Horsham recorded their 4th successive league victory with an entertaining 4-2 win against second placed Hastings United. A Hornets side missing Lee Carney, Jack Lyons, Steve Sargent, Delando Smith and Mark Knee went behind on 27 minutes when Ade Olorunda turned in a pass from Lee Carey and it took a controversial penalty decision to bring the sides level when Claude Seanla fired home from the spot. A superb strike from Pat Harding gave Horsham the half-time lead and Seanla made it 3-1 within 6 minutes of the restart, converting Harding's pass. Carey pulled a goal back with a well struck free-kick but Harding made it two a piece for the home strikers when he stroked home a knock down from Seanla with 10 minutes remaining. Match report and photos now on-line

The Hornets have been boosted by the signing of 3 new players ahead of tomorrow's clash with Hastings United. Former Leatherhead goalkeeper Craig Bradshaw fills the vacant number one spot while Tom Lyons, brother of Jack, and Jorge Lopes will also be in the squad to face the division's 2nd placed team. Lyons was more recently on the books of Dulwich Hamlet while Lopes joins from Conference South side Havant & Waterlooville, for whom he remains jointly registered. We welcome each of them and wish them every success during their time with the Hornets.

Ben Andrews returns from suspension for the visit of 2nd placed Hastings United in Saturday's Ryman Premier Division clash at Gorings Mead (kick-off 3pm). Mark Knee, Steve Sargent and Delando Smith all miss out on the all-Sussex clash that sees Russell Eldridge make his first return to the club since leaving the Hornets last month. More...

Josh Pelling's brief Horsham career seems to be over before it had barely begun after Brighton & Hove Albion recalled their young goalkeeper from his month's loan after just one match. John Maggs announced the setback earlier today but revealed that he already has two new players lined up and will both be competing for the number one jersey for Saturday's derby with Hastings United. "Brighton recalled him straight after the Tooting game," said Maggs. "Michel Kuipers is going to be out for about 3 weeks so they were short of cover and Josh went straight onto the bench for their games against Leeds and Norwich. We were only due to have had him with us for a month but it's disappointing but I've got a couple of lads in and they will be training with us tomorrow night. Craig Bradshaw has a good pedigree. He has played for Dorchester Town and was with Leatherhead this season but he wants to play at a higher level again. He was player of the year at Walton Casuals and is a big lad. He'll be a real presence. I'm also going to have a look at Anthony Di Bernardo. He's a Canadian international, has been understudy to Alan Mansfield at Worthing but he's a free agent after getting fed up with being second choice and decided to leave. We'll take a look at them both on Thursday and see where we are from there."

Friday November 13th proved far from unlucky for our much loved mascot, Howie the Hornet, when he was invited to rub shoulders (or should that be wings) with some well known faces from the county's sporting circuit at the the Sussex Sports Awards, held at the Brighton Metropole Hotel. The theme of the evening was 'lucky for some', to coincide with the notoriously luckless date, and Howie was invited along to meet and greet the guests along with Brighton & Hove Albion mascot Gully and the well known face of Sussex Cricket Club's Sid the Shark. Howie and his chums spent time mingling among celebrities such as World Gold Medalist runner Derek Redmond and was even allowed in to the VIP area before being invited up onto the stage to 'mess about a bit' whilst the guests took their seats for dinner. Howie said "I was not expecting too many people to know who I was, compared to the other 2 mascots, but it was surprising how many did recognise me which was nice." More...

