Horsham FC ‘just about deserved’ Cheshunt win as ‘really tough’ run in looms

​Lee Harding’s acrobatic 93rd minute winner at the Ambers ensured third-placed Horsham remained four points behind Isthmian Premier leaders Dartford, who won 3-0 at Dulwich Hamlet.

The Hornets trailed to Sam Granville’s 14th minute opener, before Lucas Rodrigues equalised two minutes before the break.

Just when it looked like Horsham were set to lose ground on their promotion rivals, Harding struck at the death to secure a vital away victory.

Di Paola said: “We were frustrated to concede from a dead ball, because we were aware of it and worked on it.

“It just carried in the wind. It was really windy, and they got a long throw and we got under it a little bit and they scored.

“The opening exchanges were quite even. The next 20 minutes after we conceded until half-time, we were really good, and building momentum, and then we scored a really good goal to make it 1-1.

“The second half was a bit of a non-event. The pitch was so poor, you couldn’t really do a great deal, so you had to try and create chances from set-pieces but it was the same for both sides.

“It was ebbing away, but we popped up with a set-piece late in the game and scored.

“I think we just about deserved it. I think it was just slightly more deserved than them, as I think we had a few better chances to be honest.”

The Hornets have now won their last three league games by a single-goal margin.

Di Paola previously admitted Horsham had been below-par in recent weeks, but the Hornets boss highlighted that their recent run had been against teams ‘fighting for their lives’ near the foot of the table.

He said: “These have been hard games. We’ve played a few teams who’ve had something to play for in Bowers and Hendon.

“They’re fighting for their lives, so you can’t disrespect them. You have to factor that in.

“They’re not going to roll over and die. Perhaps if you played Bowers & Pitsea now, as they’re down, they wouldn’t have the same desire.

“As long as you still think you’ve got a chance in a season, you’re going to give it your all and I think that’s what we’ve seen.”

After securing their fourth win in a row in all competitions, Horsham are now gearing up for their final five games of the regular league season - starting this Saturday at home to relegation-threatened Canvey Island.

Di Paola said: “We’ve done well to come through these games, but we’ve got a really tough last five.

“We’ve got Canvey who need points to stay up, then Carshalton, who need points to get into the play-offs.

“Cray Wanderers are a funny one as they’ve done really well after a bad start, then Bognor will want to get one over us as they’ve had the season from hell, and then we end with Hashtag, who could still have something to play for in terms of the play-offs.

“These last five are all really tough games. Saturday is going to be another tough one for us.”

Di Paola also revealed the Hornets had no fresh injury concerns going into this weekend’s clash with 17th-placed Canvey.

He added: “We’re nearly there with a lot of the boys, which is great. We’re in an alright spot in general.

“Cookie [Charlie Hester-Cook] got 15 [minutes] on Saturday, Brivs [Jack Brivio] got half-an-hour on Saturday, Jake Elliott is fully fit now, and Joel Daly, after a week’s training, should be okay.

“We’ve got a full compliment, I think.”