Horsham FC boss: We showed what we were all about in draw at pre-season title favourites Torquay
Horsham FC showed what they were all about in their opening day draw at pre-season title favourites Torquay United.
Those were the words of proud manager Dominic Di Paola after the Hornets battled to a hard-fought 1-1 draw at the hotly tipped Gulls in their first National League South fixture of 2026-27.
Torquay took the lead on 13 minutes when Deon Moore’s deflected near-post effort somehow beat Hornets goalkeeper Sam Howes.
But Horsham netted a hard-earned equaliser in the second half. Greg Luer’s arrowed shot zipped past Gulls stopper Toby Savin on 54 minutes to secure Di Paola’s side a superb point on the road.
Di Paola told the County Times: “I think in the first half they were the better team. In the second half we were the better team. That’s possibly on me.
“We did quite a lot of work on Thursday on them so maybe we didn’t highlight what we’re about as much – but we corrected that at half-time, which was good.
“I just thought we had a slow start. In the first 15 minutes we were getting battered. I partly put it down to this ‘do it in a day’ thing where players have about an hour after they get off the coach to decompress.
“I feel like it’s a massive advantage for teams that stay over because they get up in the morning and do their normal matchday routine, whereas teams that travel on the day don’t. It does make it hard when you’ve been on a coach for six hours.
“I don’t know whether it was that or if it was down to it being the first game of the season. We looked a bit tentative but once we got going you could see some good signs just before half-time.
“I watched the second half back and they [Torquay] put it in areas and put us under pressure but we handled it better.
“Our attacking play was good barring working the keeper a bit more. But we got in really good areas and we’ve lots of positives to work with.
“We grew into the game really well. We showed what we were all about, which I always want us to do. I think a draw was a fair result. I don’t think we deserved to win it and I definitely don’t think they did either.
“We’ve got some key bits to work on but at least we’ve got that first game out the way. I don’t normally win many of them! To come away with a point is not too bad. In general, it wasn’t a bad day at the office.”
The Lardy Army once again journeyed to Torquay in good numbers, with 145 Hornets roaring the team on at Plainmoor – and Di Paola had nothing but praise for those who made the 200-mile-plus trip from West Sussex to Devon.
He said: “They’re always brilliant. The biggest bonus of being in this league is that sort of game. You’re not getting that in the Isthmian Prem or step four. You’re not getting away days where you’re going down for the weekend.
“Being in this league means you get proper away days and you can go to big grounds and play proper matches, so I’m glad everyone enjoyed it.
“Our support is always brilliant – whether it’s 50 or 200, it doesn’t really make a difference. Away from home we have really good support.
“I could hear them all game. They were brilliant. As the game went on, and as Torquay supporters started griping a little bit with their team, we could hear ours even more so.”
Horsham host early leaders Salisbury this Saturday before welcoming Hampton & Richmond Borough three days later.
And you can hear more from Di Paola throughout the week online at sussexworld.co.uk/sport.