Di Paola: We are learning more from defeats

The Hornets went down 3-0 to National League South side Eastbourne Borough in the Sussex Community Shield match on Tuesday night.

Despite there being silverware up for grabs, the Ryman League new boys were happy to treat it as another warm-up game.

And although pre-season has been disrupted by a number of injuries, it was just Horsham’s second friendly defeat.

Victories have come against lower-level sides Worthing United, Newhaven, Loxwood and Horsham YMCA with their only other defeat against Whitehawk.

The Hornets now face Bognor tonight (Thursday) and Worthing on Tuesday, before kick-off the campaign against Carshalton next week.

Di Paola said: “In the two games we have lost, I have got a lot more out of. Hopefully, the players have seen the points we were trying to make to them and will be a lot better for it.”

From the Eastbourne defeat, Di Paola added: “It gives us a gauge of where we are. A couple of people said to me afterwards, if we were playing a county league division two side, we would have done to them what they did to us.”

“It shows we are stepping up to a certain level and players are at a certain level.”

Injury wise, Adam Hunt is awaiting and injection on his troubled stomach muscle problem and Mark Knee is waiting on a scan to identify his injury.

Terry Dodd has become a major concern due to getting an infection after a virus.

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