Dominic Di Paola on Horsham FC's sensational return to the FA Cup: It’s mad to be honest!

Horsham have sensationally been reinstated into this year’s competition after first round opponents Barnsley were found to have fielded an ineligible player.

The Tykes have admitted an administrative error led to them playing a player who they should not have in last week’s first round replay at the Camping World Community Stadium, which Barnsley won 3-0.

It means the Hornets will go to League Two outfit Sutton United in the second round next weekend [December 2] – with the ultimate prize at stake of a place in the third round, which features Premier League and Championship clubs.

Di Paola said: “We feel for the Barnsley fans because they’re really nice people. But obviously we’re excited to take on Sutton.

“It’s a game we didn’t expect. It’s mad to be honest!

“It’s a shot to nothing. It always is against teams miles up the leagues.

“Genuinely, when the draw [for the second round] came out and it was either us or Barnsley who were going to play them, it was only yesterday at about three o’clock when I looked at what league they were in.

“I might sound really thick, but I’m not really into the EFL. I don’t really follow professional football that much so I didn’t know what league they were in or how they were doing.

“I remember when they were in the National League because I follow non-league quite closely.

“Matt Gray is a very good manager up there. We actually loaned Brad House off them during the Covid period. He [Gray] is a good guy and he’s done great things at that club, but I’ve not really followed their trajectory since then.

“We’re miles behind the curve a little bit in terms of preparation.”

The FA’s decision to reinstate the Hornets back in the competition means Di Paola has created yet more history at the club.

The tie at Gander Green Lane will be just Horsham’s second FA Cup second round proper match in their 142-year history - the first coming against Swansea City in 2007.

Di Paola was quick to pay tribute to his players and staff, both past and present, for helping the Hornets rise from the doldrums to become history-makers.

He said: “We’ve been so lucky with the people we’ve had in the management team, and with the great players we’ve had in the last nine years. It’s amazing.

“This is the thing when you have newer supporters, it’s hard for them to picture anything apart from what we’re doing now.

“I remember going to the first two or three games when the club got relegated [from the Isthmian League to the County League in 2015]. I’d come in and we were just trying to get a team out for the last three games of the season.

“There were maybe 15 supporters there, and then you go to the home games and there’d be 100, 120. You look at where the football club is now and it’s mad.

“We’ve got it [the Sutton tie] on a technicality, but they [Barnsley] have still played a player they shouldn’t have played. It is a justifiable reason to not be in the competition.”

Di Paola also revealed his current Horsham stars were likely to be ‘getting all excited’ over the prospect of visiting Sutton - but the boss joked his players had been reluctant to share their true feelings with him in the club’s group chat.

He said: “We’ve got a WhatsApp group but the one I’m in doesn't say much because I’m in it! You wouldn’t have a WhatsApp group with your mum and dad, would you?!

“But they’ve got their own personal one and I’m sure they’ll be getting all excited like players do.

“It’s an amazing thing. I felt a bit empty after the Barnsley game at home because it’s just such an incredible experience. To then have another opportunity is amazing.”

Despite Horsham’s delight at being readmitted to the FA Cup, Di Paola admitted the FA’s decision has thrown a spanner in the works for their Isthmian Premier ambitions.

The Hornets sit ninth in the table, four points and four places adrift of the play-offs, but now look set to face a mammoth fixture backlog.

Di Paola said: “We’ve got a massive game [at Concord Rangers] on Saturday, but we now have a major, major problem with league games.

“We were just working it out and I think there’s 22 weeks left of the season and we have 33 games left, minimum. It’s going to be relentless, and that’s also if we go out of all three cup competitions we’re still in [FA Cup, FA Trophy and Sussex Senior Cup].

“I also don’t know if the Lewes game [on November 28] has been postponed. Normally, if you get to the first or second round you don’t play the midweek game. I don’t know anything because it’s happened so late. We need to get clarification on some of these things.

“Everything is up in the air. This has thrown a spanner in the works to some extent because we were also talking about trying to refine our line-up and rotate a little less, but now we’re looking at another game and two rearranged games in Lewes and Hastings [on December 2].

“Just when we thought we could tackle these next three away games, we might not have that situation. Everything is in a state of chaos, really.

“What we’ve got to do is train tonight, go and play Concord on Saturday, and see where we lie after that game.”

Horsham were beaten 2-0 at home by Hashtag United in the Isthmian Premier three days before their first round replay against Barnsley.

Post-match, Di Paola admitted he felt his players’ minds were more focussed on the Tykes replay than their league encounter with the Tags.

And with a game at bottom-of-the-table Concord to come for the Hornets this Saturday, the boss stressed that the ‘right mental approach’ was imperative in Essex - despite the Sutton tie looming large.

He said: “We’ve got to make sure we get this Concord game right, because we didn’t get that Hashtag one right.

“They [the players] have to have the right mental approach. If they can’t see that the league is important then they’re stupid – but I do think they know the league is important.

“The hardest thing for them is to be in a position where they know they have a big game [at Sutton] the following Saturday.

“It’s a hard one. I don’t think there is a psychological way of dealing with it. We’ve got to go there [Concord] and play our best, and then we could have another game on Tuesday at Lewes.”