It was third time lucky for Dom Di Paola as his Horsham side won the Sussex Community Shield in aid of NSPCC on Wednesday night after a 5-0 victory over Steyning Town Community.

Having scored the winner in the Sussex Transport Senior Cup Final a few months earlier, Daniel Ajakaiye opened the scoring with a first-half brace to give his side a strong and secure lead.

Reece Myles-Meekums and Chris Dickson were on target in the second-half to seal victory for the Hornets, before James Hammond coolly netted from the spot, meaning manager Di Paola could finally get his hands on the shield having lost the fixture twice in the past.

Involved in all the action from the off, Dickson saw two chances missed to put Horsham in front. The first, majestically turning his defender to produce a half-volley which fell over Nathan Stroomberg-Clarke’s bar; and the second, beating his defender again, only to be denied with a strong stop and just missing out on the second.

A well worked ball across goal between Dickson and Ajakaiye left Charlie Hester-Cook with a first-time finish, which was impressively pushed away from any danger by Stroomberg-Clarke in the Barrowmen’s goal.

The Hornets eventually broke the deadlock in the 13th minute through Ajakaiye’s strike, a loose ball fell to Dickson, who played the goal scorer through for a fine finish in front of the 318 attending.

Steyning had Stroomberg-Clarke to thank after brilliantly denying Hester-Cook before Harvey Sparks misguided his effort over and wide. And then again, with a strong leg blocking Dickson’s low powerful drive after beating his man.

Ajakaiye doubled the lead 6 minutes before the break, judging the bouncing ball in the box to perfection to pull off an even better and probably unstoppable strike.

Minutes before half-time, Hester-Cook was disappointed to miss Hammond’s cross at the back post from a quick on-two with Lee Harding by the corner flag.

The men in yellow and green opened the second-half in the best way possible for Di Paola, who saw Myles-Meekums poke home Harding’s progressive cross into Stroomberg-Clarke’s danger area; after initially pushing Ajakaiye’s effort, Myles-Meekums was there to fire back.

Stroomberg-Clarke was called into action once again for Gerry Murphy’s side, coming off his line, to stop Dickson’s close effort from Ajakaiye’s forward-thinking ball into the box.

Only minutes later, Dickson got his name on the scoresheet after Harding and substitute Joe Turner linked up to find Dickson for a well-deserved finish, putting his team’s hands on the shield.

And the shield was well and truly sealed when captain Hammond converted into the top corner from the spot, after Olajuwon Ogunwamide was fouled in the penalty area driving at Ross Edwards.

At full-time, Horsham manager, Dom Di Paola, said: “I thought we were really good tonight, we were sharp from the off. The boys were on it, and collectively we played pretty well.

“It was something we really wanted to win; it is good for us. The positive from tonight is obviously winning the trophy and no injuries!”

(A selection of photographs can be found on Facebook - courtesy of Simon Roe Photography)
(Video highlights are available above and on YouTube - courtesy of Your Instant Replay)

Stats (Horsham-Steyning Town Community): Goals (5-0), Shots (18-1), On Target (10-1), Corners (6-0), Offsides (3-1), Fouls (4-8), Yellow cards (0-1), Red cards (0-0).

Horsham: Carey (GK), Harding, Sparks, Hester-Cook, Philpot, Strange, Hammond (C), Barker, Ajakaiye, Dickson, Myles-Meekums.
Subs: Fenelon, Rodrigues, Turner, Ogunwamide, Paxman.

Steyning Town Community: Stroomberg-Clarke (GK), Weller, Meehan, Barnes (C), Brown, Da Costa, Malila, Edwards, Goldston, Rogers, Killick.
Subs: Murrain, Radley-Martin, Towning, Francis, Osei.