Whelpdale double earns Burgess Hill Town point against Leatherhead
Burgess Hill Town took a point from Leatherhead’s visit to the Medical Travel Compared Stadium on Saturday – making it four points from their opening two home games.
Both sides enjoyed spells of possession during the opening quarter, with chances being shared evenly. However, it was Burgess Hill who broke the deadlock in the 20th minute.
Great work from Josh Rusoke down the left saw him combine with Reggie Ward before the ball was worked around the back to Luther Williams.
Williams drove forward with the ball before firing a shot towards goal, which the Leatherhead goalkeeper could only parry into the path of Chris Whelpdale. The midfielder made no mistake, volleying home from inside the box to give the Hillians the lead.
Leatherhead responded with increasing pressure and in the 32nd minute they found an equaliser. Their captain, Mark Waters, was left unmarked at a corner and headed home from close range to bring the score level at 1-1.
Both sides continued to threaten before the half-time whistle, but neither could find a second.
The second half could not have started worse for the Hillians. Leatherhead immediately applied a high press and, just 18 seconds after the restart, a defensive lapse allowed Anas Igozouln to take the ball around Roco Rees before finishing into an empty net to put the visitors 2-1 ahead.
The setback sparked Burgess Hill into life, and they quickly began searching for a response. After several promising opportunities, the equaliser arrived in the 50th minute.
Luca Cocoracchio won the ball back near the halfway line before playing an excellent defence-splitting pass through the middle. Whelpdale raced onto it and calmly slotted the ball home to level the scores at 2-2.
The game became increasingly stop-start, with Leatherhead picking up a number of yellow cards as Burgess Hill looked to raise the tempo and push for a winning goal.
The Hillians made changes in search of the breakthrough, with Ben Pope and Nicky Wheeler introduced in the 59th minute for the hard-working Shamir Fenelon and Josh Rusoke. Wheeler immediately looked to make an impact, whipping a number of dangerous crosses into the box as Burgess Hill continued to create chances.
With pressure building late on, Harry Lawson was replaced by Yoan Edoukou in the 77th minute as the Hillians continued their search for a winner. Despite the late pressure and further opportunities, the decisive goal would not come.
Joel Daly was awarded MoM by matchday sponsors Only With Love Brewery and Tap Room following a hard-fought contest in front of a fantastic 941-strong crowd.
The Hillians travel to Cheshunt on Saturday, 3pm.