With the thermometer hitting the low thirties Regent welcomed high flying Hornchurch to the Taydall on Monday for what amounts to a local derby match.

The crowd of 247 was swelled by a significant number of Hornchurch fans who had made their way up the A12 to support their side

Brightlingsea lined up with Charlie Turner; Pip Boyland, Matt Cripps, Ricky Griggs; Lamell Howell, Josh Gould, Jake Turner, Jake Gould, Charlie Lindoe with Ace Howell and Romario Dunne up front. Jack Mahon, Rigers Kabashi, Amir Berkane and Billy Hunt were on the bench with Jordan Barnett still ruled out after a blow on the head the previous week.

Hornchurch are clearly aspiring to higher things and have adopted squad numbers rather than the traditional system although players names didn’t yet appear on their shirts. Their number 7 sported a pair of blue boots which sparkled in the sunlight.
In the stands the Hornchurch faithful prophetically debated the finer points of the distinction between shots on and off target.

Hornchurch kicked off and worked the ball across the field from right to left. In an early scare they hit the bar and saw the ball scrambled away by the Regent defenders. After some analysis in the stands it was determined that hitting the bar was a shot “off target”.

Hornchurch’s vigorous approach to the game saw the referee have words with Daniel Akindayini and then Joe Christie was booked for a late tackle on Josh Gould which left the Regent player prostrate on the floor.

The game settled into a pattern in which the Regent defence blunted the Hornchurch attack and when they did have sight of goal the Hornchurch attacks ended with the ball being hit high over the bar in a way which would have been more suited to a conversion attempt in American football. The Hornchurch“off target” score being meticulously recorded in the stand rose inexorably.

Regent made occasional breakaways but gave the ball away too often, and even when Charlie Lindoe was able to put the ball through to Romario Dunne, he was unable to force a save, putting the ball wide of the far post. Regent did manage to win two corners but neither created any threat.
After 25 minutes the referee called a drinks’ break.

The Hornchurch midfield created two more good opportunities which were hit and wide before the game was interrupted to a head injury to Hornchurch’s Joe Christou which resulting in heavy bleeding. It appeared to be entirely accidental but Christou had to go off and return in a fresh un-numbered shirt and with what appeared to be a significant application of Vaseline on the back of his head. All the other players took the opportunity to take on more water.

When the game re-started after 35 minutes play, Hornchurch created the best chance of the half when a good cross from the right found Hornchurch’s Stimson unmarked and in space at the far post, but his header was saved by Charlie Turner in the Regent goal. It was a golden opportunity squandered.

In the final ten minutes Regent came back into the game, mainly thanks to the Hornchurch keeper’s habit of kicking the ball directly into touch. First, Pip Boyland played the ball through to Romario Dunne who was unable to reach it, then a good run by Jake Gould resulted in another corner which eventually went out for a throw.

At half time, with honours even, Hornchurch could only rue their missed opportunities and Regent could be satisfied at having been resolute and not conceded. Neither side had managed a shot “on target”.

Second half
Neither side made any changes during the interval.

Romario Dunne kicked off the second half for Regent. Regent started the second half with more intent and Dunne hustled through to win a corner in the early stages.
After five minutes Hornchurch’s Winn was booked for following up a foul on Jake Turner with a heavy late challenge on Romario

Substitutions began to be made after ten minutes and the Regent supporters were buoyed as Billy Hunt replaced Ace Howell.

A short period of Hornchurch pressure saw a corner conceded and Charlie Turner forced to make another fine clearance from a Hornchurch header and then a mis-placed back header to Turner fell short and with the goalkeeper stranded Hornchurch looked bound to score. Ricky Griggs sprinted back to provide a last line of defence, but in the event Hornchurch fluffed it and failed to get the ball in the net.

A foul by Jake Gould outside the area enabled the defence to re-organise and although he was booked it was more a case of “taking one for the team” and eliminating the danger.

After 65 minutes Hornchurch made a double substitution and Regent brought Amir Berkane on for Romario Dunne.

Regent began to look more threatening with Billy Hunt offering an obvious threat and Jake Turner getting more into the game in midfield. Then a long kick by goalkeeper Turner out to the left resulted in a throw in in an ideal place for a Josh Gould long throw. When the throw came in Billy Hunt was waiting on the edge of the penalty area and he simply got in across his marker and turned the ball into the goal with his left foot. It was to be the only “on target” shot by either side in the entire 90 minutes.

This woke up the Regent support behind the goal who had little to shout about in the previous 72 minutes.

In the remaining 20 minutes Hornchurch pressed for an equaliser but without offering any real threat. They only created two chances from corner and at the first the ball was headed into the ground and bounced over the bar and then in the closing minutes another corner was well cleared by a massive punch from Charlie Turner. In the melee which followed Turner went down and it seemed as though someone had trod on the keeper’s foot in the confusion.

As the referee indicated four minutes of added on time, Regent were happy to see time out and Billy Hunt took the ball into the corner to secure the result. Hornchurch had one final attack but as Regent cleared their lines once more the referee blew for full time and a first win to kick start their season.

Match Verdict
As well as some good saves by goalkeeper Turner, Regent worked hard throughout and underlined the importance of having a striker who can take a chance when it comes. Hornchurch had a number of headers on goal but a final tally showed that of their eleven shots, none were hitting the target.

Three points propels Regent up the League and having played four of the early leaders in their first four matches they will look forward to further success in the next fixtures.

By Paul Ketchley