Horsham FC v Barnsley FC in the FA Cup: Televised Tykes replay ‘something to tell the kids and grandkids’ says Hornets captain Jack Brivio

The Hornets welcome the Tykes to a sold-out Camping World Community Stadium after holding the South Yorkshire club to a thrilling 3-3 draw at Oakwell.

The game will be broadcast live on ITV4 and ITVX - marking the first time Horsham have appeared live on terrestrial television.

Brivio, who has been at the club since 2018, revealed he was relishing the prospect of playing in front of a national audience.

The Hornets captain also admitted holding Barnsley to a replay last month was at the ‘top of the list’ of his many achievements while at Horsham.

He said: “I’m really looking forward to it. It’s the first time I would have done it before, but I know a few of the other lads have.

“It’s really exciting. It’s something you tell your kids and grandkids about, that you’ve played on the telly on ITV.

“I think it’ll give us a bit of extra focus because you know more people outside the ground will be watching you as well. Hopefully that gives us a bit of an extra kick and adrenaline on the night.

“It’s hard to say it’s not at the top of the list [of my achievements at Horsham], to be honest with you, with all the coverage that we’ve had.

“Taking a League One team to a replay back at our place in front of a sellout crowd is a massive achievement.

“We’ve had a lot of good moments - promotions, and [an appearance] in the FA Cup first round before - but I think the performance we put in against such a high level opposition was just a brilliant feeling.”

Brivio also created some Horsham history at Oakwell. The midfield maestro became the first player to captain the club in two separate FA Cup first round matches.

The Hornets hero also skippered Horsham in their 2-0 first round defeat at then-League Two outfit Carlisle United in November 2021.

Reflecting on this feat, Brivio said: “It’s a great achievement. When I joined, it was probably something that wasn’t on my radar to be honest.

“I’ve been with Dom [Di Paola, Horsham manager] for five or six years, so we’ve got a good relationship, and I’ve managed to stay in the team.

“It was a big achievement to get the first one under our belts. This one feels that much better to be honest, particularly after how we performed at Barnsley. You never know, we might do it again next year!”

The troubles Horsham encountered in the build-up to the initial fixture at Barnsley have been well-documented.

The Hornets’ Cup clash at Oakwell was played on a Friday evening, having been switched from Saturday following talks with local emergency services.

And Brivio revealed the decision to move the tie caused a myriad of issues for Horsham’s players and supporters.

The Hornets captain said: “It was tough. We’ve got a lot of lads who are teachers or self-employed, so it was tricky to schedule around that.

“I was quite fortunate that my work was okay with things but it definitely made an impact.

“Just even getting to travel up on the Thursday night was one of the main issues - just making sure we could all set off on time and get to Barnsley at a reasonable time.

“We were all right in the end because we were all excited to be part of the game. It was just more of an issue for family and friends [getting to Barnsley].”

Brivio also paid tribute to the supporters who made the arduous trek to South Yorkshire.

A hardy band of 563 away fans roared the Hornets on to a famous draw against the Football League outfit - and Brivio was hoping for more of the same from the Horsham faithful this evening.

He added: “We played brilliantly up at Barnsley but the fans dragged us through that game. You could hear every bit of encouragement. They were roaring us on and it was just an amazing feeling. I genuinely think that was one of the reasons why we were able to come back twice in the game.

“We’ll need that here as well as there will be tough moments where they will have a lot of the ball again. We’ll just have to stay focussed in our game, and that can come from the fans sometimes.

“[I’d say to Horsham fans] enjoy the occasion - be loud and we’ll give us as much on the pitch as you give to us.”

You can read what Horsham manager Dominic Di Paola’s said in the build-up to tonight’s replay here.