Securing safety the priority for Horsham FC after Brighton semi-final defeat

It has been a frustrating week for the Hornets. Horsham blew a 2-0 lead in Saturday’s 3-2 home defeat to struggling Brightlingsea Regent - a performance that Di Paola labelled as ‘embarrassing’.

And Tuesday night saw the Hornets exit the Sussex Senior Cup at the semi-final stage after a 3-1 loss to Brighton & Hove Albion under-23s at Lancing's Culver Road.

Horsham, who sit 14th in the Isthmian Premier, have recorded one league win in eight games and have seen the gap between them and the relegation play-off cut to seven points.

Di Paola said: “We just need a few more points to be certain [of survival] and we need to get them as soon as possible.

“We’ve had a long season. The Brighton semi-final was our 49th game and I feel like we’re a bit jaded.

“But we’ve got some key games coming up and we’ve got to make sure we get some points on the board and stay safe.

“It’s been a tough season, and I think you could see how fresh they [Brighton] were as opposed to how leggy we were.

“We’ve just got to pick ourselves up, go again and get some points over the remaining nine league games.

“A couple of wins will ensure we stay out of the dogfight at the bottom. We can then regroup in the summer.”

Goals from Zack Emmerson, Andy Moran and Zak Wilson booked the Seagulls’ place in the Senior Cup final.

Tom Day netted a late consolation goal for the Hornets, who were backed by a raucous away following.

Di Paola added: “It was a frustrating one. We played their number nine straight in and it was another sloppy goal to concede.

“For the second one, we got a bit loose with how we defended and it gave us a mountain to climb.

“We played some good stuff in the second half but we couldn’t take our chances. It would have been a good time to score when Sham [Fenelon] went through on the hour.

“If we’d scored there the complexion of the game changes. When we scored quite near the end we had a few little moments but I think they were good for the win.

“I was disappointed but you have to say they were the better side. For whatever reason, three or four of ours didn’t have great games and when that happens it’s very hard in a semi-final.”

This Saturday sees Horsham visit Wingate & Finchley. The Blues sit three places and four points behind the Hornets in 17th.

Wingate are winless in four going into this weekend’s game, and Di Paola said the Blues were enduring a similar league campaign to Horsham.

He said: “They’re desperate to get points that will see them over the line. They’re like us, probably mindful of what’s going on lower down the table.

“There’s about eight teams having similar seasons. They’re up and down, winning games, drawing games and dropping points where they shouldn’t.

“It’s another tough place to go but I think the boys are due a performance.

“It’ll just be a case of making sure we’re professional on the day, and we are focussed.”

Will Miles is set to return for the Hornets’ trip to North London, but captain Jack Brivio is expected to miss out with a quad injury sustained in the warm-up before Brighton.

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