I took the 5.21 train from Victoria down to Horsham on Friday night for the biggest game in the Sussex club’s 136-year history. I don’t think I’d been to their Queen Street ground since a pulsating FA Amateur Cup tie against local rivals Redhill in 1966! On that occasion they were 2-1 up with a minute to go when the visitors hit the bar and post in the same goalmouth scramble.
In a breathless finale, the Hornets immediately raced to the other end, won a penalty, missed it and the ref blew for time. I remember the club were selling tickets after the game for their FA Cup First Round tie with Swindon. They had 8,000 in the ground for that – but I wasn’t one of them, plumping instead for QPR v Poole Town at Loftus Road. Rodney Marsh scored a hat-trick.
Friday’s tie was live on Sky and the weather was shocking. I stepped off the train and the rain was already lashing down. It continued for the whole evening and, because there was a gale blowing too, umbrellas were no use at all. I was one of the first people inside the ground at 6.30 and stood at the back on the covered side, well away from the elements.
There was a white sheet covering most of the pitch, but for a while all the rain on it made it too heavy to roll up. The kick-off was delayed for about 15 minutes as people in yellow jackets rushed around trying to drag it off. All the time the rain continued to hammer down. Difficult conditions like that tend to favour the underdog, I thought.
An old boy standing next to me said: "I’m 72-years-old and I’ve never set foot out of Horsham." "You haven’t missed much," I said.
The Hornets looked a bit nervous in the early minutes, but their experienced right-back played a few simple passes to settle things down. Swansea were dangerous on the break, attacking in numbers, and for 84 minutes I was convinced that the League One leaders were on their way into the Third Round. Then Horsham got a penalty, scored it, and everyone went mad at the end.
The announcer barked out that there was a maximum fine of £5,000 for running onto the pitch. By then there were about 2,000 delirious Horsham fans sliding about on it. The combination of a late start and eight minutes of stoppage time meant that I missed the 10.02 train and didn’t get home until one o’clock. The match programme needed some drying out on the radiator before I could read it.
There was another late start on Saturday at the AFA Senior Cup Third Round match between West Wickham and Leyton County Old Boys at Corkscrew Hill. The visiting team arrived at the ground five minutes after the scheduled kick-off time. A crowd of 21 saw West Wickham, the holders, win 3-0 against a side who lost their ‘keeper after he’d apparently injured himself retrieving the ball from bushes behind the goal.
Barnet Ladies’ FA Women’s Cup Third Round tie survived a monsoon on Sunday morning for the Bees to trounce Reading Royals 10-2. The Royals had lost their previous two games 12-0, so another big score was hardly unexpected. They didn’t cross the halfway line at all in the first ten minutes, were then quickly 2-0 down, but scored two good goals themselves in the second half.
Two visits to Loftus Road this week produced depressing home defeats for QPR fans – 2-1 to Palace in the Championship on Tuesday and 5-3 to Ipswich in The FA Youth Cup on Wednesday. The U18s were 3-1 up with eight minutes to go, but still contrived to lose in normal time.