Burgess Hill Town teams making progress – but first XI need to start winning on grass

There are lots of great things happening around the MTC Stadium – including the enhancing of the fan matchday experience.

Over the past few Saturdays, a run of home games have seen a large number of fans welcomed through the turnstiles. Those fans have hopefully enjoyed the hospitality and entertainment off the pitch.

It’s a certainty that they would have enjoyed some magical moments on it. On October 10 keeper Roco Rees wowed the home support with an amazing last-gasp headed goal against Aveley to preserve Hill’s unbeaten home run with a 1-1 draw.

Three days later, under the lights, the team produced their best performance of the season to beat giants Dulwich Hamlet 2-0 – moving the club into eighth place in the Isthmian Premier.

Director of football Gary Mansell said: “We are pleased with how it’s going; players are progressing through the pathways and results are generally good.

"We still have a lot of work to do but the club is going in the right direction.”

Mansell is also first team manager and while he appears to have all the bases covered at home, he and the team are having issues when playing away from Leylands Park.

The team haven’t won on grass in ten games and the problem resurfaced last Saturday when they travelled to high-flying Welling.

In perfect autumn conditions on a well-kept grass surface the teams were locked at 0-0 for 28 minutes.

The ref failed to give Hill a corner which sparked some reaction. Unfortunately, the team seemed to switch off for a moment and Fumnaya Shomotun was left at the back post to make it 1-0.

On the hour Shomotun stepped inside and hit a drive off the far post and into the net. Hamish Morrison halved the deficit with a crisp run and shot. However, the match was sealed on 70 minutes when Welling defender Lekan Majoyegbe rose highest to head home the third.

Both teams scored late on as Welling celebrated a 4-2 win. Mansell hinted towards the ref’s decision saying: “We felt it was a corner which would have given us a chance to score. However, we need to look how we responded, we didn’t defend that situation well enough.”

He added: “I don’t think we got the match-ups right and that’s on me to have a look and address.

"There are no easy games in this league and we are in a tough little run of games.”

The club go to Flamingo Park to face AFC Whyteleafe on Wednesday night and go to Erith Town of the Isthmian SE division in the FA Trophy on Saturday.

The U18s, under brilliant manager Berty Oliva, are flying high in the Isthmian Youth League after some excellent clean sheets.

The latest came at Peacehaven, where the hosts’ keeper produced a Gordon Banks-type save to keep it 0-0. However, a brace from promising striker Leyton Eyra was enough for a 2-0 win. The lads were very pleased with the clean sheet.

Hill’s new U19s Academy, in conjunction with Haywards Heath College, gathers strength as the team operate in a competitive environment. Team spirit was on show at rainy Folkstone for a midday kick off. An outstanding game ensued which ended 3-3.

One to watch is Jay Muneri, who in this game shifted past his marker and in one movement unleased an unstoppable drive off the underside of the bar. Oliva and Mansell are overseeing the development of this exciting squad.

The women’s team under manager Tom Clingo are now in their third year. It’s a complete joy to watch their progress as lots of goals are being scored. They recently beat Hassocks 9-1.

The team train hard, warm up and down properly and always thank their ever-growing number of fans who stream through the gates. BHTFC Women are on the march.

The season is progressing well around the MTC – and if Mansell can get his team winning on grass, BHTFC will be hot promotion contenders.