Horsham FC told to cut out the defensive mistakes after defeat at high-flying Hornchurch

Liam Nash fired the hosts in front before Tom Richards levelled on the stroke of half-time. Charlie Stimson restored Hornchurch’s lead shortly after the restart before Jack Munn’s penalty secured victory for the third-placed Urchins.

The defeat leaves Horsham eighth in the table, two points and three places off the play-offs.

Di Paola said: “We played okay. We conceded a terrible goal in the second half. We were just ball watching on the edge of the box.

“For half-an-hour we were really dominant then we gave away a silly goal, which has kind of been the theme of our season.

“I looked at the Lewes game [against Hornchurch on Tuesday] and it seemed like a similar game, and yet the difference is they [Lewes] don’t give away a rubbish third goal and they score in the 89th minute to grab a point. That’s what’s been letting us down at the moment.

“There was a good opportunity to get a good point away at a good side. Instead, we end up giving away a cheap goal and losing 3-1. That’s the difference.

“We are doing a lot of good things, but we are also doing some really poor things. We have to work on those and address them.

“We’ve played the top sides, and we’re more than a match for them, but we’re not getting the right results.”

The Hornets’ defensive issues have been compounded by the permanent departures of two full-backs.

Luca Cocoracchio has returned to Worthing, while Harry Osbourne, who joined from Carshalton Athletic in the summer, has made the switch to Leatherhead.

The manner of Leatherhead’s approach has rankled Di Paola. The Horsham boss had no issue with Osbourne leaving, but was less than impressed with the way the Tanners conducted business.

He added: “He’s been offered silly money to go and play for Leatherhead. If I rang you up and offered you double what you’re getting from your job, you’re going to think long and hard about moving.

“It’s a money move, and he’s been honest about that. It’s not through choice that he wanted to leave Horsham, but when you get offered these silly deals from clubs you have to take them.

“As we keep reading in the paper, the cost of living crisis means we need money. He’s got kids and he needs to make sure that he looks after the family. We can’t fault him.

“I am disappointed with how Leatherhead approached it, but due to the rules there’s no way around it.

“Considering we helped them out with a couple of players earlier in the season, I’m not hugely impressed with how their manager has dealt with it.

“The only thing you can say is that he’s never played for Horsham, so it’s not like we’re missing something that we’ve had.”

The departures of Cocaracchio and Osbourne, plus Alex Malins’ loan move to Whitehawk, has left Horsham with only five recognised defenders. But Di Paola is happy with his defensive options, and has no plans to bolster his backline.

He said: “We’ve got Bobby Price, Chris Sessegnon, Harvey Sparks, Tom Day, Danny Dudley and Alex Malins, who’s due back quite soon.

“There’s no plans [to add more defenders]. I’m quite happy with our defensive options. We do need to stop giving away poor goals, but some of that isn’t down to our defence.”

Meanwhile, in a week of departures at the Camping World Community Stadium, winger Mo Juwara has moved to Whitehawk permanently.

Di Paola added: “He’s been really committed and loyal but he’s not played enough. Unfortunately he’s up against Tom Richards, who creates a lot of chances and goals for us.

“He’s just not had the opportunity to play, which has been tough on him. He’s a young lad and he just wants to play, and I think he might get that at the level below.”

The Hornets travel to Folkestone Invicta in the first round of the FA Trophy on Saturday and begin their Velocity Trophy defence at home to Whitehawk on Tuesday.