Burgess Hill Town and Broadbridge Hwath exit FA Cup

The visitors have enjoyed an excellent start to the season and this continued with this win at HomeCall Carpets Community Stadium as Louis Stead was the hero of the afternoon for the visiting Magpies.

Hill were forced into a few changes from the midweek win due to a few injuries and Marcel Powell was cup tied so unable to play.

Amersham flew out of the traps and had a huge chance early on as a corner comes in and an unmarked Magpie should score but heads over.

The visitors continued to press and again should have scored as Sidney Gueye is clean through and fires it into the trees with just Slav Huk to beat. Amersham again went very close as Huk comes and then quickly retreats and they try and chip him but it goes inches over.

Amersham got the goal they richly deserved for such a fine start on 15 minutes. Gueye gets to the ball ahead of Huk and it falls to Jake Tabor who composes himself and thumps it past defenders and into the net.

Despite it being all Amersham the Hillians found an equaliser six minutes later as Kieran Rowe flicks it through to Hamish Morrison who does brilliantly to break clear and equalise past Xavier Comas Leon for his first Hillians goal.

Within two minutes the visitors retook the lead. A corner comes in and 2 Hill players collide leaving a simple tap in from a yard for Samir Shaffi.

Hill attempted to find another equaliser as Brannon O’Neill swung in a free kick in which Rowe meets but gets too much on it. Another guilt edge chance comes and goes for the Magpies, Gueye is clean through again but hits it miles over.

The half ended with a chance for each side as Nathan Cooper flies in at the back post but can only hook over the bar and at the other end Amersham missed another guilt edged chance.

Forwards Dan Perry and Alex Brewer came on at half time as the Hill looked to get back into the game.

Amersham work it nicely down the right but fire high over the bar on 56 minutes and then Rowe curled one over the bar.

Hill were starting to create a few chances and on 63 minutes Ben Pope pings a tremendous ball to Brewer who fires it across for Perry who can’t convert.

The hosts thought they should have been awarded a penalty as Perry goes down under a challenge in the box but the referee was having none of it.

Hillians finally equalised with 7 minutes remaining as Joe Overy dances down the left and squares for Dan Perry to slam home his 72nd Hill goal.

As the game looked to be heading for a replay the visitors won it in the 7th minute of stoppage time. Slav Huk made a superb save from a diving header deep in added time and from the resulting corner Stead won it to send the visitors wild and send them through to the 3rd qualifying round.

Hill: Slav Huk, Hamish Morrison, Reggie Ward, Ryan Worrall, Nathan Cooper, Brannon O’Neill, Ollie Davies (Dan Perry 46), Kieran Rowe, Ben Pope, Harry Lawson (Alex Brewer 46), Joe Overy. Subs not used: Alex Malins, Bobby Price, Charlie Bonwick-Adams.

Ramsgate 1-0 Broadbridge Heath

Having already made history by playing more games (four) in the Emirates FA Cup this season than in any previous season, the Bears were given a really difficult cup draw away to Isthmian League South East division leaders Ramsgate.

The Rams have had a great start to the 2024-25 campaign, played nine, won nine, scored 27 goals and conceded only 7 so Chris Simmons knew his side would have to be at their best to compete against the East Kent side.

The game flowed from end to end with neither side creating any clear cut chances, the first shot on target came from Heath’s Jake Lindsey on 15 minutes when Matt Hay won the ball on the halfway line and strode forward into the Ramsgate half before picking out Lindsey 25 yards from goal who turned one way then the other before getting off a left foot shot from the edge of the box that was saved comfortably by the hosts goalkeeper Tom Hadler.

Hadler was in action again minutes later when Callum Dowdell cut in from the left flank and hammered a left foot shot which the keeper saved low to his left, the ball came out to Louis Evans who turned sharply to strike another left foot shot but Hadler was already up and made another good save to stop the Bears from taking the lead.

Kyle Sim was the next with a shot on target 15 minutes before the break when Jamie Chesworth played a free kick deep into the Rams penalty area, the ball was headed clear to Sim who attempted a right foot shot from 18 yards that was gathered comfortably by Hadler and it remained 0-0 at the break.

The pattern of the second half continued in the same vein as the first with both sides looking solid in defence and not allowing either side a clear goal-scoring opportunity. That all changed in the 74th minute with the Bears feeling somewhat aggrieved over two decisions that went against them.

First Matt Hay appeared to have been fouled in the middle of the park, it looked a slam dunk decision but the Match Referee thought otherwise and waved play-on. The ball was immediately played forward to a Rams player closely marshalled by Salvatore Marino but what appeared to be minimum contact ended with the Rams player crashing to the ground and the Match Referee awarding the hosts a free kick some 25 yards from goal. Up stepped former Tottenham youth player Tushaun Walters, who’d only been on the field a few minutes, and he struck a superb left foot shot that flew into the top right corner of the net giving Alfie Hadfield no chance of stopping.

Lewis Croal was introduced to play in the closing stages of the match and the Heath striker had a great chance to level the score in injury time when he found space some 20 yards from goal but his right foot shot flew agonisingly wide of the post bringing an end to this year’s FA cup dreams.

After the game Heath manager Chris Simmons was still very upbeat about his team’s performance and said “I was really proud of the lads today, we deserved at least a draw. Only a couple of poor decisions and a great free kick were the difference between the sides”.

Heath: Hadfield, Sim, Chesworth, Penfold, Bromage, Marino (Croal 90+1), Dowdell (Cranmer-Flynn 80), Parmiter, Evans (Leslie 80), Hay, Lindsey (Archard 89).