VS BURGESS HILL TOWN
ISTHMIAN LEAGUE | SOUTH EAST DIVISION TUESDAY 4TH FEBRUARY 2025 | KICK OFF 3PM
EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN FC
The Vistavis Community Stadium College Lane | East Grinstead | RH19 3LS
Tel: 01342 325885
FROM THE CHAIR
Good evening everyone and welcome to the Vistavis Community Stadium for tonight’s Isthmian League South East Division match against Burgess Hill Town. I would like to extend a warm welcome to all the Hillians’ officials, management, players and supporters as well as this evening’s referee Redmond Egan and his assistants Thomas Price and Adan Siage. I trust everyone enjoys their brief stay and our hospitality. As a result of the awful weather we have all endured this is our first home match in 2025. Our previous four scheduled home fixtures were postponed – New Year’s Day waterlogged, 11th January frozen pitch and last Tuesday and Saturday waterlogged. It’s at times like these when clubs with the 3G pitches do benefit! Ten days ago we played on Lancing’s 3G pitch and secured an emphatic 6-2 win - Finlay Lovatt netted a first-half hat-trick, then Matt Daniel a second-half brace and Connor Tighe scoring the fifth goal. Wasps currently sit in 15th spot with 31 points after 24 matches. Our visitors are in third spot behind Sittingbourne and league leaders Ramsgate who we beat 2-1 here in December, inflicting their only defeat to date.
Drew and the lads will be looking to avenge the narrow 2-1 defeat against today’s visitors in September while Gary Mansell and Jay Lovett will be looking to extend their unbeaten run of 10 matches.
We travel to Merstham on Saturday followed by three consecutive home matches against Sevenoaks, Steyning and Sheppey United.
We welcome back Shannon McEvoy to East Court as our physio, after Kate left for Australia where we wish her the best of luck.
Thank you all for coming along this evening and whatever the outcome of the match, I trust everyone enjoys their visit to East Court and I wish you all a safe journey home.
Richard.
OWNERSHIP STATEMENT
In accordance with the Football Association's Rule 2.13 (publication of ownership) in relation to Step 1 to Step 6 Clubs within the National League System East Grinstead Town FC is an unincorporated association / members club and a Community Amateur Sports Club (reg no CASC 02270).
Followuson:
ClubManagement:
Chair & Treasurer: Richard Tramontin
Secretary & Vice chair: Brian McCorquodale
Senior Football Officer: Steve Norris
Head of Recruitment: Matt Wheeler
Commercial Manager: Steve Norris
Club Welfare Officer: Brian McCorquodale
Disability Welfare Officer: Stuart Gibson
Safety & Facilities Officer: Barry Bryant
Bar Manager: Stuart Gibson
Press Officer: Bruce Talbot
ED&I Officer: Andy Dodson
FootballManagement
Manager: Drew Cooney
Assistant Manager and Team Coach: Ian Nicholls
Assistant Team Coach: Steve Sargent, Matt Wheeler
Physiotherapist: Kate Moss
Kit manager: Adam Robinson
Disability Team Manager: Ant Bowler
Youth Coordinator & Development: Jay De Vito
Under-18 Managers: Lewis McDonnell & Kevin Wright
Under-16 Amber Manager: Lewis McDonnell
Under-16 Black Manager: Nigel Leach
Under-14 Manager: Sean Clarabut
Under-12 Amber Manager: Ted Symes
Under 12 Black Manager: Tom Butcher
Under 11 Manager: Ben Payne
FROM THE Dugout
THE START OF A BUSY MONTH...
Welcome everyone for today’s fixture against Burgess Hill Town, at the start of a very busy February for us.
We have had a really positive December and January. Back-to-back Saturday wins started with a hard fought three points down in Littlehampton a fortnight ago where we had to play 80 minutes with ten men.
We then had a really hard fixture in midweek against my league favourites Sittingbourne where the final score of 3-0 flattered the hosts, as we were well in the game from start to finish. Decisions didn’t go our way on the night, but the lads put a hell of a shift in.
We then went away to Lancing ten days ago. The home team have beaten us twice this season at home in both league and cup so the boys and I were fired up to put this right. We started the game really positively and we led 3-2 with an hour played thanks to a great hat-trick by Fin Lovatt.
We then made some changes with 30 minutes to go and the lads who came on were absolutely fantastic and if I’m honest gave us a real lift and helped us add three more goals for an emphatic 6-2 win.
The squad is really starting to buy into our work ethic mentality, and I believe that the recent additions of Luke Harrison, Will Hoare and Warren Colman have lifted the rest of the lads to work tirelessly in every game we play.
We know this is going to be a really tough match tonight against a side with play-off aspirations. We are going to be playing Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday for the next few weeks (weather permitting) and with 11 of our remaining 18 games at home we have an opportunity to continue to climb the table. As ever we thank all the fans who have been travelling away for the last three games. Your noise and support is unmatched and is vital to the lads. More of the same tonight please.
