Barnsley FC made headlines on November 22 when they were expelled out of the FA Cup for fielding an ineligible player.
Their opponents, seventh-tier minnows Horsham FC, managed to hold the Tykes to a hard-fought 3-3 draw at Oakwell, before Barnsley won the replay 3-0.
However, the south Yorkshire side fielded a player in the replay who had not been registered for the initial fixture, a breach of FA Cup Rule 103.
This therefore allowed Horsham, who are based in Sussex, to reach the second round of the world’s oldest cup competition, where they will play Sutton United this Saturday, and they appear to have acquired some Barnsley fans in the process.
Speaking after the news was confirmed, Horsham chairman Kevin Borrett said: “We’re in the second round through circumstances this time but we want to try and capitalise on that and believe we have a strong level of support, even from Barnsley.
“I think we have a northern branch who will be rooting strongly for us on Saturday. We’ve already talked about future collaboration between the clubs in some way.”
A number of Barnsley fans have been vocally supportive on X (twitter).
Good luck tomorrow chaps! Barnsley fan rooting for you 👌👍
— Dave (@Superdaveyy) December 1, 2023
One fan tweeted: “Good luck tomorrow chaps! Barnsley fan rooting for you.”
Another wrote: “Good luck tomorrow @HorshamFC. Hope you get through and get a good tie in the next round.”
Horsham have never made it through to the third round of the tournament, but will be eying up the game against Sutton, who are sat in 24th in League Two, as a golden opportunity to make history.
