Horsham 2-1 Canvey Island

Match Report by David Powell

Canvey Island's chequered away form continued on Tuesday evening, as they were defeated 2-1 by Horsham at the Camping World Community Stadium.

Despite a slight improvement on Saturdays turgid showing, they were still short of the grit needed to turn the game against a good Horsham side, and their lack of composure saw them miss out on an opportunity to keep up with the playoff pack.

In a first half of few chances, it was the hosts who controlled most of the possession, playing neat football on a 4G surface, though sometimes guilty of 'overplaying' simple things, allowing the Canvey defence to keep them at bay.

They had a few pot shot chances at Sam Jacksons's goal, with the Gulls keeper able to comfortably collect what was fired his way. Up front meanwhile, Canvey were laboured, with little to no real chances to test Lewis Carey in the home goal.

The half's best chance came just before the break, and it fell to the hosts as shot from the right stung the hands of Jackson, with the keeper only able to parry the ball into a packed penalty area. It left Elliott Romain a chance to head home, but the striker put his effort over the bar.

The second half began in much a similar fashion to the first, and a slice of good fortune saw the hosts take the lead on 51 minutes. James Hammond got himself into a shooting position and fired a shot in anger that took a wicked deflection off a Canvey defender, leaving Jackson with little chance to save it as it cannoned in.

The Gulls were constantly being frustrated by a more organised Hornets, so it came completely against the run of play when they equalised on 61 minutes.
A long ball forward found Bradley Sach in space on the left flank. With plenty still to do, it was a moment of individual brilliance from the striker, as he beat his marker for strength and pace, turning into the outskirts of the box before firing a curling shot across Carey's goal and into the far corner of the net to put the match back on level terms.

For a time, that goal gave Canvey a boost as they sought to catch their hosts cold. Wellmen rung the changes, with Salmon, Albon and Crowhurst being introduced to add a fresh injection of impetus. It was the later of those names that almost turned the game for Canvey, as he looked to mirror Sach's trick on the left of the area, but saw his strike go agonisingly wide of the post.

The hosts were never out of the game though, and more rapid football meant they regained the lead on 70 minutes. A good pass through by Jack Brivio saw him feed in Lee Harding, the Horsham man beating his marker for pace before firing past Jackson from a tight angle to put his side back on top.

Canvey tried to rally late into the game but could produce little against a defence who looked to shut up shop. Their best chances came from set plays, and the best of those fell to Conor Hubble, who got himself a free kick from 25 yards out, but saw his strike blocked by the wall to fizzle out the effort.

The defeat meant that Canvey slipped to 9th in the table, with two loses in four days to sides around them now making it difficult to keep pace on the promotion chasers. With huge home games approaching, they'll need to improve before they head into the festive period. Folkestone Invicta are the first visitors to the Moviestarr Stadium this Saturday.