Thanks again,
Drew
BURGESS HILL TOWN TheAwayEnd
BURGESS HILL - THE PAST DECADE
In 2012/2013 there was an upturn in the Hillians’ fortunes. The club returned to their original green and black colours. Former Brighton & Hove Albion player and coach Ian Chapman was appointed as manager, and he guided the Hillians to eighth place in the table. 2013/14 saw the Hillians achieve their highest ever finish in the pyramid, when they came sixth in the Isthmian South table and just missed out on the play-offs by one point. The newly formed under-21 side finished third in the Ryman League whilst the youth team, under former favourite Ashley Carr, had their most successful season ever. They won the Ryman Youth League and the Sussex County Youth Cup. Two ladies teams were also introduced as part of Burgess Hill Town FC and they enjoyed mid table finishes in their first season.
In 2014/15 the Club enjoy the greatest season in their history. Ian Chapman’s side were unbeaten in the league until mid-March and went on to win the title by 11 points and gain promotion to the Ryman Premier League for the first time. They also equalled their best FA Cup run, eventually losing away to Dartford in the fourth qualifying round but having gained a memorable 3-1 victory at Sutton United in the previous round. In the FA Trophy, the club reached the second round, finally losing at home to Dartford. In the previous round the team had beaten Aldershot Town of the National League 1-0 away.
A confident start to the Hillians first season in the I Premier Division before Christmas saw the team eighth in the league, but a disappointing second half saw them finish in 20th position. The club avoided relegation due to Farnborough being relegated for financial irregularities. The following two seasons saw the Hillians avoid relegation on the last day of the season to keep its premier division status although the next season the club were relegated and returned to Division One South where, after a few Covid-hit years, they have remained since.
There is a feeling of optimism around the Club with Gary Mansell and Jay Lovett installed as joint managers as the Hillians look to improve on recent seasons. With new owners and a more community feel about the club, the future looks bright.
BURGESS HILL FACTFILE
Founded: 1882
Ground: Leylands Park
Capacity: 2,500
Record attendance: 2,005 v AFC Wimbledon – 30th April 2005
Nickname: The Hillians
Best FA Cup performance: 4th Qualifying Round 1999/00, 2006/07,2014/15 & 2016/17, 2017/18
Best FA Trophy performance: 2nd Round proper 2003/04, 2004/05 & 2014/15
Record club appearances: Paul Williams 499
Record club goals: Steve Harper 200, Ashley Carr 179
Biggest win: 12-0 v Saltdean United: 2001/02 Sussex County League
Burgess Hill Town FC Honours
Isthmian Division One South Champions – 2015
Sussex County League Division 1 champions: 1976, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003
Sussex County League Division 2 champions: 1975
Floodlit Cup winners: 1997, 2000
The Sussex Royal Ulster Rifles Charity Cup winners: 1992, 2000
John O’Hara League Challenge Cup winners: 1974, 1980, 1998, 1999
Sussex Senior Cup winners: 1884, 1885, 1886
Sussex County League Division 2 Cup: 1974
Roy Hayden Trophy: 2003
Norman Wingate Trophy: 2002
Isthmian Under 23s Central Division winners: 2018
Suburban League winners: 2007
Sussex County Reserve Section champions: 1978, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1990, 1992
Sussex County Reserve Section Cup winners: 1983, 1990, 1993, 1999, 2003
Sussex Intermediate Cup winners: 1977
Mid Sussex Senior Cup winners: 1993, 1997, 2002
Sussex Junior Cup winners: 1890
Isthmian Youth League winners: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016
Isthmian League Youth Champion of Champion winners: 2014
Sussex County Youth League champions: 1984, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2005, 2013, 2024
Sussex County Youth League Cup winners: 1998, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2013
Sussex Youth County Cup winners: 1977, 1984, 1992, 2000, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2013
Mid Sussex League champions: 1901, 1904, 1940, 1947, 1957
Montgomery Cup winners: 1940, 1957
Mowatt Cup winners: 1946
ACHIEVEMENTS
Honours include the London League Championship in 1927-28 and runners-up in 1930- 31. Unfortunately, the club folded in 1969 merging with Bromley FC. The club was subsequently re-formed and joined the London Spartan League in 1975 and enjoyed some early success being runners-up to Fisher Athletic in the Spartan League Senior Division in 1977-78.
Town also reached two Spartan League Cup Finals, losing to Welling United and Farnham Town. More recent successes have been two previous appearances in the Kent League Cup Final in 1984-85 and 1992-93 and runners-up to Maidstone United in the Kent League Premier Division in 2005-06. After three previous unsuccessful attempts in 1981/82, 2004/05 and 2007/08, Becks finally secured a victory in the Kent Senior Trophy after a 4-0 win over Ashford United.
