The third home game in a row of the Fleet’s recent run at the Morrow Stadium sees Horsham make the trip this Tuesday night, writes Libby O’Connell.
Form guide
The Fleet added another magnificent result to the form book on Saturday, which propelled the side to second place in the league, despite still having three games in hand on many of their league rivals.
A very convincing three points saw Josh Wright’s squad earn a 6-1 victory over Weston-super-Mare and in doing so, added 11 goals in two games, boosting the goal difference to +16 – the highest in the division.
With Kwesi Appiah and Daniel Ogunleye in form, the goals are nevertheless being spread around the squad, highlighting the variety Wright has built this term. And the long-awaited return of Charlie Seaman, who got the sixth for the Fleet from a free kick, added another name to this season’s list of goalscorers.
Horsham are seven points behind the Fleet in 15th place. They had a rough spell of six winless league games but claimed victory on Saturday as they came from behind to beat Slough Town 2-1. Before that a narrow and late 2-1 defeat to league leaders Maidstone showed promise, as did a 0-0 draw with Chelmsford City.
Like the Fleet, their FA Cup journey ended in the third qualifying round to Southern League Premier Division South club Plymouth Parkway.
Last time out
Last season marked the first league meetings between the two teams. The two fixtures saw Horsham take a 2-1 victory away from Kent while the reverse game was a 1-1 draw.
The clubs also faced off in 1975, when Horsham lost 3-1 to the Fleet in an FA Trophy tie.
Who’s who?
Forward Greg Luer is into his second season with the Hornets as their leading goalscorer, with four goals so far this season, including one against Slough on Saturday.
The 31-year-old had spells at Hull City during their Premier League campaigns though is probably most familiar to Fleet fans from his Eastbourne days. He has most recently spent time at Worthing and Whitehawk.
Another name to note is summer signing Jamie Yila. The winger arrived following his departure from Maidstone at the end of last season. Prior to this, the 25-year-old had spent time at teams such as Chelmsford, Eastbourne and Chatham. He also scored twice for Cray Wanderers in their FA Trophy penalties win over us in 2021/22.
He’s had a successful run so far, with seven league appearances and three assists.
The manager
Dom Di Paola is in his 12th season as first-team manager at Horsham. Joining in April 2015, with the club already facing relegation to Step 5, he rebuilt the playing squad almost entirely from scratch.
Within his first full season as manager, the club were promoted back into Step 4. Since then, he’s won the Isthmian Division One South East play-offs, the Isthmian League Cup and, of course, secured the team’s recent promotion to the National League South after winning the Isthmian Premier Division title in 2024/25.
Prior to his time at Horsham, Di Paola managed teams such as Hastings United, East Preston and Worthing United.
The referee
Craig Barnett of Sussex officiates a Fleet game for the first time, though he has experience of Horsham against Kent sides having refereed both their matches against Maidstone United last season.
Commentary
Fleet Live on YouTube will be on broadcast duty this evening. Matchday programmes are on sale in the club shop, just past the home turnstiles or can be reserved online here.
