Get the lowdown on our next opponents: Horley Town.
The Opposition
Horley Town will no doubt have had one eye on their league campaign heading into Tuesday night’s Surrey Senior Cup clash, with the Clarets switching their attention to cup action after a successful run in the Combined Counties League.
Tyler Chambers’ side currently sit seventh in the division and will be aiming to close the gap to the play-off spots sooner rather than later, with the Clarets sitting three points behind Redhill in their pursuit of a first promotion since they finished as Division One runners-up in 2006/07.
However, they will also have an eye on the prospect of lifting their first Surrey Senior Cup title in their 130-year history, having enjoyed their best ever run in the competition after reaching the last eight with a 5-2 win over Sheerwater.
Key to their success this term has been the goals of talisman Arlie Desanges, with his 13 strikes being bettered by only six players in the entire division, while Cobi Acquaye is fast approaching his tally with a hat-trick in Horley’s previous encounter at Guildford City.
Furthermore, the likes of Joe Carrington, Aaron Moody, Ben Dyson, Will Kendall, Liam Trevatt and Cameron Gyeabour have been consistent members of the squad, all appearing at least 20 times this season along with Desanges and Acquaye, with Chambers finding a largely settled side.
Horley will now head into their Quarter-Final clash confident, with a Acquaye hat-trick propelling them to a 3-1 triumph last time out, and a second win of 2026, though they were unable to maintain momentum with their clash against Camberley Town on the weekend being postponed.
As such, they will be looking to cause a major upset in the Surrey Senior Cup, eyeing up a maiden appearance in the Semi-Final.
The Manager
Tyler Chambers
Tyler Chambers moved into coaching at a young age after an early end to his playing career, and built a strong reputation in youth and development football.
Notably with Sutton Common Rovers and Merstham, Chambers produced an exception track record at Under-23 level, achieving league and cup success by winning the back-to-back Combined Counties League titles, as well as being back-to-back finalists in the Combined Counties League Cup and Surrey Senior across a three-year stint with the Commoners, before moving across Surrey with a switch to Merstham.
His time at Moatside proved just as successful, winning the Combined Counties League Cup and Suburban South title, as well as being runners-up in the Division 1 Challenge Cup, before stepping into senior management after two years at Merstham, five in total within youth football, moving to Croydon FC in 2022.
A year in South London preceded a move to Horley Town, initially working alongside Martin Rapson before later continuing as the club’s First Team Manager, where he has guided them to successive mid-table finishes before securing ninth place last term, an impressive rise from 17th in his maiden campaign at The New Defence.
One to Watch
Arlie Desanges
Arlie Desanges has impressed in his maiden campaign at The New Defence, having signed from Sutton Athletic in the summer.
The striker has been a consistent goalscorer within non-league, notably finishing as the Southern Counties East Football League Division One top scorer with 34 goals in 2016/17, before going on to establish his reputation as a proven goalscorer at Steps 4 and 5, finding the back of the net over 250 times for Sutton, Chipstead, Redhill and others. His tally of 13 goals this season has been bettered by just four players in the entire division, while he also coaches youth players at Chipstead.
Recent Form
Horley Town 3-1 Guildford City
Horley Town 0-1 Tadley Calleva
Horley Town 3-1 Redhill
Sutton Common Rovers 1-0 Horley Town
Chipstead 2-0 Horley Town
Horley Town 5-2 Sheerwater
Last Time Out
Horley returned to winning ways with a 3-1 triumph over struggling Guildford City, with a Cobi Acquaye hat-trick stinging City at The New Defence.
It was Guildford who took the lead on 31 minutes when Joel Oppong offloaded the ball to Kai Zini whose effort from outside the box dipped into the top corner. Minutes later City felt they should have had a penalty when Oppong went down heavily in the box, and it wasn’t long before Horley levelled as the tall figure of Acquaye headed home at the back post.
The clash then became something of a scrappy affair in the second half, though Guildford may have wondered if they could weather the storm and secure an unlikely point. However, it wasn’t to be as Acquaye headed home from close range seven minutes from time, moments before he completed his hat-trick when he struck an effort low into the corner from the edge of the box.
Photo Credit: Luke Davidson // @osou_snap (IG)
