A Nomads Journey to Hanbury
The below has been taken from Carry on up the Combi's website with his permission
[b] A blast from the past…[/b]
Haywards Heath Town vs Horsham
Hanbury Park Stadium
Sussex RUR Cup, second round
October 20
Attendance 94
The 1950s is well-known for a lot of things: the Cold War, the coronation of the Queen, the Suez Crisis, rationing. And also, the time when Haywards Heath Town took their place among some of the country’s biggest names in football.
As members of the Metropolitan League, the Blues regularly went toe-to-toe with the third teams of Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham and Tottenham. Heady days indeed. And to help entertain those titans when they visited Mid Sussex, Hanbury Park stadium was built. At it’s heart was a mammoth stand on one side – no doubt full of asbestos – and, despite time not being kind to Town, it’s this behemoth which still welcomes visitors to the ground to this day.
The only issue is rather than entertaining the big names from the capital Town have spent much of the last decade languishing in the lower leagues of the Sussex County League. But, with a cash injection from the development of part of the ground, a new 3G pitch planned at the top end of the ground and an experienced manager with a track-record of winning promotion, things are looking up.
While the season is still early, Haywards Heath have put together a remarkable run under manager Shaun Saunders, who achieved great things at Peacehaven. The Division One side have won 11 in a row – and so it was with great interest I went along to see how the Division One side would do up against the relative giants of Horsham FC, a side which is seen as being favourites for a return to the Ryman this year. The competition was the RUR cup, a competition founded with charity in mind – but this was quickly discarded as the players entered the arena.
Arriving bang on kick off, the match was one of the best I’ve seen so far. Full of endeavour, quality and quickness of mind. Throw in the magic of the lights on a crisp October evening and this was non-league football at it’s finest.
The home side had much the better of the early exchanges, a well-saved free kick on ten minutes probably the best of the chances. But, while the hustled and bustled their higher league opponents, you always got the feeling the visiting Hornets were always a few seconds away from buzzing into life.
Most of the good work went through number nine Terry Dodd, who was the counterpoint in Horsham’s side. It was through him that every attack went through and he went close a few times to putting his side in front. But he was often let down by the lack of support from is team-mates. Perched in the old stand among the asbestos and pigeon poo was a very animated Hornets fan who was becoming increasingly frustrated. It wasn’t clear if this was at the team or to the bloke who was stood directly in front of the “do no stand here” sign. It was a relief to us all when the half time whistle went – goalless at the break and time for a drink.
Into the second half and the game started to pick up with Town pushing the visitors back with their busy all-action play on and off the ball. But it was the Hornets who scored first with a quality goal – Alex Duncan’s whipped in cross was met by the diving Evan Archibald to put Horsham one up. Game over?
Certainly not. Town just upped the levels on the bleep test, running with more intensity. Filled with a burger and a drop of lager, Nomad had much admiration for the way they carried themselves at breakneck speed around the pitch. The stand out was Freddie Barker, a nimble number nine who a betting man would have staked his shirt on scoring. And he did with 20 minutes to go – turning home a free kick which was well saved by the Hornets’ goalie Gareth Williams.
Minutes later the goalscorer was taken off, as a long ball through proved to be a yard too far- and as he winced holding his hammy, the general consensus was that was Town’s best bet for a victory gone. How wrong this Nomad was.
Full time brought an extra 30 minutes and the stage was set for the ultimate cheeky chappie, Max Miller. Most of you viewers will not be familiar with the 1940s dance hall favourite who wowed and shocked crowds with his big trousers and risqué humour. His namesake displayed none of these qualities – but what he did have was bundles of energy, and pushed up top he harried the Hornet’s defence rotten. Just before the break he seized onto a mistake by Charlie Farmer and poked the ball home from the edge of the box.
Into the final period and Horsham looked out of ideas. And then there was the best of the lot – a worldy strike from Town midfielder Carl Dunk (I thought he was called “monkey” for most of the game….) which sailed in from all of 40 yards. Cue mobbing of the bench and a group hug of epic proportions.
