Horley Town FC (H) Match Preview

Punjab United
3 days ago
5 min read

Punjab United vs Horley Town, FA Trophy 1st Qualifying Round, The Steve Cook Stadium, Saturday 22nd August 2026, 3:00pm Kick-Off

Punjab go from one cup competition to another as for the first time in their history, they will be taking part in the FA Trophy. They got a bye from the preliminary round and will take on fellow debutants Horley Town. With promotion to Step 4 last season, this meant that Punjab moved to a different FA competition as they will now play in the FA Trophy. With making the semi-final of the FA Vase last year, Punjab will be looking to create another fairytale story. Their last encounter was a 2-0 defeat away to SE Dons in the Emirates FA Cup Preliminary Round replay so they will be looking to get back to winning ways this Saturday.

Saturday's opponents will be Horley Town who were also promoted from the playoffs last season (Combined Counties Premier South) and are also making their debut in the FA Trophy.

The programme for this afternoon's game can be seen below:

Our Opponents:

Horley Town currently play in the Isthmian South East Division and play their games at The New Defence. In the 2025/26 season, they finished 5th in the Combined Counties Premier South and was promoted via the playoffs. They've had a tough start so far with being out of the FA Cup and losing their opening three league games so this Saturday they will be looking to pick up their first win this season.

History:

Horley Football Club was first affiliated with Surrey County FA in 1896. In 1903, another local club by the name of Gatwick Rovers was formed and the two clubs merged in 1908 with Horley retaining its name. Both these original clubs played in the same colours of red and black until 1912 when Horley adopted claret and blue which they still wear to this day over 110 years later.

The club first entered intermediate football in the 1925/26 season following an appearance in the Surrey County Junior Cup Final in 1923/24 and then winning the Surrey County Junior Cup in 1924/25. Following the Second World War, Horley was faced with losing its home at The Kings Head ground and set about finding a new one. A local landowner by the name Major A.L.N Jennings became the club’s main benefactor (and President) following his generous decision to gift the club 10.7 acres of land on Smallfield Road. This land was held in a trust for the people of Horley from 1947, in memory of those who died in the defence of their country – the ground was appropriately named The Defence.

With the expansion of the village of Horley and it becoming a town, in 1974 the club changed its name to Horley Town Football Club. With this came the club’s most successful period in senior football which culminated in winning the Surrey Senior League and Surrey Senior League Challenge Cup in 1976/77. The club also reached the final of the Surrey Senior League Charity Cup in the same season. The club went on to compete in the London Spartan League and Athenian League before returning to the Combined Counties League (formerly Surrey Senior League). The early 1980’s saw the club expand their footprint in youth football with the creation in Horley Town Minors. This relationship has grown over the years and Horley Town are now proud to offer the community and local children a football pathway from junior, through to their teens and into senior adult men’s football. Whilst operating a large youth section, once of age players can move into the clubs U18 or U23 side to continue their development before playing for the first team.

Fast forward to September 2003, Horley Town moved to their new ground, The New Defence, behind a state-of-the-art Leisure Centre. The name of the new ground was of course a reference to their previous one, where they played for just under 60 years. The club played in the Combined Counties Premier League at this point and had an array of other sides for both junior and senior players. In the years that followed, Horley Town had success in both the league and cup competitions. They reached the First Qualifying Round of the FA Cup in 2011/12, losing to Dulwich Hamlet 4-0 and in 2014/15 secured a top 6 finish in the Combined Counties Premier. During that season and the one that immediately followed, Horley Town striker Ashley Nadesan scored 99 goals for the club and subsequently signed for League One side, Fleetwood Town. Ashley went on to also represent Carlisle United, Crawley Town and Sutton United.

The 2015/16 season saw the club finish 6^th again and in 2017/18 Horley Town reached the fourth round of The FA Vase succumbing to a narrow defeat to Chichester City at home. The club continued to build off the pitch as well as on it and added a new 52-seater stand to the ground behind the goal. In the years that followed, the club moved between the Southern Combination Football League and Combined Counties Football League with a number of seasons being affected by the Covid-19 virus.

Significant changes came in the 2022/23 season with then U23 manager, Martin Rapson being appointed as the club’s new 1^st Team Manager, shortly followed by Tyler Chambers becoming joint 1^st Team Manager in February 2023. In August 2023, for the first time, Horley Town’s FA Cup tie against AFC Croydon Athletic was broadcast live on the BBC and the cameras brought an attendance of over 400 people. In the same season, Horley Town also reached their first cup final for several decades as they faced Reading City for the Southern Combination Cup – unfortunately ending in a 4-2 defeat against the Berkshire side.

In November 2025, Tyler Chambers became 1^st Team Manager after Martin Rapson stepped down. Horley Town ended the 2025/26 season in 5^th place meaning they qualified for the play-offs for the first time in history. On the road in both play-off games they beat Tadley Calleva 3-0 in the semi-final and then Fleet Town 4-2 in the final to achieve step 4 status for the first time in 130 years. The club have been placed into the Isthmian South East division for the 2026/27 season in which they celebrate their 130^th anniversary as a club.

Getting There:

The nearest train station to Punjab United is Gravesend. You can then either get the bus which takes 30 minutes or get a taxi from the station which takes 11 minutes.

The Steve Cook Stadium

Dunkirk Close

Gravesend

Kent

DA12 5ND

Extra Information:

The Steve Cook Stadium will be opening at 1:30pm, with many products on offer from simple soft drinks to beers. The Punjab Cafe will also be open and offer food and drink.

In terms of disabled parking, it is crucial that anybody who requires it, contacts the Punjab team via email (punjabutdfc@gmail.com). Parking may be busy and can fill quickly, if you do decide to park around residential areas, please be mindful and respectful of residents.