalling City’s biggest victory under manager Kevin Rayner.
Guildford City:
Antony Hall, Elvis Defreitas, Ben Rayner, Simon Cooper [capt], Tony Chaplin, Corey Holder, Dan Moody, Will Heavey (Ben Camara 60), Austin Gacheru (Jack Guilford 65), Joel Hughes (Luke Bradnick 73), Jaydon Gibbs.
Unused substitutes: Martin Debrah, Paul Spencer
Cautioned: None
Referee: J. Connolly