Burgess Hill Town 1 Brightlingsea Regent 1, Bostik Premier League, Saturday 13th April 2019
It may have taken the best part of eight months, and almost the entire duration of my inaugural groundhopping season but, 44 games into my journey, I have finally become organised.
After spending months not knowing where I’d be from one week to the next, I entered April having all of my upcoming fixtures already mapped out for me. I’d even written them down on a scrap of paper and pinned it to a cork board in my office. Height of efficiency!
What’s more, I’d had this week’s game – Burgess Hill vs Brightlingsea Regent in the Bostik Premier League – pencilled into my (hypothetical) diary for weeks. Having noticed a fair while ago that there were no matches scheduled in the SCFL Premier for this particular weekend, I immediately checked to see whether the Hillians (the only Sussex-based Bostik Premier League team whose ground I’d yet to visit this season) were due to be at home. They were. Match sorted.
Even back in early March, when I’d originally decided that the wonderfully named Green Elephants Stadium (AKA Leylands Park) would be my venue for that (at the time) far-away Saturday afternoon, I was well aware of how Burgess Hill may require my presence by the time that date rolled by.
You see, I’ve already seen The Hillians in action twice this season. The first time was back in August, when they played out a drab goallessdraw with Worthing; while the second was when they beat Lewes 3-0 on New Year’s Day following a scintillating second-half display. Two matches, two games unbeaten and two clean sheets. Surely my presence alone could be the key to the team surviving their battle against relegation. Obviously those two results had nothing to do with the hard work of the players or management involved, it was all down to my mere attendance in the crowd. Hillians fans you can thank me later (if you survive).
So the day of the game arrived. By now, Hill were just two points from safety having embarked on a sudden and unexpected run of form (obviously sparked by the fact that I was soon to be visiting the Green Elephants Stadium). With Brightlingsea Regent firmly ensconced in mid-table, likely to finish somewhere between eighth and fourteenth, the afternoon’s visitors had little to play for. Therefore, I was confident Hill’s unbeaten run while I had been watching them would have every chance of continuing.
I arrived at the GES at just after 14:30, having been dropped off by my wife. We’d spent the morning visiting friends to see their gorgeous new-born son, Chester, and wifey had been planning to take the kids to the circus in Brighton while I went to football (much to my pleasure – I hate circuses!). However, so enamoured were we by little Chester that we ended up leaving our friends' house later than planned meaning she didn’t have time to drop me to football and get to the circus (especially not with the added traffic caused by Brighton being at home). She instead settled on taking the kids to a local leisure centre to go rock climbing, and then arranged to meet me back at the ground so the boys could watch some of the second half. More of that it a bit.
This was my first visit to the ground formerly know as Leylands Park, and I have to say I loved it. Admission was £10, while a fantastic little program was purchased for a further £2. It’s not the first time this season that I’ve found myself mightily impressed by a program on offer at Bostik Premier league level and it gives me a glimmer of hope that there is still a place for printed programs in the modern age.
The ground itself is decent enough. There’s a main seated stand running down one side of the pitch, while there is a covered terraced area behind the far goal, and a cover seated stand behind the near goal. The clubhouse/bar is decent-sized and welcoming, while the back of the net food shack (located quite literally behind the back of a net) offers a good range of hot food and drinks.
The early stages of the match were stop-start, with a lot of niggly fouls being committed by both teams. The first sight of goal came from the home side, with Regent ‘keeper James Bradbrook doing well to keep out Aaron Smith-Jospeh’s low effort after ten minutes. Moments later, it was Hill’s goalie Josh James’ turn to be called into action as he saved well from Jake Gould’s header.
However, after a fairly even first 15 minutes it was the hosts who began to turn the screw. The Hillians began to create a fairly regular flurry of chances, the best of which arguably fell to Dan Beck who screwed his effort wide when well placed inside the area.
With the half-time whistle approaching, I was feeling fairly comfortable with my earlier prediction that Burgess Hill would maintain their unbeaten record when I'd seen them.
Then disaster struck for the hosts. After a bit of a scramble in the penalty area, the ball arrived at the feet of Regent’s Jake Turner around 25 yards out. After taking a decent first-touch to get the ball out of his feet, Turner quickly let fly with an accurate low shot that seemed to catch James slightly flat-footed. Agonisingly for the home side, the ball bounced off the inside of one post, rolled along the line, hit the other post and just crossed the line to give the visitors an undeserved half-time lead.
For the first ten minutes or so of the second half, the Hillians seemed to struggle to shake the disappointment (and shock) of being behind. Two big chances went the way of the visitors in this period, with James saving well from Joseph Yaxley, then Turner smashing over from close range when it looked easier to score. If either chance had gone in, you'd have to feel the game would be over.
Having weathered the mini-storm, though, the introduction of Hill legend Pat Harding and a tweak of formation, soon saw the hosts reassume full control of the match. The Hillians began to find joy down both wings with both Smith-Jospeh and, in particular, Joe Felix, becoming increasingly influential.
The home faithful were also becoming more influential, making an increasing amount of noise as the game wore on; not once letting up on their singing and chanting even when it looked like the match was drifting away from their team. On previous posts I’ve been complimentary about the Hill away support and I have to say they’re just as good at home. So much so that when my wife and kids turned up midway through the half, my eldest was instantly enthralled by the atmosphere and for the second time this season became an honorary Hillian for the day (well, 25 minutes).
On the pitch, though, chances continued to come and go. Ross Murdoch (twice), Felix (twice), Beck and Tommy Wood all went close but couldn’t force a way past Bradbrook, who was doing his best to wind up the home support with some pantomime time wasting at every goal-kick.
With the electronic board displaying a minimum of three added minutes having just been held-up, it seemed my (admittedly self-confessed) role of Hill’s lucky mascot was coming to an end.
However, the hosts are nothing if not plucky. The previous week, I had been informed on more than one occasion during the afternoon, Hill had scored two late goals to turn a likely 1-0 defeat into an unlikely 2-1 victory. The message was clear, It wasn’t over until it was over.
And so it proved. More good work from Felix down the right culminated with a cross that was powerfully headed home by Wood, to salvage a more than deserved point for the home side. An unlikely repeat of the previous week’s turnaround, though, was not forthcoming.
Still three times watching Hill for me this season, and they haven’t lost any of them. Maybe I really am a lucky mascot?
The result leaves Burgess Hill just one-point shy of safety with three games left. Unfortunately, for them to survive the likelihood is another Sussex team, Whitehawk will be relegated.
With visits to the Green Elephants Stadium and Whitehawk’s Enclosed Ground having been among my favourites this season, it will be sad to see at least one of these teams (possibly still both of them) finishing the season by dropping down a division.
It’s a harsh game is football. But, hey, that’s why we love it!
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