Dominic Di Paola hailed Horsham FC’s ‘brilliant bunch’ of players after two hard-fought draws in the National League South.

The Hornets held table-toppers Dagenham & Redbridge to a 1-1 draw at the Fusion Aviation Community Stadium on Saturday before coming from behind to record the same scoreline at Folkestone Invicta on Tuesday evening.

Reece Myles-Meekums fired Horsham into an 11th minute lead on Saturday before the unfortunate Harvey Sparks put through his own goal on 31 minutes.

The Hornets then trailed to Aaron Cosgrave’s 28th minute strike in midweek – but Charlie Hester-Cook hit back for the visitors in the second half.

Di Paola told the County Times: “Against Dagenham, a draw was a fair result. I thought we played well in long spells against them. The inability to make more subs cost us a bit because we did dip a little bit which was frustrating.

“At Folkestone, we weren’t great in the first half but I thought we were the better team in the second half. We had one cleared off the line and Ronan [Silva] had a one-on-one he should have done better with.

“We could have come away with a win on Tuesday. I thought we played really well, especially considering we lost three in the first half to injury.

“Hats off to the boys. They showed what a brilliant bunch they are. We are barebones already, five weeks into the season, and the boys were just brilliant. Huge credit to them.”

Reece Myles-Meekums (right) is congratulated by Ashley Nadesan after netting against Dagenham & Redbridge. Picture by McCartney Martin

placeholder image — Reece Myles-Meekums (right) is congratulated by Ashley Nadesan after netting against Dagenham & Redbridge. Picture by McCartney Martin

Tuesday night’s performance was soured by first half injuries to key men Sam Howes, Lee Harding and Myles-Meekums – and Di Paola revealed all three were certain to miss this Saturday’s home clash against Chesham United.

He said: “Sam is a bad one. He took a big whack on Saturday against Dagenham and he’s clattered into Lee Harding at Folkestone. The combination of the one on Saturday and the one at Folkestone means he’s got a concussion and a neck injury. He had to go to the hospital.

“Lee Harding has got a problem with his hip where they crashed into each other, and Meeky has done his hamstring. I was writing down who was available for Saturday and it’s not looking good.”

Meanwhile, Horsham have discovered who they will face in the FA Cup second qualifying round.

The Hornets will visit Walton & Hersham – bottom of the National League South without a single point – on Saturday, September 19.