McMahon finds shooting boots as Horsham walking footballers triumph at Worthing

There are tournaments, leagues, and cup competitions at regional, national, and international levels.

One such tournament is held every two months at Worthing FC’s stadium and is open to players aged 70 or older.

Clubs can field female players that are under 70 if there are not enough players otherwise available.

Until recently, Horsham Walking Football Club have struggled to field teams in this category. But as a number of players have reached the relevant milestone in the past year, the club were able to enter the April tournament with high hopes of a strong performance.

The relative youngsters set off for Worthing in buoyant spirits.

Despite a drenching from a sharp downpour in their first game, the team ran out worthy 1-0 winners against Portsmouth, courtesy of a sharply taken goal from marksman Tony McMahon.

Next up were Arun Allstars, by which time the rain had cleared. Horsham continued to dominate proceedings with McMahon again on target to secure another 1-0 victory.

Horsham’s third 15-minute game followed, without a break, against perennial winners Worthing Red. The Reds went ahead with an unstoppable shot early on, but Ian Jones’ strike from a quick free kick brought the scores level and McMahon’s third goal of the day gave Horsham the lead.

A strong team performance, and Paul French’s tight marking of the Reds’ star striker, gave the victory to Horsham.

Brighton Dolphins had also won three matches, so Horsham’s final match was a decider for both teams.

In a cagey, somewhat scrappy game, McMahon scored the only goal to secure a 100% winning record for Horsham.

McMahon finished the day on four goals, thereby definitively putting behind him a fallow period when his shooting boots had gone AWOL.

Afterwards, Horsham’s player manager Ray Alymore was quick to praise the hard work of midfielders Shaun Moloney and Karen Dare in all games.

Horsham’s keeper Steve Fordham, though relatively untroubled for most of the tournament, also got a mention for a couple of outstanding saves. As did unused substitute Colin Case for his support throughout.