Horsham FC boss toasts Easter double as title race goes down to the wire
Just one goal separates second-placed Horsham FC and Isthmian Premier leaders Billericay Town after the Hornets picked up a pair of fine wins over Easter.
Horsham beat nine-man Cray Wanderers 3-0 on Good Friday. Harvey Sparks gave the Hornets a half-time lead before Ezechukwu Ebuzoeme was sent off on 70 minutes.
Lucas Rodrigues doubled the advantage before Tom Bonner saw red and Sparks added his second.
Horsham manager Dominic Di Paola said: “They’re a really good side. They drew with [third-placed] Dartford on Monday. We had to do a lot to contain them.
“A couple of sendings-off at the end meant we could go for it a little bit, and it was another game where we could have got a couple more goals.
“It was definitely a concerning team to face during the run-in, but it was a good win against a really good side.”
Easter Monday saw the Hornets come from behind to clinch a 3-1 victory at already-relegated Bognor Regis Town.
Horsham trailed at half-time and saw James Hammond’s penalty saved, but roared back in the second half to record a seventh straight league win, courtesy of Harvey Whyte’s own goal and Danny Barker’s double.
Di Paola said: “It was a funny old first half. We started poorly in the first 20 minutes and went behind.
“People started doing their own thing, trying to impact the game with their best intentions but not for the good of the performance.
“Once they scored, we did get our act together so at half-time there was no ranting and raving from me.
“I just said, remember what we’re good at and what we do well. My exact words were, we’ve only got 48 minutes to win the game instead of 95.
“Credit to the boys, they came out really strong in the second half, got three [goals], could have had five.
“We looked more like ourselves, so credit to the boys for turning it around and getting the win.”
Horsham host Hashtag United this Saturday looking to win the Isthmian Premier title, and seal promotion to the National League South, for the first time in the club’s history.
You can read Di Paola’s thoughts ahead of the pivotal clash in this week’s edition of the West Sussex County Times – out now – and on the SussexWorld website tomorrow (April 25).