Horndean 1 Leatherhead 1

Leatherhead had to settle for a point in a 1-1 draw against Horndean at the Stanley
Chase Stadium on Saturday.

Lukas Franzen-Jones put Tanners ahead midway through the second half before
Horatio Fowler equalised for the hosts.

Leatherhead had the lion’s share of possession for much of the opening forty-five
minutes but were unable to find a way to unlock the hosts’ defence on a heavy pitch.
Tanners were almost caught out by a Deans counter attack on 26 minutes, with
goalkeeper Sonny Wheeler making a fine save to deny Rudi Blankson’s long range
effort.

Leatherhead came close to breaking the deadlock on 47 minutes. Kane Fitzgerald
picked out Ruben Bartlett-Antwi in the Deans penalty area withthe Tanners striker
forcing a good save from goalkeeper Hugh Scott.

Leatherhead made a double substitution on 55 minutes with Franzen-Jones and Rhys
Murrell-Williamson replacing Ty Butler and Jamarie Brisset.

Franzen-Jones’s impact on the match was almost immediate. On 62 minutes Bartlett-
Antwi broke clear of his marker to force a low save from Scott. But the Horndean
keeper only managed to parry the ball into the path of Franzen-Jones and the Tanners
striker buried the loose ball into an unguarded net.

There was a short break in play on 65 minutes when Scott and Bartlett-Antwi collided
in the Deans penalty area. Both players received treatment on the pitch but both were
able to continue.

Tanners missed a chance to double their lead on 70 minutes. Franzen-Jones broke
clear down the right and squared a pass into the six-yard box. But his quick paced
delivery just evaded an advancing Bartlett-Antwi in front of goal.

That miss proved costly with Horndean producing an equaliser on 77 minutes in a
similar fashion to Leatherhead’s goal. Wheeler was forced to block a fierce shot but
could only watch on as Fowler latched onto the rebound to score from twelve yards
out.

Horndean missed a chance to win the match in stoppage time after they failed to
capitalise on a loose Tanners clearance, with a goal bound effort cleared away for a
corner.

Leatherhead will look to improve on this performance on Tuesday when they face
Westfield in a rearranged league match at Fetcham Grove. Kick-off is at 7.45pm.

Horndean: Hugh Scott, Robert Taw, Cade Dyer, Liam Webber, Jay Williams, Ethan
Robb, Daniel Sibley, Liam Callaghan, Lamin Jatta (Horatio Fowler 74), Rudi
Blankson, Billy Allock (Ryan Keates 63)

Leatherhead: Sonny Wheeler, George Hedley, Alex Pearce, Niran Butler, Kelvin
Massango, Alfie Huckle, Kane Fitzgerald, Tyler Cox (Anuar Ceesay 83), Ty Butler
(Lukas Franzen-Jones 55), Jamarie Brisset (Rhys Murrell-Williamson 55), Ruben
Bartlett-Antwi (Marco Haigh 77)