Big improvement on Enfield showing – butBurgess Hill Town out of luck at Wingate

The contest at home to Enfield on Saturday was disrupted early on when a kit clash between the sides became apparent. Just five minutes in, play was halted while officials tried to resolve the issue, with Hill switching to white shirts.

The visitors wasted little time in taking control. Thomas Avgoustidis opened the scoring in the 15th minute before Amrit Bansal-McNulty doubled their advantage 10 minutes later.

Goalkeeper Roco Rees produced several important saves and Hill manager Gary Mansell made two changes at half-time in an attempt to turn the contest around, introducing Charlie Lambert and Ben Pope.

But Enfield struck twice after the restart. Avgoustidis added his second in the 48th minute before completing his hat-trick just two minutes later.

Brad Barry and Nicky Wheeler came on but Enfield continued to press forward and added a fifth through Oliver Davis in the 62nd minute. Pope came close to a consolation but Daniel Efobi struck in the second minute of added time to complete the scoring.

On Tuesday night, luck was not on the Hillians’ side as they conceded an agonisingly late equaliser at Wingate & Finchley, despite an exceptional display of hard work and resilience. The performance was a clear improvement on Saturday’s heavy home defeat.

The Hillians started the first half on the front foot, and this positive approach continued throughout the opening 45 minutes as they looked the more likely side to break the deadlock.

They produced some excellent passages of play, creating several promising half-chances for Ben Pope and Charlie Lambert, with the latter coming closest to opening the scoring. With five minutes remaining in the first half, Pope was shown a yellow card. Moments later, the half-time whistle sounded with neither side able to find the breakthrough.

As the second half got underway on a cold evening in North London, the Hillians continued to take the initiative, creating further opportunities to open the scoring.

Lambert came close before Yoan Edoukou flashed a shot across goal from inside the box, which agonisingly went wide of the far post just before the hour mark.

As the half progressed, Roco Rees was called into action just before the 75-minute mark, producing an excellent save to keep the scores level. Shortly afterwards, Chris Whelpdale was introduced in place of Charlie Lambert.

Then, with 80 minutes played, the Hillians won a corner, which was delivered by Edoukou towards the near post. Whelpdale, with his first touch, connected brilliantly with a header that sailed over the goalkeeper and into the net, giving the Hillians a deserved lead.

Following the goal, Burgess Hill defended resolutely, with Harry Lawson producing a last-ditch block to prevent the hosts from drawing level.

With 90 minutes played and a minimum of six minutes of added time indicated, the Hillians made another substitution, with Jake King replacing Yoan Edoukou. However, with virtually the last action of the game, the hosts were awarded a penalty, which Ryan Lowe converted to make it 1-1 at full time.

It was heartbreak for the Hillians, who had been the better side throughout and looked deserving of all three points, only to leave with just one.

Nevertheless, there were plenty of positives to take from the performance, particularly following Saturday’s result. The hard work, determination and resilience shown by the players were there for all to see, and the boys should take great pride in their efforts on this occasion.

As always, a huge thank you goes to the travelling Hillians supporters who made the journey to North London. Your tremendous support is, as ever, greatly appreciated.

Next up for the Hillians is another away trip on Saturday, when they travel to Chatham Town FC for a 3pm kick-off.