It could have been different if we had just a little more fortune after just five minutes, when a Cole-Bolt corner was met firmly by Charlie West who was denied his second goal in two games when his header rebounded off the post and away to safety. What an early lead would have done, who knows?

If we were to believe that moment was setting the tone, we were wrong, as the half almost drifted by without any meaningful action at either end.

With some of the Chessington players seemingly confused by the roles that they were given, our hosts took advantage of the considerable space available to them choosing to deliver a series of passes and crosses into our penalty area. Thankfully this was dealt with competently by the three central defenders, West, Puckett and Davidson and Mark Daniels in goal when he was called upon.

That said it was clearly an issue as despite looking comfortable the sheer number of times questions were asked of our defensive qualities in and around the penalty spot was far too many to be confident of holding out.

At the other end our threat came mainly from the industrious Alan Muir although our best chance other than the early header fell to Scott Todd who received Matt Ellis` pass in his stride before hitting his shot just wide of the target.
The second half started better. With the wing backs pushed further forward we denied Horley the space that they had enjoyed in the first half and in so doing carried more of a threat going forward.

On the hour mark we took the lead when fine wing play from Todd resulted in Alan Muir stooping to head home his cross to give us an unlikely lead but one we just about deserved following a good ten minute spell.

With the usual instruction given out from the bench to consolidate the lead, the frustration of the staff was clearly evident when just four minutes later we were pegged back. Wrong pass choices, poor touches, poor decisions and a sprinkling of misfortune when the front mans shot was deflected in contributing to the goal.

If that was bad to immediately from the kick off concede possession and a free kick allowing our hosts to put yet another testing ball into our penalty area was just unprofessional and to be fair we never really got back on track.

Whilst we weren’t punished for this moment of madness we had most certainly handed the initiative and belief to Horley.
With the game now littered with free kicks and little quality a draw seemed the most likely outcome.

However as we entered the final fifteen minutes we conceded again. A hopeful pass into our penalty area reaching its target for a cool side foot finish.

With the emphasis on chasing the game the balance shifted. Whilst we seemed to have more energy and purpose we failed to create a chance of note yet still contributed to our own problems defensively by conceding too many free kicks and failing to get to any second ball first. That having been the case throughout the game.

With seven minutes to go and from another needless foul, we conceded a third when a well-flighted kick deceived Mark Daniels in goal allowing the Horley forward a free header into the unguarded net.
Not a good day at the office and hopefully the momentum that regular football brings will see an improvement in our performances.