Cards start FA Cup campaign against Isthmian side Horsham

Horsham vs Woking
Emirates FA Cup – Fourth Qualifying Round
Saturday 16th October 2021

Woking will be looking to avoid a potential upset when they travel to take on Isthmian League Premier Division side Horsham in the fourth qualifying round of the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday.

The Cards come into the game off the back of a first defeat in four after a narrow 1-0 loss at home to league leader’s Grimsby Town last Saturday, but Alan Dowson’s side will no doubt be full of confidence after another widely praised performance against in-form opposition, who needed a late goal from Harry Clifton to take all three points.

Dowse has promised to name the strongest available team for the game as he aims to secure passage into the first-round proper of the competition for the third time in four seasons – in 2018/19 the Cards famously reached round three and a meeting with Premier League side Watford, whilst last season’s run included a victory at local rivals Aldershot Town and a narrow defeat to League One side Gillingham. The boss could name the same side which started against Grimsby, including midfielder Tarryn Allarakhia, who impressed on his first start for the club in place of the injured Max Kretzschmar, who himself is thought to be close to making a return. George Oakley and Jordan Maguire-Drew remain the only two players currently sidelined.

Opposition Watch

Horsham, known as the Hornets, were promoted to the seventh tier of English football in 2019 after a play-off victory in the Isthmian Division One South East. Whilst their last two campaigns have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, they did finish a respectable sixth and ninth in the two incomplete league tables.

They have found this season more challenging thus far, currently sitting 21st with five points from eight games, but with up to three games in hand on some teams thanks to their excellent cup exploits – beating Haywards Heath Town, Kingstonian and Eastbourne Borough to reach this stage, all via replays. Formed in Sussex in 1881, their best previous FA Cup run came in 2007/08, when they reached round two, losing to Swansea City in a replay.

There are a couple of players in the Horsham squad who Woking fans will be familiar with, most notably goalkeeper Sam Howes, who spent the 2019/20 season with the Cards, predominately as back-up to Craig Ross; midfielder Tom Kavanagh has played for a lot of Surrey-based sides, including Sutton United, Kingstonian and Merstham and has been a regular against the Cards in the Surrey Senior Cup; and forward Shamir Fenelon spent three years with Aldershot from 2016-2019.

On the Day

Horsham’s home ground is Hop Oast Stadium. The postcode is RH13 0AD.

This game is all-ticket, and, at time of writing, there is an extremely limited number of away tickets still available. You can check the latest ticket information here. Further information can also be found on our website regarding matchday information and travel.

The Cards Trust is running a coach to this game. For full details please click here.