Horsham FC told to 'dust themselves down' after successive away defeats

The Hornets were beaten 1-0 at Cray Valley Paper Mills on Saturday, before slipping to a 2-0 loss at Chatham Town on Tuesday evening.

It is the first time Horsham have failed to score in back-to-back league games since February 2018.

The defeats see the Hornets fall to 15th in the Isthmian Premier – but they are just six points off sixth-placed Dulwich Hamlet who have played two games more.

Di Paola said: “It was just frustrating. We didn’t really create a lot [at Cray Valley] - but they didn’t either.

“It was a moment of magic from their left-winger. He put in a great ball and that really did us. We were undone by a ‘moment’ in the game.

“It was a similar sort of thing at Chatham. They didn’t massively trouble us, we didn’t massively trouble them. They had a few half-chances but they’ve come down on the other side of it.

“We’ve not had a great week. One or two things have gone against us, but you have to tough it out really.

“It’s only been eight days. Before that, we were eight or nine games unbeaten so we’ve got to dust ourselves down.

“I don’t think Chatham have lost many at home in the last couple of years, and I think Cray Valley have only lost one in two years.

“The boys are feeling a bit sorry for themselves, and I’m licking my wounds a bit, but it’s been a tough week.

“Three away games after the Chesterfield game [in the FA Cup] are not ideal.”