And so, that was that – a charity cup giant killing where promotion favourites Horsham looked second best in pretty much every area. As for Town, this is 13 wins in a row – and no one would bet against them keeping it going well beyond Christmas. The last time they did that everything was in black and white.
Car: Take the A23 and come off at the Bolney junction heading towards Haywards Heath. Follow A272 and at the fourth roundabout go straight on to Butler’s Green Rd. Follow the one way system around the town then turn left on to Church Road. Continue straight on to New England Road. After half a mile, turn right on to Allen Road. The stadium is at the bottom of the road on the left hand side with plenty of car parking on the left.
Nearest station: Haywards Heath (one mile, 20 mins walk)
The essentials
Programme
A nice read.Looks good with a nice thick front cover and clear layout.Enjoyable intros from chairman and the manager, with the bonus of an up-to-date league table. If there was a criticism it’s a little advert heavy -and a nice biog of the visitors would have been decent touch.
Food and drink
Who said barbecues should only be done in summer? With the grill fired up, had an excellent burger with cheese for a mere £2. The bar didn’t have any ale on cask but the bottles of lager were nicely chilled and went down far too easily.
The clubhouse
Nestled below the 1950s stand, this was a little haven. Once you navigated down the steps, beyond the swinging double doors was a tidy little club with plenty of seats and a bar at the far end. The historic pictures on the wall were an excellent additions, as was the display of club merch.
Toilets
Nomad was spoilt here as there was a choice – with lavs inside the clubhouse and a couple of portaloos behind it too. They were all clean with the outside bog even having paper, soap and a towel…
MATCH FACTS
Haywards Heath Town 3
Freddie Barker 70,
Max Miller 104, Carl Dunk 115
Horsham 1
Evan Archibald 59
Attendance 94
Haywards Heath Town
1. Simon Lehkyj
2. Mike Gardner
3. Bailie Rogers
4. Carl Dunk
5. Josh Bryant
6. Nathan Cooper
7. Max Miller
8. Ryan Warwick
9. Freddie Barker
10. Rob O’Toole
11. Jamie Weston
Subs
12. Danny Turner
14. Scott Marshall
15. Matt Geard
16. Graham Marris
17. James Westlake
Horsham
1. Gareth Williams
2. Alex Duncan
3. Brad Lewis
4. Kevin Keehan
5. Ashley Jones
6. Charlie Farmer
7. Joe Shelley
8. Adam Hunt
9. Terry Dodd
10. Kieran Pamment
11. Evan Archibald
Subs
12. Jake Chadwick
14. Arron Hopkinson
15. Nathan Crabb
16. Samir Hadi
Scouting report
Flying high in division one, the big question was whether Haywards Heath could match their high ranked opponents. And boy they did. This was a team that looked as though they didn’t know what defeat was. With a solid back line it was the front six that impressed. Carl Dunk grabbed the headlines with his 40-yard worldie but before that he kept the midfield driving forward. It was the other two goalscorers though who set the tone for Town – Barker’s relentless running harried the Hornets relentlessly until he was taken off with hammy. I thought he’d be hard to replace but cheeky chappie Max Miller managed it, with his pace being the cause of Town’s second. Promotion looks a certainty at this stage.
More than a 100.In midweek.When Albion are at home. Good turnout
As for the visitors and I expected a lot more from Horsham. Given their budget, the squad looked a bit ordinary. There were some class acts. Terry Dodd was probably the stand out, leading the line with aplomb – but far too often he was left isolated as his team mates took an age to get forward. At the other end of the pitch Ash Jones looked composed throughout and marshalled the defence to ensure the tricky Barker was limited to opportunities. Coming off the bench Samir Hadi (who wasn’t on the team sheet) added much need width and trickery – only to find there was no one to cross the ball to.