Horsham’s lucky losers aim to seize extra FA Cup chance and make history

Club is on the up after tough times and heads to Sutton with the backing of Barnsley fans after shock reinstatement

“We played Swansea twice in the winter of 2007 and at the end of that season Horsham had to vacate the ground and the bulldozers moved in,” says Kevin Borrett. Now chairman of Horsham after stepping in to help save the Sussex club a year after they had reached the second round of the FA Cup for the first time, Borrett will feel particular pride when Dominic Di Paola’s team face Sutton United on Saturday. The Hornets were reinstated when Barnsley were booted out of the competition for fielding an ineligible player and find themselves with an unexpected opportunity to reach the promised land of the Cup’s third round.

“It would be a huge achievement for the club and probably a part of our history that we wouldn’t see repeated for some time,” says Borrett, who was informed that Horsham were back in the Cup 10 minutes before they faced Margate in a league match but didn’t tell Di Paola until after the game. “The Barnsley chairman had called me the day before to let me know that they were likely to be disqualified and it was confirmed by a phone call from the FA 10 minutes before we were due to kick off. I didn’t want to distract him so I didn’t say anything at first but after the game I phoned Dom and gave him the news that we wouldn’t be playing Hastings on 2 December because we were back in the FA Cup.”

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