STANDINGS LEAGUE
FIXTURES & RESULTS
2 Nov H Erith Town
5 Nov A Broadbridge Heath
14 Dec A Herne Bay
17 Dec A Beckenham Town
28 Dec H Margate
Sat 18 Jan A Littlehampton Town
FEBRUARY
Sat 1 Feb H Beckenham Town Isthmian South East P-P
Tue 4 Feb H Burgess Hill Town Isthmian South East 7.30pm
Sat 8 Feb A Merstham Isthmian South East 3pm
Tue 11 Feb H Sevenoaks Town Isthmian South East 7.30pm
Sat 15 Feb H Steyning Town Community Isthmian South East 3pm
Tue 18 Feb H Sheppey United Isthmian South East 7.30pm
Sat 22 Feb A Ramsgate Isthmian South East 3pm
MARCH
Sat 1 Mar H Three Bridges Isthmian South East 3pm
Tue 4 Mar H Hythe Town Isthmian South East 7.30pm
Sat 8 Mar A Erith Town Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 15 Mar H Herne Bay Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 22 Mar A Hythe Town Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 29 Mar H Littlehampton Town Isthmian South East 3pm
APRIL
Sat 5 Apr A Sheppey United Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 12 Apr H Sittingbourne Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 19 Apr A Deal Town Isthmian South East 3pm
Mon 21 Apr H Eastbourne Town Isthmian South East 3pm
Sat 26 Apr A AFC Croydon Athletic Isthmian South East 3pm
Lovatt 3, Daniel 2, Tighe
TEAM LINE UP
HILL TOWN
Mattie Pierson
Warren Colman
Oliver Spinks
Tom Cadman
Michael Wilson
Matthew Weaire
Glenn Wilson (C)
Finlay Lovatt
Charlie Harris
Connor Tighe
Alex Andrade Filipe
Omar Folkes
Matthew Daniel
Kieran Humpherston
Will Hoare
Luke Harrison
Terlochan Singh
Colours:
EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN HISTORY
Programmes from the Past by Lester Medcalf
We'll have a look at a couple of programmes for games played in the past in the first week of February. I'll start with East Grinstead v Shoreham on Saturday 6 February 2010 in round 3 of the Sussex FA RUR Charity Cup competition. Rather strange to see a photo of the spectators rather than of the players on the front cover.
Bruce Talbot's club notes welcome everyone to the game with a belated Happy New Year – this was indeed going to be our first home game of 2010. The fixtures list shows that we hadn't played at all between December 15 and January 23 – snow and ice being the reason I expect. And our comeback game on January 23 happened to be away to Shoreham in the Sussex Senior Cup – we lost 1-0. This was followed by a further three away matches which saw further lack of goals – another 1-0 defeat, then a 2-1 defeat to be followed by a Sussex Senior Cup match against our Crawley Down neighbours. A match we dominated for the first 30 minutes and found ourselves 4-0 down at halftime. Another three goals in the second half meant it finished up at 7-0.
Pieces in the programme by team manager Steve Johnson and chairman Richard Tramontin also talk about those recent games and we're told that a number of unavailable players was a common feature.
The programme's league table shows us in 17th place (out of 20) with Shoreham having a decent season in seventh place and with games in hand. We had not yet played them in the league. So how did the game go? We were again hit by absences and in particular we had keeper Liam Lindsay in his first game. Well to some extent it went better than we might have hoped. We didn't score any goals but neither did Shoreham. Well neither of us scored in the first 90 minutes, or the next 30 minutes come to that. In that extra 30 minutes Shoreham had a great chance to score but Liam Lindsay capped his first match with a penalty save. So it then came down to penalties and that's when it didn't quite go as well. We managed to miss two of ours while Shoreham scored all theirs.
TAKING ON THE MOLES
Moving on a few years we come to an Isthmian League match East Grinstead v Molesey on Saturday 4 February 2017.
Programme editor Bruce Talbot gets us underway with a reminder that we had already played the away match with Molesey in the first match of the season and they had beaten us 2-0. Then a brief mention of our most recent match – but I'll leave other articles to talk about that. It had been played in dreadful conditions and reminded Bruce that “it didn't half make summer football appealing”. The recent match I refer to had been on the Tuesday evening at home to bottom club Godalming and manager Matt Longhurst didn't hide from what had been “an awful evening” after we “scored a brilliant goal and then defended in what can only be described as schoolboy fashion” to find ourselves 4-1 down at half-time. Even then we had chances in the second half before losing 4-3. All this compared with a 1-1 draw on the previous Saturday away to Horsham – so perhaps not a surprise that the two pages of action photos has more from the Horsham game than from the Godalming match.
The programme's league table shows 24 teams in the league with our visitors from Molesey in 20th place with us one place - and one point - above them . As Richard Tramontin said: “today's match will be seen by both teams as a must-win game.”
Charlie Harris gave us an early lead and Tashi Kwayie headed home a second just before half-time. Half way through the second half Tashi made it 3-0 and that's how it ended.
WINNING FEELING ON THE ROAD
Warren Colman (above) and Camron Lawson (below) in action in the wins over Littlehampton Town and Lancing respectively. Photos by Stuart Gibson.
ACTION
