FA Cup provides historic occasion

Horley Town 1 Balham 3, FA Cup First Qualifying Round, Saturday 7^th September 2019

In previous blog posts, I’ve made no secret of my love for the FA Cup in the early qualifying rounds.

Not only does the increased prize money that has been on offer in early rounds over the past few seasons mean far more to Non-League clubs than those at the higher echelons of the game, but for the players you get a sense that they really relish the chance to participate in such a prestigious tournament. A relish that the top, top players (and their managers) have arguably taken for granted over the years.

Having seen Guildford City edge out Tooting Bec in the Extra Preliminary Round a month ago, I was bitterly disappointed to then miss a match in the Preliminary Round due to being at a festival.

However, there was no way that I was going to miss a game in the First Qualifying Round (I’m still not sure why this can’t be called the Third Preliminary Round, with the Extra Prelim known as the First Qualifying Round, and so on?).

With my Saturday morning coaching commitments not due to restart until next week, I should, in theory, have been able to get a little further afield than my usual hunting grounds.

Unfortunately, theory very rarely matches reality. With my eldest son’s team due to have their first match of the season this Sunday, and with only one training session behind them, it was decided (not by me) that they would have a team bonding afternoon (with a spot of training thrown in) on Saturday.
With him needing to be dropped off in Brighton just before 14:00 this restricted my options somewhat.

Turning to Twitter for help (more specifically the excellent @FACupFactfile account, which I suggest you all follow – right after reading the end of this blog, obviously) my attention was alerted to the Horley Town vs Balham clash.

With both teams having already progressed as far as they’ve ever previously got in the FA Cup, the winners would be entering unchartered territory by reaching the Second Qualifying Round. Who doesn’t like witnessing history on a Saturday afternoon? The further promise of a bumper 32—page programme being available on the day helped to seal the deal.

With Horley having recently moved across from the Surrey-dominated Combined Counties Premier Division to the more Sussex-oriented Southern Combination Football League Premier Division, their New Defence Stadium was a ground I was keen to tick off.
I had completed the SCFL Premier Division grounds list last season, but due to a mixture of promotion (Alfold), league restructure (Horley) and a new ground (Broadbridge Heath) there’s now a few gaps that need filling in this particular list. This seemed like the ideal opportunity to take the first step on this admittedly non-too-taxing mission.

Parking at the Horley Leisure Centre, it didn’t take long for me to be immediately impressed by my surroundings. From the quirky (and friendly) man on the gate (look carefully at the picture below and you’ll see him posing through the window – either that or the Horley turnstiles are haunted by a ghost) to my first glance inside ground itself, there was much to like about the New Defence.

Entrance to the match was £7 with the aforementioned programme costing a further £1. The main covered seated stand is attached to a brick-built building which contains the changing rooms, toilet facilities and a sizable bar area which offers a brilliant bird’s eye view. of the pitch. The pitch itself looked in great condition and even had sprinklers on it prior to kick-off; something I haven’t seen too often at this level. There was also a smaller covered seated stand behind one of the goals.

During the afternoon it was also nice to put faces to the names of two people with whom I’ve had Twitter interaction with on various occasions over the past year or so. (Hi Sheona and Nick, if you’re reading this. I’m sure our paths will cross again in the future).

Visiting Balham, who had been league rivals of Horley up until the home team’s division-swap, got off to an absolutely flying start. Barely a minute had been played before they took the lead. A high press saw them win the ball deep in Horley’s half, and Tom Read was given too much time and space in the area by the home side’s defence, before finishing calmly to get his side off to the perfect start.

 Balham had clearly been sent out with instructions to not allow their hosts time to settle, and were constantly snapping at the heels of their opponents’ backline during the game’s early exchanges. Just six minutes were on the clock when they doubled their advantage. Once more, they won the ball inside Horley’s half and, again, took advantage of some lackadaisical defending to send Jack Robinson through on goal. Like Read, he made no mistake from just inside the area.

Horley were clearly shell-shocked. Two chances, two goals. Balham were in total control.

As the game started to calm down following its frantic opening, the hosts were suddenly handed a lifeline back into the game when Balham’s Piers Oldland sloppily gave away possession just inside his own half. Horley’s lone striker Tony Halsey still had plenty to do when he took control of the ball, but he did it well, striding forward and holding off a couple of challenges before smashing the ball past visiting keeper Haydon Read from just outside the area.

Less than 20 minutes had been played and three goals had already been scored. My thoughts began to turn towards a potential goal-fest.

Unfortunately, a goal-fest never materialised; but that’s not to say the game didn’t remain enjoyable. Both teams prodded and probed for further first-half goals, but aside from some long-range efforts that were routinely dealt with by both goalkeepers, no clear-cut opportunities were forthcoming for either side.

 That said, right on the stroke of half-time Horley’s main danger man, Mario Quasaco, appeared to be clearly fouled in the area (at least from my angle) but to his, and many other people’s – including the Balham fans I was standing near – the referee waved play on.

The second-half remained open and entertaining (or at least the last 35 minutes did, I missed most of the opening ten minutes while queuing an exorbitantly long time for a coffee – thankfully, the opening portion of the second half wasn’t as action packed as the first had been; in terms of goals, anyway).
Balham came close to extending their lead on the hour mark when a brilliant dipping 20-yard effort from Tom Read smashed off the bar, before Horley had a couple of good opportunities.

Firstly, Russel Harvey saw a long-range effort fly wide of the target, before Haydon Read produced a good save at the feet of Halsey.

As the match neared its conclusion, Horley huffed and puffed but, aside from a late shot which flashed narrowly wide, they were unable to create any real chances of note.

Balham continued to look a threat on the break, but had to wait for the very last kick of the game to make the match safe. Ignoring desperate pleas from his teammates to take the ball into the corner, substitute James Adebayo instead waltzed past challenge after challenge before hitting ball hard and low across the box, where a luckless Horley defender could only deflect the ball into his own net.

Balham’s players were ecstatic, particularly when the referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the game before the ball had even been retrieved from the back of the net. To be honest, I thought the game had to be restarted before it could be officially ended, but I could be (and probably am) wrong about this.

Not that Balham cared. They had made history by progressing into the Second Qualifying Round of the FA Cup (not too shabby for a club that only formed its first adult team in 2011).

For Horley, FA Cup dreams come to an end for another year. But it’s not the end of their Wembley hopes just yet. There’s still the FA Vase to play for...

Well, if you can’t dream, what can you do?

Enjoyed this blog post? Then you may be interested in reading my kindle book which recounts my 2018/19 groundhopping journey (take a look, it’s only 99p).