The fixture backlog continues again this week with the postponement of Tuesday night's visit of AFC Hornchurch after the Essex club pulled off a remarkable 4-4 draw at Chelmsford City in today's FA Trophy 3rd Qualifying round tie. Trailing 4-1 to the Conference South side, the Urchins hit back to force a midweek replay with 2 goals inside the final 9 minutes. The Hornets had a day off, having been knocked out of the competition by Barton Rovers, but the Ryman Premier was well represented with Maidstone United picking up a fine 1-0 win at Bromley while Boreham Wood (1-0 winners against Hungerford Town), Billericay (0-0 with Hitchin) and Carshalton Athletic (1-1 at Weston Super Mare) all go in to the hat for Monday's draw. There was disappointment, though, for leaders Dartford who missed a late opportunity to take 10 man Dover Athletic back to Princes Park, going down 3-2, and Wealdstone were the latest victims of Steve King's Farnborough Town as they lost 3-0. In the league, Tooting's miserable week ended with a home defeat against Canvey Island (1-3) and there were wins for Ashford Town (3-0 v Cray), Sutton (2-1 at Bognor) and Waltham Abbey (1-0 v Hendon). The Hornets drop 2 places to 12th.

John Maggs praised debuting goalkeeper Josh Pelling after Horsham produced a ‘professional’ performance to return from Tooting with maximum points for a 6th time in 7 visits. The 18 year old Brighton loanee made a number of fine saves to keep the home forwards at bay but it was his all-round display that had the flu stricken Maggs purring. “The goalkeeper couldn’t have made a better start,” the former Crawley custodian enthused. “He made 3 or 4 good saves and looked every inch the pro. He had great awareness of his penalty area and you can see he's been coached well. Even though he’s only 18, he’s not going to let us down.”

Horsham's excellent record at Tooting continued with tonight's 2-0 win, their 6th success in 8 visits, to move them above the Terrors in to 9th place in the Ryman Premier Division table thanks to goals from Pat Harding and Claude Seanla. Harding's fortuitous opener came on the stroke of half-time, when an attempted clearance cannoned off the striker and in to the net, and Seanla doubled the lead on 53 minutes when he curled in a shot from the edge of the box. Josh Pelling marked his Hornets debut with a number of fine saves as the visitors held on for a repeat of last year's scoreline. Full report....

John Maggs takes his side to the Imperial Fields, Morden, on Monday night hoping to extend their unbeaten league run at Tooting & Mitcham to seven games. The Hornets will be without the suspended Ben Andrews but should have a strong squad to choose from as they take on the side who ended their FA Cup hopes in controversial fashion back in September. More...

Today's match with Waltham Abbey has been POSTPONED following this morning's pitch inspection after heavy rain over the past 24hrs left the playing surface waterlogged.

Horsham Youth striker Patrick O'Sullivan will be hoping that the rain stays away this Sunday after being selected to play for South East England against South West England. Despite feeling unwell on the day, Patrick impressed during his first trial match earlier this month and even scored his side's only goal to earn his selection for tomorrow's match, due to be played at Yeading FC. Players from this game will then be nominated to attend the National Trial at Lilleshall on 7-10th January 2010. Everyone connected with Horsham Football Club is extremely proud of Patrick and wish him well for tomorrow.

Local pride, and a place in the 4th round of the Championship Manager Cup, is at stake after Horsham were given a 'home' tie with Horsham YMCA in today's draw. The Hornets' landlords saw off the challenge of Eastbourne Town on Wednesday evening, a day after John Maggs' side had seen off the challenge of Sutton United, and Maggs declared himself happy with the draw. "I've been saying all along that we'd draw YM", claimed the manager. "I'm happy with that. It adds a bit extra to the game and, let's be honest, we could have drawn one of the big guns like Dartford or Hastings so we'll take that." The tie is due to be played during the week commencing 7th December.

This Saturday sees Premier Division new boys Waltham Abbey visit Gorings Mead for a first ever meeting with the Hornets (kick-off 3pm). Currently in 17th place, The Abbotts enjoyed a terrific 3-2 win at Essex neighbours Canvey Island last weekend but the Hornets are looking for a 4th win in a row. More..

