Burgess Hill Town bosses look for reaction to FA Cup exit – and get one

Hill bowed out of the Cup in a 3-2 second qualifying round defeat at home to one-division-lower Amersham Town.

They came back from 1-0 and 2-1 down through goals by Hamish Morrison and Dan Perry but lost to a stoppage time goal.

But they put it behind them quickly with their third Isthmian south east win of the season on Tuesday night, winning 3-2 at home to Littlehampton thanks to a Ben Pope double and an Oli Davies goal to go sixth in the table.

Joint manager Mansell said after the Cup loss: “We definitely could have started better, we put it down to a slow start really. We were playing some personnel out of position and had a bit of a squad rotation, not that these are excuses.

"The players we brought in are more than capable, we just never got started against an aggressive team who fully deserved what they got.

“At half time we felt we needed to play with more control, we were playing too direct in the fast half which doesn’t suit the way we play. We brought on Dan Perry, an experienced goalscorer at our level.

"The other change was to bring Ben Pope into a number ten role which gives us a bit more attacking threat, and it allowed Joe Overy to move to the left, who was our shining light in the second half.”

After beating the Marigolds in midweek, Hill face them again – away this time – in an FA Trophy second qualifying round tie on Saturday.

Mansell, speaking before Tuesday night’s win, was clear about the test the Marigolds would bring in both games. He said: “I do think it will be tight, we know what Littlehampton are going to bring. They’re going to be strong and physical, they’ve got the ability to mix their style of play.

“They’ve got some very experienced players and quality up top. They know the league, so we expect it to be a tough encounter.

"I'm hoping to see a better account of ourselves than last Saturday. We’re looking for a reaction from Saturday’s result in terms of the way we approach the game from the word go. We’ll be looking to play with a bit more control and intensity out of possession, and we’ll look to be a bit more organised.”