Horsham 25 FRFC 8

This was a really entertaining game to watch though not so entertaining
for the Folkestone supporters as it was for their Horsham counterparts.
It was the most open game that I have seen for some time with both sides moving the ball whenever possible. Horsham penned Folkestone into their own half for the first ten minutes and only desperate tackling kept the home side out. The constant pressure was not helped Folkestone giving away six penalties in as many minutes from the kick off and it was from one of those penalties that Horsham opened their account. 3 - 0. Folkestone struck back with a penalty by Brad Pearson after Richard
Dagger and John Eustace got close to scoring after some enterprising
moves in the threequarters. 3 - 3.
Folkestone were then reduced to fourteen men when Lucio Dublino was
'binned' for holding in the tackle. Jon Morton was having a good day
with several half breaks and he and Eustace were strong in defence in
the centre. Morton made the break which saw Dagger cross in the corner
but the referee decided that the last pass had been forward. Two tries
then went begging for Folkestone with another forward pass and then a
player taking on a defender when he had a player free on his outside.
The play moved from end to end and side to side with the constant
passage of the ball and then Folkestone were drawn across the field to
the right in defence only to see Horsham throw a long pass to the left
and their wing cross unmarked for a try which went unconverted. 8 - 3.
Folkestone earned a penalty on the home 22m from the kick off but
Pearson just floated the ball wide. Pearson has twinkling feet and
constructively joins the line from the full back position to put
Folkestone on the front foot. Half time score 8 - 3.

In the opening minutes of the second half only two desperate tackles -
one by Dagger and one by Pearson - saved certain tries and it was a
warning to Folkestone that Horsham were not content with their slender
lead. Coach Darren Malloy then had to make a variety of changes through
injury which saw Jak Cox leave the field and Scotty Evans take over at
scrum half with Morton at outside half and Ritchie Bowen coming on to
the wing.
A deep kick into the the Folkestone corner saw the visitors come away
with the ball to try and run it out from behind their own goal line. A
chip ahead by Eustace was picked off by his opposite number to run a try in under the posts. The conversion gave Horsham a 15 - 3 lead. Eustace then came off injured, Dublino was concussed and the coaching staff had a total reshuffle with Tom Snare (normally a prop) coming on in the centre and Chris Petley joining him from the back row. Young George Flatman went on as lock. Folkestone were trying hard to reduce the deficit but promising moves were either snuffed out by some solid defence or the finish was just not good enough to put points on the board. Morton made another burst through the middle but was held up just under the posts. Then a deep kick into the Folkestone corner saw the ball slip through the hands of a Folkestone jumper into the hands of his opposite number who crashed through the line to score. No conversion 20 -3. The visitors kept trying to work the ball out of their own half when perhaps they should have played the percentages and put the ball up field out of danger. Pearson then had a sprint up the right wing but got dragged down in the corner just short of the line. Will Massey's men were not giving up and took play back into the Horsham red area and spun the ball across the line to Ritchie Bowen who beat his man to score. Pearson saw his conversion bounce off the cross bar. 20 - 8. Folkestone were now struggling to keep the opposition out and in a final sortie and from a loose maul on the 22 m line the Horsham outside centre just stepped back into a gap and crossed for an unconverted try. 25 - 8. Scotty Evans kicked the ball away in frustration and the referee needlessly sent him to the bin. Ben Flatman then had a few words with the ref. and ended up in the bin with Evans. A little too officious but then the ref. was being assessed... Folkestone then played out the remainder of the game with thirteen men held on until the final whistle.
Upbut until half time this game could have gone either way but with the injuries and the reshuffling that was required by Folkestone it was
difficult to say the least. The penalty count against Folkestone was
high and if the referee was right in his decisions then Folkestone need
to address their control in those circumstances.
Several players stood out again including Massey, Mike Gardner, Tom
Carvill and Ben Flatman but my Man of the Match goes to Jon Morton for
his overall work rate both in attack and defence.
Squad:
W Massey, M Murray, T Carvill, T Snare, P Smith, B Flatman, T Wood, G Flatman, C Petley, R Bowen, M Gardner, J Cox, S Evans, R Dagger, L Dublino, J Eustace, J Morton, B Pearson