Hester-Cook leveller not enough as Horsham fall to leaders

Monday 12 October 2026 · By Lionel Warnham

Horsham suffered a third straight home league defeat on Saturday, beaten 2–1 by Enterprise National League South leaders Maidstone United. Charlie Hester-Cook’s equaliser had given them hope, but a late mistake proved costly.

Maidstone went ahead on 22 minutes through a Nana Boateng penalty, an award that the club felt was debatable. Horsham responded in the best possible way, with Hester-Cook equalising straight after half-time. For a long time it looked as though Dominic Di Paola’s side would take a point from the leaders.

But with three minutes left, Jack Brivio’s weak back-header fell to Tom Leahy, who scored the winner for Maidstone. It was a cruel way to lose a game in which Horsham had held the leaders until the closing minutes.

The defeat leaves Horsham 17th in the table on 11 points from ten games. They have won two, drawn five and lost three, scoring ten goals and conceding 12. They have not won in six league games, and their last five league results read drawn, drawn, lost, drawn, lost.

It has been a painful couple of weeks. On 3 October Horsham went out of the FA Cup in the third qualifying round, losing 2–1 at Plymouth Parkway. Silva scored for Horsham, but Di Paola was frustrated with his side’s performance. He blamed “seven or eight minutes of stupidity” for the defeat, and pointed out the financial impact. “We need the money,” he told the Sussex Express.

There have been some positives. Before the cup exit, Horsham won 10–0 against Newhaven in the county cup and drew 0–0 at Chelmsford City in the league. Danny Barker returned to the squad on Saturday, and top scorer Greg Luer, who had been a doubt, was on the bench.

Finishing has been the problem. Horsham have scored only ten league goals in ten games, and if Luer can get back to full fitness, he will be a big boost.

The next game is a big one. Horsham travel to bottom club Slough Town on Saturday 17 October, kick-off 3pm. Slough are six points from safety and lost 5–1 at Torquay United on Saturday, so it is a real chance for Horsham to end their winless run.

After that comes a busy spell. Horsham travel to Ebbsfleet United on Tuesday 20 October, before hosting Walton & Hersham on Saturday 24 October. They then go to Maidenhead United on Tuesday 27 October and Farnborough on Saturday 31 October.

Several of those games are against sides in the bottom half of the table, so there are points to be won. Di Paola will want his side to cut out the mistakes that have cost them recently, and if they can, Horsham have every chance of climbing away from the danger zone.

They have a game in hand on most of the sides around them, which could also prove useful as the season goes on.