Boss hails ‘great occasion’ as Horsham FC exit FA Trophy at hands of Southend United
Dominic Di Paola hailed another ‘great occasion’ for Horsham FC as they exited the FA Trophy at the hands of division-above Southend United.
It was a historic day for the West Sussex outfit, who were playing in the quarter-finals of the competition for the first time in the club’s history.
And a sell-out crowd at the Fusion Aviation Community Stadium saw the Hornets push their illustrious former Football League opponents all the way in a 2-1 defeat.
Di Paola said: “It was a great occasion for the club. We had a big crowd and I think we made a load of dough, which is always good.
“It was a good occasion for the supporters, it was a good occasion for the players, and a good occasion for the club. All of those things are the big positives.
“My sole focus was to win the game. From my point of view it doesn’t mean much now, but it does for the club and the supporters so that’s good.
“To take Southend to a crossbar away from penalties, given how badly we started, I think we did really well.”
The Shrimpers struck twice inside the opening 15 minutes through Keenan Appiah-Forson and Jack Bridge but Horsham’s spirit never diminished.
James Hammond rattled the crossbar from 25-yards out before Rhys Murphy saw his point-blank header superbly saved by Southend stopper Owen Mason.
But the Hornets eventually reduced the deficit on the stroke of half-time, Isaac Philpot scrambling home from close-range to rekindle Horsham hopes.
The Shrimpers spurned several gilt-edged second half opportunities to restore their lead. Slavi Spasov flicked the ball over from just a yard out before Bridge dragged a shot wide after breaking into the box.
Southend’s Tom Hopper should have put the game to bed with 10 minutes remaining. The 32-year-old rounded Hornets goalkeeper Lewis Carey after intercepting a poor back-pass from Harvey Sparks, but the striker inexplicably shot wide with the goal gaping.
And Horsham came so close to punishing the Shrimpers’ profligacy when Philpot’s header from a free-kick struck the bar with a minute to go – but it wasn’t to be as Southend hung on to reach the semis.
The Hornets, who have been decimated by injuries, can rightfully be proud of a battling display against a team who were playing in the Championship 20 years ago.
Horsham return to National League South matters this Saturday with a trip to AFC Totton.
You can hear more from Di Paola – including further reaction to the Southend defeat and a look ahead to the Hornets’ trip to Totton – throughout the week online at sussexworld.co.uk/sport.