John Suter got everything he wanted and dreaded from his first afternoon as king of the County League.

He got the win, he got the cleensheet, he got the great goal worthy of champions and he got a free-flowing high-quality contest to grace the occasion.

Okay, forget the last bit. The game itself was a wind-strewn mess.

As if anyone from Horsham YMCA cared about that.

Most of all, YM secured the accolade their veteran boss has hoped for and dreamt about since he was banging in goals as a young forward.

On Saturday, thanks to Nick Flint's 19th-minute header and a commanding all-round performance, Suter and his men got that title, the first in the club's history.

And then their manager got what he dreaded, a soaking from his players as he entered a euphoric changing room.

You had better get used to it John. That's what happens to champions.

Is this really the same club which used to lose to Bosham and Bexhill in division two?

On Saturday, back at the Arundel ground where YM kicked off a remarkable decade by winning the Division Two Cup in 1995, their manager stood back from the touchline and did his best to adopt a seen-it-all-before expression while assistant Ali Rennie did the shouting.

Suter accepted a congratulatory handshake with the same amiable grin he mustered when wished Happy New Year a few seasons ago after a 6-1 defeat at Midhurst in division two on January 1.

A lot has happened in ten years. YM have won promotion, lifted the John O'Hara and RUR Cups and had record-breaking runs in the Senior and FA Cups as well, as the FA Vase.

They thrashed neighbours Horsham 4-0 in a cup tie and also won at Bognor.

Being county champions, though, tops the lot.

Suter said: "To win the County League for the first time in the club's history is absolutely incredible.

"I'm delighted, my players are delighted, the committee are delighted. It's unbelievable. Just unbelievable to have won it after all these years.

"Actually, we didn't win the league today.

"No," he added, as a reporter and couple of photographers wondered if they had turned up on the wrong afternoon. "We've been slowly winning it all season. This is just the icing on the cake.

"We had a good early start. We've been top of the league all season and I think we deserve it, despite what other managers might say."

Apparently the claim is that YM are not creative enough. They certainly created chances on Saturday.

Flint was the only player to finish one off, arriving at the far post to head in a searching Matt Duffield cross after Ali Russell had played the ball down the right.

Ironically, the goal came from Lee Butcher's only mis-kick of the afternoon. Butcher controlled the game from central midfield and made up for that one error by retrieving the ball and finding Russell to begin a super move.

Before that, James Grant dragged a shot wide. After it, Ben O'Connor made three great saves, Grant had a goal ruled out for offside and Barrie Westgate headed wide from six yards when unmarked.

Westgate and Ellis Hooper looked solid at the back, Russell is a robust target man with a decent touch and Joel O'Hara and Flint have trickery to unlock defences.

"My most important goal? Well, after the one I got in the Crawley Sunday League final," said Flint, looking slightly bemused by the request for an interview.

"We've probably got the best squad in the league. We've got the best forward, Ali Russell, and the best goalie."

Flint's mischievous grin suggested he was micky-taking. Asked why he returned to the club for a second spell, he said: "Suter, no other reason. That's why half the players are here. John Suter and Ali Rennie."

No micky-take there. The choruses of "There's only one Johnny Suter" bellowing out from the victorious changing room backed him up perfectly.

Suter is the face of Sussex football and, ambitious as YM may be, it is hard to imagine him or his club moving into the Ryman or any other London orbital league.

The methods are old school. Pre-season still largely involves running and up and down Denne Hill, overlooking Horsham cricket ground.

"Yeah, we still do that. How did you know about?" asked Flint.

Everybody knows about it. They have been doing it for years.

They just never thought they would scale heights like these.