18 year old Josh Pelling has agreed to join the club on a month's loan from Brighton & Hove Albion and will make his debut in Saturday's match with Waltham Abbey. Albion's third choice goalkeeper has featured in all of the Division One side's reserve team matches this season, playing in the season's opener against Leyton Orient, and his arrival will enable John Maggs more time to find a permanent replacement for the departed Rob Tolfrey. "Josh is very highly rated by Brighton," said Maggs, "and having him on board gives me a bit of breathing space while I try and get someone in more permanent." The Hornets' goalkeeping woes continued on Tuesday night when player/coach Rob Frankland suffered severe bruising and tissue damage around the bone in his foot while Maggs' hopes of bringing Alan Mansfield back to the club appear to have all but ended after the manager revealed that he had not heard from the Worthing 'keeper since Tuesday.

Horsham Football Club is very keen to maintain ties with its former players and, in the future will be looking at new ways of cementing relationships with those who contributed so much time and effort to the club over the years. As a first step in this process, the club recently introduced the Horsham FC Gold Pass which will be awarded at the discretion of the club to players who served with distinction, especially in the club's amateur days. The Gold Pass entitles the named holder and one guest to lifetime free entry to all of Horsham's home league and friendly matches and entry to the stand. Last Saturday the club was delighted to welcome Johnny Elphick to its game against Cray Wanderers. Centre-forward John joined the club as a youth player after the second world war and featured in the first team from 1947 until 1963. In total he made 196 competitive appearances, scored 121 goals and finished the club's top scorer in 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957, winning a Metropolitan League championship medal, two RUR Cup winners' medals and two Sussex Senior Cup winners' medals. A delighted Elphick said "This was my first visit to the YMCA ground to watch Horsham play and it was a pleasant surprise to find I was still remembered as a player some 50 years ago. I was very proud and pleased to be presented with a Gold Pass from the Chairman".

Other former players to have received their Gold Passes are Roy Spriggs, Denis Stillwell and Albert King, with five more to be handed out in the coming weeks.

A stunning volley from Alex Haddow helped Horsham to a deserved League Cup success over Sutton United tonight at a foggy Gorings Mead. The visitors took an early lead when Danny Philips beat stand-in 'keeper Rob Frankland after just 5 minutes but Haddow's sensational strike levelled things up, midway through the half, and Jack Page claimed what proved to be the winner just 6 minutes later. Pat Harding hit a post, and Claude Seanla had a goal disallowed, as the Hornets continued to apply the pressure in the second half with Stefan Cox having the best of Sutton's few chances to equalise when he drew a good save from Frankland. Full report....

John Maggs expects to have an answer from Alan Mansfield by Tuesday morning regarding a possible return to the club but has put Paul Seuke and Eric Pudaloff on standby for Tuesday's Championship Manager Cup tie with Sutton United (ko 7.30pm). More...

Mark Knee faces more time on the sidelines after a worrying injury forced him to spend an uncomfortable Saturday night in East Surrey Hospital. The luckless full-back had only recently returned from a horrifying head injury that saw him knocked unconscious at Kingstonian when he was involved in a hefty collision with goalkeeper Eric Pudaloff during the first half of Saturday's match with Cray Wanderers. "Mark was in an awful lot of pain," revealed club physio Andi Marfleet. "Eric caught him with his knee so we took him off straight away and he went to hospital as a precaution. He was going to come out that night but he almost collapsed as he got up so the doctors decided to keep him in because they were concerned about the impact to his chest. We were worried that he might have fractured a rib, and then there's a danger of puncturing a lung, but having found no break they kept him overnight because of possible trauma around his heart. It was a very serious injury but I spoke to him yesterday (Sunday) and he felt that his condition had improved. He is now out of hospital but is due to see a cardiologist in Worthing before we can assess how long he might be out for."

At least £100 has been added to the player budget following yesterday's victory over Cray Wanderers, thanks to the club's new Sponsor a Goal initiative. Around 25 people have already given their support to the cause, pledging at least £1 for every goal scored by the Hornets for the remainder of the season and you can join up, too, by contacting John Maggs on 07946 135709 or speaking to a club official at any home game.

