Horsham 2 Cheshunt 0: Hornets in comfortable win over ten-man Ambers

Man-of-the-match Harding netted his third league goal in four for the Hornets before Amadou Kassarate was shown a second yellow for the Ambers eight minutes before half-time.

Horsham had a plethora of chances in the second half but only Brivio could add to the scoreline.

Victory means the Hornets remain sixth but The Camping World Community Stadium outfit are now two points off the play-offs with two games in hand.

Place-above Carshalton Athletic drew 1-1 at mid-table Margate going into Horsham's crunch game at the Robins next Saturday.

Dominic Di Paola selected the same starting eleven that so emphatically beat Burgess Hill Town 5-0 Velocity Trophy last Wednesday.

Hornets new boy Alex Clark had to settle for a place on the bench.

The opening quarter of the game was a lively affair without either side creating a clear cut chance.

The first five minutes saw Harding and Chris Smith play two teasing balls into the area that almost caught Cheshunt out.

Another inch-perfect Smith pass released Brivio but the midfielder could only blast his shot over the bar.

The Hornets best opportunity came on the quarter of an hour mark.

A teasing ball into the box from Harding was missed by Smith but reached Greg Cundle. However the forward blazed his shot wide of the goal from an offside position.

Ex-Hornet Zack Newton almost came back to haunt his former club a minute late but he could only drag his chance wide.

The Hornets finally broke the deadlock on 27 minutes. Harding put on the afterburners to leave the Ambers' Taylor Miles on his backside.

The winger powered towards goal and arrowed his shot brilliantly past Cheshunt keeper Harry Girling and into the bottom corner.

The Ambers afternoon got even harder ten minutes later. Kassarate, who had been cautioned on 15 minutes for a deliberate handball, was shown a second yellow for hauling down Cundle on the edge of the area.

From the resulting free-kick Brivio headed over as the Hornets looked to press the advantage.

The Hornets had a golden opportunity to double their lead just two minutes into the second half. A great ball out wide from Harvey Sparks found Harding unmarked in the area but the goalscorer headed wide from 12-yards out.

Cheshunt came so close to finding a shock equaliser three minutes later. Tanasheh Abrahams fired in an outstanding cross but Ryan Moss' diving header went wide of the far post.

But Horsham hit back with a timely second goal. Harding, who had been menacing his full back all afternoon, sped past his man before zipping a ball across the face of the goal for Brivio to tap home on 52 minutes.

The game became stretched after the goal with acres of space opening up in the Cheshunt half.

And the Hornets almost exploited this with 20 minutes to go.

A neat give-and-go between Brivio and Spark saw the defender play a devilish cross into the area. The ball reached Smith but the forward could only prod his effort wide, although the offside flag was raised.

With 73 minutes on the clock, Horsham had two opportunities to put the game to bed.

A buccaneering run from Harding saw the winger find Smith in front of goal. The striker played the ball into the path of Steve Metcalf but the defender scooped his effort wide.

Joe Shelley then delivered a pinpoint ball from the left into the box for Brivio who nodded wide.

The Hornets had three marvellous chances to add a third, which they would have richly deserved, in second half stoppage time.

Substitute Charlie Harris spotted Girling off his line and fired off an effort from 50-yards that dropped inches over the crossbar.

A buccaneering solo run into the area from Harding saw him use his strength to hold off an Ambers defender before firing wide.

And, on the stroke of full time, a Sparks cross found debutant Clark on the penalty spot but the midfielder sent his effort past the post.

Horsham: Bentley, Metcalf, Sparks, Kelly, Shelley, Merchant, Brivio, Dawson (Harris 75), Smith (Charman 79), Cundle (Clark 56), Harding. Unused: W Miles, O'Toole.

Cheshunt: Girling, Kassarate, Re, McKenzie, Cronin, Newton (Diallo 42), T Miles (Nelson-Roberts 87), Moss (Camara 81), Beckles-Richards, Reynolds. Unused: Nzala, Williams.

Referee: Peter Cruise

Attendance: 604