Tuesday 15th October 1991
FA Cup 3rd Qualifying round
Maidenhead United 0 Horsham 1

To say that Horsham supporters had been starved of FA Cup success during the 1980s would be an understatement in the extreme. Only twice had their side managed to progress to the next round during what was surely one of the the most woeful periods in the club's history. Having narrowly squeezed past Whitstable Town in the Preliminary round of the 1979-80 competition, the 2-1 replay defeat against Chatham Town that followed signalled a run of results that was to register just one more victory in ten seasons. Lewes, Kingstonian, Sittingbourne, Dover Athletic, Tonbridge AFC and Walton & Hersham all enjoyed winning visits to Queen Street as opposing sides came to look upon Horsham as a guaranteed stepping stone into the first qualifying round. Yet all that was to change during the 1991-2 season when, under manager Peter Evans, the Hornets upset the form book to claim several notable scalps before so narrowly missing out on a place in the first round proper for the first time since 1966.

The new season had started well for Evans' side, winning their opening seven games of the season to sit proudly at the top of Diadora League Division Three. Progress had been made in the League Cup and Sussex Floodlight Cup and, thanks to Mark Dunk's 85th minute goal, the FA Cup also began in winning fashion when visiting Hungerford Town were edged out by two goals to one. Despite their good start, it seemed as though Horsham's FA Cup hoodoo would continue as Beazer Homes Southern Division champions Buckingham Town were drawn to face the Hornets, arriving at Queen Street just four days after their hosts had let slip a two goal lead at Ware in the League Cup to end their 100% winning run. The influential Mark Dunk and Phil Somers were included in the starting line-up, despite picking up hefty knocks in that midweek trip to Hertfordshire, but the gamble paid off as Dunk fired home the only goal of the game to further cement his status as the new terrace favourite. The draw continued to throw up tough challenges for the Sussex side as the second qualifying round saw them make the visit to the Camrose Ground, home to Diadora Premier Division side Basingstoke Town. Once again, the visitors belied lowly status and only a combination of the woodwork and some smart goalkeeping from Basingstoke's Nigel Wiscombe kept the Hampshire side in the tie before Somers' extra-time header in the replay ensured the Hornets would enter the third qualifying round for the first time in twelve years. By this time, their cup exploits were starting to capture the imagination of the Horsham public and a crowd of 535 assembled for the visit of Maidenhead United, a team struggling at the wrong end of Diadora Division One. The previous season, the Berkshire side had achieved a league 'double' over the Hornets on their way to claiming the runners-up spot in the then Vauxhall Opel League Division Two (South) but Evans' side were determined to gain revenge this time out and a win looked on the cards when second half substitute Moray Forrest scored an opportunist goal to put his side ahead on the hour. However, a late rally from the visitors resulted in Stuart Muir's 93rd minute equaliser that took the tie to a midweek replay at York Road.

The match took on huge significance for Horsham's players, officials and supporters after the draw for the fourth and final qualifying round, made the day before the re-match, paired the winners of the tie with Horsham's close rivals Crawley Town and more than a hundred supporters made the trip to York Road to cheer the Hornets on. The team had continued to fare well and could still boast an excellent record of just one defeat in sixteen games going into this match prompting Evans to announce "I don't think we saw anything (in the first match) that will worry us in the replay". Ultimately, it was a tie decided by a solitary goal, scored from the penalty spot by Dunk, in a match high on tension and nervous energy that put the Horsham supporters into dreamland.

Evans was dealt a blow when the influential Somers was ruled out of the game after suffering from 'flu, his place in midfield taken by the energetic Russell Gunn, while Maidenhead's hopes rested on the shoulders of Benny Larryea, previously the Isthmian League's leading goalscorer. But commanding performances from the central defensive partnership of Steve Breach and Dave Clark nullified the home side's attacking threat, leaving goalkeeper Duncan Green a virtual spectator during the first half. The crucial point of the match came Horsham's way after twenty-seven minutes, and stemmed from a mishit pass from Breach. Attempting to send Forrest away with a ball over the top of the Maidenhead defence, Breach's well intentioned pass was sliced out towards the touchline and fortuitously into the path of Mark Stepney. While the home supporters jeered the defender's apparent error, the little winger wasted no time in beating Paul Holder and getting into the heart of the penalty area before sending in a cross that was handled by Dean Bailey. The referee immediately pointed to the spot, to the obvious delight of the travelling contingent whose celebrations increased when Dunk strode confidently up to coolly slot the ball past goalkeeper Peter Rackley. The goal was just the tonic the visitors needed and they settled into their game with every player fighting hard to win possession; too hard on occasion, according to the match officials, as they worked tirelessly to deny the Division One side any time on the ball. Marcus Cooke provided an excellent outlet up front, more often than not as the solitary striker, holding up play or pushing the ball into space to enable his team-mates to regroup and John Walters, so often an exciting feature of Horsham's play out on the wing, was called on to perform more defensive duties throughout a second half that saw the home side throw everything at their opponents. Yet it was to no avail as Evans' side continued to hold out and when Larryea was surprisingly replaced by a defender five minutes from time, the Horsham supporters were looking confidently towards their dream tie against Crawley. However, there was still four minutes of injury-time to survive, and with memories of Saturday's late equaliser still fresh in the minds, it made for a nervous wait for the fans. When the whistle blew, Horsham's jubilant players ran to their supporters to join in the celebrations in front of a bemused Australian camera crew who had been at York Road to film a documentary on non-league football. And while this might not have been the most incident packed match of the season, or indeed of the Hornets cup run, it was certainly one which perhaps summed up perfectly the passion and the feelings of the world outside of the professional game.

Horsham: Duncan Green, Wayne Wren, Dave Clark, Steve Breach, Mark Chaplin, Mark Stepney, Mark Dunk, Russell Gunn, John Walters, Marcus Cooke, Moray Forrest. Substitutes: Terry Botting, Andy Heryet

Two weeks later, a crowd of 2,208 gathered at Horsham's Queen Street ground to witness an enthralling goalless draw between the hosts and Crawley Town of the Beazer Homes Premier Division before defensive errors saw the Reds march on to a first round proper tie with Northampton Town thanks to a 3-0 replay win. Crawley eventually bowed out of the competition after a 5-0 third round defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion.