FA Cup: Horsham FC successfully navigate ‘tricky’ Westfield tie to advance to third qualifying round
Horsham FC are through to the FA Cup third qualifying round after successfully navigating a ‘tricky’ tie against step four Westfield.
The Hornets were held to a 2-2 draw in Surrey on Saturday, before blitzing the Field 6-0 at home in Tuesday evening’s replay.
On Saturday, Rhys Murphy won a first-half penalty that he converted himself to put Horsham in front.
Isaac Philpot levelled with 12 minutes remaining after Westfield had come from behind to lead.
Lucas Rodrigues opened the scoring for Horsham in Tuesday’s replay, and Charlie Hester-Cook doubled the advantage soon after to give the hosts a 2-0 lead at half-time.
It was 3-0 just after the hour when Billy Nutbeam put through his own goal, before Shamir Fenelon added the fourth.
Greg Luer and James Roberts then got one each in the closing minutes to set up a home tie against Isthmian Premier outfit Folkestone Invicta in the next round on Saturday, September 27.
Horsham manager Dominic Di Paola said: “It was always going to be tricky. We got up there [on Saturday] and they’d left the grass long, and the pitch wasn’t great.
“I made five changes, and that’s probably too many changes, so that’s on me – but we had enough chances to win the game. We just weren’t clinical.
“I wasn’t too disappointed. With seven minutes to go, I’m saying to [Hornets coaches] Sami [El-Abd] and Jimmy [Punter] on the sidelines that we don’t have to go gung-ho here. It’s not the end of the world if it’s a draw.
“We weren’t playing well. It was a bit too open for my liking. They had a spell in the second half where we lost the plot, and they capitalised on that.
“We were pretty strong in both games, but on Saturday we just weren’t able to kill the game off. If we’d have got a second in the first half when we were on top it could have been a similar game to Tuesday.
“We’re just glad that we saw it out on Tuesday, which was pleasing. It could have been 10 or 12. We had loads and loads of chances. We were really on it, and that’s a credit to the boys.
“It’s just a shame we had to play Tuesday night. The logic on Saturday was to take out the boys that were tired, but it is what it is. We got ourselves into that mess but we got ourselves out of it.
“I’m pleased to be through. We can draw a line under it and move on.”
The two FA Cup ties saw Horsham reunited with ‘club legend’ Dylan Merchant.
The defender skippered Westfield in both games against the Hornets, and Di Paola had nothing but good things to say about the Horsham hero.
He said: “Dylan is a great guy. We’ve had lots of great people at Horsham over the years and I really like Dylan. I’ve got a lot of time for him.
“He’s doing for them what he did for us. He’s got some younger players around him and he organises them and gets them going, which is what he did for us.
“I remember really clearly that we were struggling defensively before he came in when we were in the [Bostik] South East, then he came in and helped what was a really good bunch of defenders join it together.
“I had a good chat with him before and after the game. He’s a big part of Horsham’s history.”
Rodrigues marked his first Hornets start of 2025-26 with a goal and an assist in Tuesday night’s convincing replay win.
The Brazilian, who came off the bench in Saturday’s draw at Westfield, spent the start of the season on loan at Isthmian South East outfit Eastbourne Town, where he bagged two goals in as many appearances.
Di Paola was delighted with Rodrigues’ contribution in midweek, and revealed why the midfielder was sent to East Sussex.
He added: “He went back to Brazil for literally the whole of pre-season. There was no way we could have put him straight back in, because he’s done no pre-season.
“If you don’t do enough you end up breaking down so he had a few games at step four, which is slightly less intense. That gave him his pre-season games if you like.
“Lucas is a key part of what we do now. In the years that he’s been with us, he’s got better and better. He knows what I want and I know what he can bring to the table.”
“He was good on Tuesday night, but he’s been a key component for a long time. He was a bit in-and-out, but the way he plays merits a place in the side.”
Horsham are back in National League South action this weekend when they entertain eighth-placed AFC Totton.
You can read our preview to Saturday’s game tomorrow online at sussexworld.co.uk/sport.