Horsham rang down the curtain on an excellent season with a hard-fought victory at fourth-placed Burgess Hill Town Already guaranteed runners-up spot behind perennial champions Worthing the young Hornets played some sparkling football at times but were also indebted to goalkeeper Heater for an astonishing save after Colombini had put them in front midway through the second half After both teams indulged in a 45-minute warm-up that would have left players of an earlier generation lying down in a darkened room It took Horsham 45 seconds to have their first sight of goal Moyo firing over after the Burgess Hill defence had failed to deal with Pettipher’s long ball Barton essayed what would have been the goal of the season had it come off before Chaffey got a crucial deflection on a goalbound shot at the other end with the resulting corner fizzing through the Hornets’ penalty area without a touch Horsham then produced two superb passing moves that deserved reward the first ending with Murahwa’s shot being saved and the second seeing Butler’s effort miss the far post by inches Moyo struck a fierce 20-yarder straight into the goalkeeper’s midriff as the flowing football kept coming Collyer as energetic as ever and Colombini linking play intelligently the Hillians carried a threat of their own and it was they who would have taken the lead had it not been for a vital intervention by Butler to divert a fierce shot over the crossbar Chaffey fired on target from well outside the area as the clock ticked past the half-hour mark and Heater then produced an outstanding save low to his left to keep the scoresheet stubbornly blank Only a brilliant last-ditch tackle prevented Collyer having a clear run on goal and the same player was almost on the end of a neat passing move but was just beaten to the ball by the Hillians’ keeper Although the quantity of chances favoured the visitors the hosts’ openings were of better quality and they missed a clear opportunity when their unmarked centre-forward scuffed his effort into the grateful arms of Heater from ten yards out How such a breathless and entertaining half remained goalless was hard to explain but that was the conundrum facing the coaches as the sides headed for the changing rooms Whatever the conversations during the interval the second half began in very similar vein with both goalkeepers called into action within four minutes of the restart and Collyer only just failing to connect with a dinked F Moyo saw his effort from Collyer’s cutback kicked away by the home custodian as the chances continued to stack up cleared not only the goal but also the mature oak tree behind it The match was still in the balance but there was a sense that the Hornets were turning the screw a feeling reinforced when the deadlock was finally broken in the 65th minute releasing Collyer to deliver a measured near-post cross that was expertly despatched by Colombini The hosts almost responded instantly with a drilled low cross from the right being turned towards his own goal In the split-second that it took to think the words ‘there’s the equaliser’ Heater produced a save that required such extraordinary reactions and agility that he was swamped by his teammates as they rushed to congratulate him Perhaps feeling hard done by at not being back on terms the Hillians pressed the accelerator and applied considerable pressure for the next ten minutes but in their anxiety were twice caught offside when in positions of considerable danger so the visitors were able to threaten on the counter but the want of an accurate final ball meant that they failed to fashion a really clear chance The best fell to Collyer when he was presented the ball by the home keeper but his attempt to break the net threatened damage to the hoardings behind the goal instead Burgess Hill thought that they had found the leveller with just two minutes of normal time remaining but the assistant referee’s flag decreed otherwise The Hornets’ best insurance against conceding was to score again but Collyer’s shot from a narrow angle was blocked by the keeper’s legs The hosts then saw a decent curled effort only narrowly clear Heater’s crossbar as the match entered stoppage time The assistant who had endeared himself to the Hornets a few minutes earlier then put himself in their bad books by adjudging that Heater had carried the ball outside his penalty area in delivering a drop kick downfield giving the Hillians a chance to salvage things at the death The free kick was not particularly threatening but the ensuing goalmouth scramble caused palpitations until the ball was hoofed clear and the referee blew his whistle to signal the end of a compelling contest It also signals the end for this cohort of players The improvement in their play through the season has been clear for all to see and to end the campaign with 15 wins out of 18 matches is a testament to their skill as well as to the quality of Rob Semark and his coaching team Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Last MatchIsthmian League Premier DivisionThe Fusion Aviation Community Stadium, HorshamSaturday April 26 2025, 3:00 pmHorsham5Hashtag United1Match Report Next MatchSussex Senior Cup FinalAmerican Express Stadium, FalmerThursday May 8 2025, 7:30 pmHorshamLittlehampton TownView Fixtures Send a tweet containing #HorshamFC to get involved. 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