Tension - then triumph: How I saw Horsham FC win Isthmian Premier title on day of drama

Needing to beat Hashtag United and score two more goals than title rivals Billericay Town, the red hot Hornets thumped the Tags 5-1 to overtake Ricay at the Isthmian Premier’s summit.

The stadium, packed to the rafters with a Hop Oast league record of 2,500, were treated to an afternoon fraught with unbearable tension before a crescendo of pure ecstasy.

I have been lucky enough to attend many seminal Horsham FC moments in my 20 years following the club - famous FA Cup performances against Swansea City and Barnsley, an Isthmian League Division One promotion party - but this one just might top the lot.

With two nerve-settling pints safely secured pre-match, I buckled in for what I thought would be an afternoon of pure misery. I, at no point in the week building up to the game, had allowed myself to even entertain the idea that the Hornets would be lifting a league title come 5pm.

While I was confident Horsham would get the job done against Hashtag, there was no way Billericay would make a mess of things against a Cheshunt side with nothing to play for but pride on the final day.

And then Horsham found themselves 1-0 down inside 13 minutes. Now I must confess that I am an incredibly pessimistic football fan. Why would anything nice ever happen to a team I follow? So, here we go, I thought. The mountain has become unscalable. Hashtag are the dream killers. Pint one had been demolished.

But just two minutes were needed for Ola Ogunwamide to coolly level the scores, and on the half-hour mark, the Hornets were rewarded a penalty. Up stepped Reece Myles-Meekums, who had been fantastic all year and got my vote for player of the season, but his spot-kick was comfortably saved - here we go again.

But Lucas Rodrigues, absolutely electric on the day, needed just five minutes to put the Hornets 2-1 up - which I missed as I was in the toilets, naturally.

On my return, I took my first look at my phone - and Billiercay were inexplicably 2-0 down at Cheshunt. Horsham, as things stood, were champions. Ricay pulled a goal back on the stroke of half-time, but the Hornets were still going up.

Half-time was filled with chatter of possible permutations. How many goals Billercay would now need to lift the title? Where would Horsham stand if they were to concede in the second half? If the Hornets did drop into the play-offs, would they be playing either Dover or Chichester, who were facing off at Oaklands Park.

But the Hornets were utterly ruthless in the second half. Mr Dependable himself Harvey Sparks made it 3-1 directly from a corner on 51 minutes before substitute Jake Elliott launched Horsham to the division’s summit.

But Billericay were now level with Cheshunt. And then they added a third. The Ricay handbrake seemed to be off.

Horsham, who were now running riot, added a fifth through the marvellous Rodrigues and saw James Hammond miss their second penalty with 15 minutes to go.

But the result was never in doubt in the second half. The Hornets were magnificent – Ogunwamide, always direct, wanting to flummox defenders; Myles-Meekums, twinkle-toed and twisty on the wing; Charlie Hester-Cook, pugnacious and tenacious in midfield; Rodrigues, a man on fire; Jack Strange, imperious and unflappable at the back.

Horsham could, and should, have had more. They battered Hashtag. But thoughts now turned to Essex. My friend, who I know for a fact was relishing my misery, checked Twitter and saw Billiercay had added a fourth in the sixth minute of added time - and there were still six more left to play.

But the fifth Billericay goal never came. The referee blew his whistle at the Fusion Aviation Community Stadium and all the pent up tension and stress from the day was uncorked in a cacophony of joy and euphoria. Horsham had defied the odds to become Isthmian Premier champions for the first time in their history.

It was a day I’ll never forget - and the fact I could share it alongside my two closest friends and my girlfriend made it doubly special, although there were certainly a few sore heads on Sunday morning.

So, thank you and congratulations to everyone at Horsham FC, especially to manager Dominic Di Paola who has been a pleasure to chat to all season.

The campaign is not over yet, though. The Hornets still have the small matter of retaining their Sussex Senior Cup crown at the Amex next month. It would certainly be the perfect ending to, without a shadow of a doubt, the greatest season in the club’s history.