Humiliating defeats so unbearable that they come to define an era? Drax had been in charge for more than a year, and had a promotion via the playoffs under his belt, when he presided over one; in contrast, Ryan Peters only replaced Dev as manager about a month ago, so it is far too early to say, but the Magpies' 3–1 home defeat to Sl*ugh on Boxing Day was so excruciatingly awful – a crowd of more than 2,800 at York Road to witness an early Josh Umerah goal against our relegation-threatened local rivals, who then played the entire second half (and scored twice) with ten men, in the first league match between the sides for exactly 25 years – that the wounds will take some time to heal (if they ever do) ... TBH, if our first game of the new year weren't taking place at a different ground to that infamous FA Cup defeat in 2007 (the Hornets sold Queen Street, their home since 1904, to property developers and moved out in 2008), I'd have found something else to do with my time
Our outward journey was as convoluted as the one to Humpton last month, with changes at Paddington and Oxford Circus en route to catch – with seconds to spare (no thanks to another slow-running GWR 'fast' train) – the 10:35 from Victoria to Portsmouth Harbour; discussion points included the slew of incredible non-league attendances over Christmas (plus 4,946 at Bromley vs Newport on New Year's Day), the fact that Macleod (M) would have had more – and me as many – new grounds to attend if the Magpies had managed to stay in the National League rather than being relegated to a division they last competed in eight years ago (thanks to the National League South 'perma dross'), and belated postponements (with Southend vs Truro still to come!)
Remarkably good pints in the Black Jug – Longman's Old Man, arguably the best beers of the entire day – kicked off an enjoyable pre-match pub crawl, which continued as follows: Pirie's Bar (where Macleod [M] could only name four of the five U.K. number ones by The Police; Stuart joined us just as we were leaving), the Anchor Tap (decent pints of Surrey Hills' Albury Ruby; our first sighting of some bloke wearing a Mousehole AFC scarf), the Bear (we had walked past a Brook Taverner store with a photo of Remy in its window; J.B., Chris Rad. and C.B. were already in situ), and an aborted visit to Wetherspoons (voted – I was subsequently informed by a steward at the football – the worst in Sussex ... and understandably so, as the inept bar staff encourage single-line queuing despite claiming that they don't!)
Shorter bus ride than we were expecting (the queue at the turnstiles probably lasted longer), which prompted the following hypothetical question: Dartford's impressive ground at an out-of-town-but-reasonably-accessible location like Horsham's (say, Taplow for MUFC), or Horsham's basic ground (with the clubhouse end having one of the most bizarre behind-the-goal configurations you'll come across) at the recently proposed location for New York Road? The former is the correct answer – indeed, Macleod (M) told Jon Adams he wouldn't watch Maidenhead United at a version of the Hop Oast Stadium Fusion Aviation Community Stadium, situated between the big mound of earth and the dump at "beautiful Braywick Park" … if it ever came to that (which hopefully it won't)
Half-time report: my sustenance (chilli and chips) was tasty but expensive; L.B. seemed pleased to receive a belated Christmas gift of some of the original (?) MUFC stickers; the home side scored their penalty – harshly awarded according to Berkshire Hornet, a QPR fan from Horsham who has lived in Tilehurst since 2011 – whereas Liam Dulson saw his saved (by a goalkeeper clad in bright pink whose physique reminded me of Scott Tarr #IYKYK)
A wolf supermoon was visible through the trees to our left during the second half as we watched a carbon copy of our 2–1 win over the same opponents at York Road on the August Bank Holiday (when I was sunning myself in Crete) – once more the Magpies were a side transformed after the break, with Umerah again a difference-maker off the bench and Josh Popoola crossing for a headed goal, although this time the latter's fancy footwork created an equaliser (for MWH at the back post) rather than the winner; that glory went to midfield maestro Matt Robinson, with a worldie from distance as time expired – perhaps even better than Popoola's recent wonder goal at Humpton! :-O
Mousehole Simon – a lapsed Tooting & Mitcham fan from Cheam who now travels twice a month (!) to cheer on the Seagulls at home matches in Cornwall (after watching a YouTube documentary about the club during lockdown) – sat with us during the first half of Bournemouth vs Arsenal on TV in the Horsham bar (its walls decorated with framed shirts, programmes, photos of the Men's and Women's teams, etc. – MUFC take note), before we got the bus back into town and headed to the Anchor Hotel (Greene King, but it had the football on; Declan Rice's brace making up for the substandard beers) and the Anchor Tap for a second time (top boozer) en route to the station; conversation topics with Phil W. on the return journey included best Pixies songs (not Monkey Gone to Heaven seemed to be the only consensus), whether Maya Jama supports Bristol Rovers (answer: yes ... at least to some extent), and 'favourite National League away days' – that's days, not results or performances, hence our 4–0 defeat at Gateshead in fancy dress got a mention … as will Horsham, in the future, when 'favourite 2025/26 away days' crops up (memorable as it was for the right reasons, this time, unlike in 2007)
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— ɢᴏ ᴍᴀᴅ ᴏʀ sᴛᴏᴘ ᴄᴀʀɪɴɢ (@gomadstopcaring) January 4, 2026
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