While the days when Albion took part in the FA Cup first round are a distant memory, one member of our staff is looking forward to continuing his journey in this season’s competition.
Assistant academy education manager Sami El-Abd helped Horsham overcome National League Dorking Wanderers on Saturday in the fourth qualifying round, which earned them a first round draw away to League One high-fliers Barnsley.
The Hornets overcame Leatherhead and Marlow after replays before beating Hanworth Villa. That put them within touching distance of the first round proper, which they duly reached when they beat Sami’s former club, where he spent four seasons, 2-0.
“I was watching the draw at home with my family and I was jumping up and down, although my wife and kids didn’t really understand!” Sami said. “I am excited. You don’t want a National League or a lower League Two team because the likelihood is you’ll lose but in a fairly small ground. Barnsley ticks all the boxes.
“This is the third time I’ve reached the first round of the FA Cup. I did it with Team Bath and Chelmsford City, but we got lower league opposition both times. They were still good fixtures, but playing Barnsley is the best we could have hoped for.”
It’s one of the biggest games in Horsham’s history.
“Horsham have played Carlisle and Swansea City in the FA Cup, but this probably surpasses those,” Sami added. “The club are producing commemorative shirts for us and we normally travel on a standard coach but we’re looking at an executive coach. We might even stay overnight which is definitely a novelty at this level.”
The Hornets’ success on Saturday goes down as one of Sami's favourite days in the game.
“It was a special day. Reaching the first round is amazing, but playing that game against Dorking will be one of my cherished memories in football. I was a player-coach at Dorking and I enjoyed two promotions there. I had mixed emotions about beating them.”
Horsham slipped to 14th in the Isthmian League Premier Division after a 2-0 defeat to Wingate and Finchley on Tuesday night, but are only three points off the play-off spots with games in hand and Sami wants the players to keep their feet on the ground before heading to Oakwell in early November.
Still can’t get over today’s result?
— Horsham FC (@HorshamFC) October 14, 2023
Why not relive the goals that got us through to the @EmiratesFACup First Round Proper for the 5th time in our history!
(Video credit: @YourInstReplay) pic.twitter.com/xd3AZpN4Bp
“The magic of the FA Cup is very much still alive, but we’re worried is that it’ll detract from the league,” he said. “We’re realistic. Barnsley will be favourites by a long way and the reality is we’re not going to go deep in the competition, but the game could derail us in the next few weeks.
“We’ve got four games before Barnsley [including the defeat to Wingate & Finchley] and we’ve got to make sure we’re in the right headspace. The psychology is really interesting – Barnsley could define our season if we let it but we want to have something to play for in the league come the end of the season.”