A flurry of late goals helped Horsham to their biggest league win for 15 months with a second half display inspired by the excellent Lee Carney. After a scrappy, fairly chanceless first 45 minutes, the Hornets opened the scoring on 68 minutes through Jack Page's first goal for the club but it took until a minute from time before Claude Seanla made the game safe. Injury time goals from Carney and Pat Harding completed an emphatic victory to move John Maggs' side into 13th place in the Ryman Premier Division. Full report...

John Maggs' frantic search for a goalkeeper has been ended, by a chance family reunion ! With time fast running out, Maggs got in touch with Chelmsford based Eric Pudaloff and discovered that the former Brighton & Hove Albion junior had scheduled a visit to his parents in Crawley this weekend and was delighted to answer the Hornets' call in time to register for tomorrow's match with Cray Wanderers. Pudaloff, an England futsal international, played a handful of games for the Hornets in 2005 and spent last season with Waltham Forest. His stay, though, may be just as brief as before with Maggs confirming that remains confident of landing Worthing's Alan Mansfield as permanent replacement for the departed Rob Tolfrey.

Suspensions, injuries and a goalkeeping crisis. Hardly the ideal preparation for John Maggs as his Horsham side return to League action with the visit of Cray Wanderers this Saturday, the first of 3 home games in 7 days. More...

Horsham will begin next month with 4 successive away games as their postponed Ryman League match with Wealdstone has been rearranged for Tuesday, 15 December (kick-off 7.45pm). The Hornets take on Hendon (Dec 1st), Canvey Island (Dec 5th) and Aveley (Dec 12th) before the trip to the Stones' Grosvenor Vale ground in Ruislip.

Alan Mansfield is the man targeted by John Maggs to replace the outgoing Rob Tolfrey after Horsham's first choice goalkeeper announced his decision to join divisional rivals Kingstonian earlier today. Tolfrey made 47 appearances for the Hornets after signing from Whyteleafe last November and leaves as he arrived, with a clean sheet in last weekend's victory over Horsham YMCA but his departure causes a headache for Maggs who is already without 3 key outfield players for Saturday's visit of Cray Wanderers. "I've slapped a 7 day on (former Hornet) Alan Mansfield and I think it's unlikely that Worthing will let me speak to him until then so I'm probably going to have to dual sign someone for Saturday," explained Maggs. "I'm obviously sorry to see Rob go. He is a quality 'keeper, no doubt about that, but we just can' compete with what Kingstonian are paying him."

Rob Tolfrey could become the latest departure away from Gorings Mead after it was revealed that Kingstonian have made an approach for the Hornets goalkeeper. Speaking earlier today, boss John Maggs resigned himself to losing his first choice 'keeper stating that the club could not compete with 'the sort of money they (Kingstonian) could offer'. "They put in a 7 day approach on Friday so I had little option other than to waive the 7 days as it would give me no time to get someone in for next week if he does decide to leave," explained Maggs. "Obviously I hope he stays but I've given Rob and Kingstonian until Monday night to let me know so I can start looking for a replacement". Better news comes with Maggs' announcement that he hopes to tie up a deal to sign midfielder Steve Sergeant and also expects to discuss terms with former player Nigel Brake, both within the 'next 24 hours'.

John Maggs praised the midfield partnership of Steve Sergeant and Lee Carney as the Hornets strolled to victory over landlords Horsham YMCA. Sergeant, trialling with Horsham after being released by YM earlier this week, impressed as the Premier Division side raced into a 4-0 interval lead in yesterday's friendly fixture, prompting Maggs to announce his intention to sign the former Leatherhead man early next week. You can read Maggs' thoughts on yesterday's victory, and details on the game, courtesy of 13 year old Alex Holmes whose match report wins our competition to find our best young reporter, here...