In a previous report, I’d made reference to Horndean’s powers of recovery following their less than ideal start to the 26/27 campaign.

Not one game better signified this sense of disappointment and frustration more than the mid September trip to the Nest, where a dismal Deans display at the home of Downton FC truly symbolised a rock bottom moment.

The 3-0 scoreline, alongside the subsequent defeat at Millbrook had the Deans mired in a seemingly never ending spiral down the table.

Yet that aforementioned recovery would be far greater than anybody could have foreseen.

A recovery which had seen the Deans pick up 13 points from a possible 15 and transformed them from a side glancing nervously over their shoulders, to one on the cusp of the promotion picture.

And it was as if the footballing gods were looking down on the Deans when they handed them the chance to right the wrongs of the Downton disaster a mere month later, this time, on Horndean’s turf.

The early exchanges reflected how important a result would be to two teams seeking to force their way into the play off picture.

Downton’s Preston Matthews let fly from 25 yards only to be brilliantly denied by the acrobatics of Grant in the Deans net.

The Deans themselves would go close when Angus Mackay’s through pass found Josh Millo bearing down on goal, only for Millo to be denied by the legs of Bartram.

The Deans carved out the best of the opportunities in the first period, yet the deadlock would remain unbroken as the clock ticked into minute 39.

At this point in proceedings, Downton had found difficulty containing the relentless energy of Josh Millo, symbolised perfectly by Ben Satterley’s reckless challenge on the Deans forward.

Following this, players from both sides began to exchange views and the sort of pushing and shoving typically seen in an intense encounter ensued.

The referee would take a considerably dim view of this altercation and as such produced a red card for Horndean’s Charlie Luff much to the bemusement of many inside Five Heads Park.

Regardless of whether the colour of the card was proportional to the action, the Deans knew they would now have to fight on with ten men.

The newly acquired mentality of the Deans, which had greatly stemmed from the reverse fixture, would be on full display in the second 45.

First, Henry Searle would produce another trademark freekick, beating both the Downton wall and Bartram in goal to give the Deans a priceless lead just 2 minutes into the second half.

Searle has well and truly found his scoring touch of late and his latest contribution meant that an unlikely Deans victory may have just been on the cards.

The Deans would not seek to protect this slender advantage to minute 90 and continued to threaten Bartram’s goal whilst also repelling the subsequent Downton threat at the other end.

Yet as the half wore on, Downton’s man advantage would appear more prominent as the Deans were forced to switch their focus to defending rather than attack.

The Deans were however powerless to defend James Clark’s sweet cross which Preston Matthews clinically nodded home from 6 yards.

With the scores all square and Downton still holding the man advantage, the Deans would likely have been expected to seek out a 1-1 draw with just 20 minutes of time remaining.

Despite everything seemingly against them, Horndean have made their resilience, strength and belief key aspects of their recent upturn in form.

The dramatic conclusions to recent fixtures at Five Heads Park has truly bred a new mentality within the Deans which nobody at Downton could have anticipated after last month’s clash.

But the aforementioned mentality, coupled with another sweet strike from the right boot of Henry Searle would be the combination of Dreams for Deans fans.

With just 4 minutes remaining, Searle collected the ball on the edge of the penalty area.

And with ice running through his veins, Searle dispatched his effort into the bottom corner, out of the reach of Bartram, and sent the Deans bench into raptures.

The Deans would show their character to preserve their lead right up to the conclusion of the contest.

And despite the decision to dismiss Horndean manager Kev Adair in the dying stages, the Deans would indeed hold on to claim yet another memorable victory.

So the unbeaten run now stretches to 6 with another memorable victory added to the recent run of results.

The Deans had also righted the wrongs of their previous encounter with Downton, the defeat at the Nest now a distant memory.

The Deans now only sit outside the play offs on goal difference.

The nature of the Deans performance and subsequent victory will surely now establish them as true promotion contenders.

The division’s form team seem to be capable of withstanding anything which is thrown in their direction of late and are showing no signs of letting up.

To everyone associated with Horndean, keep up the good work!