VS BURGESS HILL TOWN
ISTHMIAN LEAGUE | SOUTH EAST DIVISION SATURDAY 23RD NOVEMBER 2024 | KICK OFF 3PM
EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN FC
The Vistavis Community Stadium College Lane | East Grinstead | RH19 3LS
Tel: 01342 325885
WELCOME
Good afternoon and welcome to everyone who has made the short journey from Burgess Hill Town, a club we have been playing on and off for nearly a century which, when you think about it, is pretty amazing!
We got some stick from Ramsgate fans on social media after Tuesday's game was postponed. We had organised a pitch inspection at 2.15pm but the referee conducting it was too unwell to attend. We tried others to no avail before contacting the match referee. He couldn't get there until 5.45pm at the earliest. Ramsgate were informed throughout. The ref then called the game off - to no one's surprise. Inconvenient we know for those travelling, but we followed the league's guidelines and, on this occasion, were frustrated by events - i.e. the ref calling in sick!
LAST HOME GAME ...
We gave away to poor goals to go out of the Sussex Senior Cup 2-0 against Lancing ten days ago. Needless to say we need to get back to our best to collect points and keep that healthy cushion between ourselves and the bottom four. COME ON THE WASPS!
East Grinstead Town FC is an unicorporated association . members club and a Community Amateur Sports Club (reg no 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: Kit manager:
Disability Team Manager:
Youth Coordinator & Development:
Under-18 Manager:
Assistants:
Under-16 Amber Manager:
Under-16 Black Manager:
Under-14 Manager:
Under-12 Amber Manager:
Under 12 Black Manager:
Under 11 Manager:
Kate Moss
Adam Robinson
Ant Bowler
Jay De Vito
Lewis McDonnell
Kevin Wright & Leigh Douce
Lewis McDonnell
Nigel Leach
Sean Clarabut
Ted Symes
Tom Butcher
Ben Payne
FROM THE Dugout
GOOD AFTERNOON AND WELCOME TO TODAY'S GAME AGAINST BURGESS HILL.
Burgess Hill are having a really good season under Gary and Jay so we know it's going to be a tough 90 minutes for us. But when we played them earlier in the season we were competitive in the game for long periods, so it's us to us to impose ourselves especially in front of our own supporters.
It’s been another really tough week, losing 2-0 ten days ago in the Sussex Senior Cup followed with a 3-0 away defeat to Ashford United last Saturday. It’s down to me now to try and pick the boys up for today's task after the midweek postponement against Ramsgate.
More than anything we need to start seeing some better individual performances, as this will be crucial to us standing any chance against our visitors.
I will be looking above all else for a good team performance. Burgess Hill have put everything into gaining promotion this year and we have to understand that, but as long as my lads can take on information and start upping individual performances and cutting out the mistakes that we are getting punished for we can come out of this bad run of form and really kick on.
We have brought in young Luke Harrison from Horsham YMCA who played the second half against Ashford and I thought was absolutely superb. We were hoping to have Tom Cadman back in training on Thursday and also Matt Pierson. This will allow us to go back to our preferred shape.
More than ever I ask our fans to get behind the lads and the rest of the management team, both this afternoon and going forward.
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 midMarch 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
Burgess Hill Town FC Facts
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
FIXTURES & RESULTS
AUGUST
Sat 3 AugAGlebeFA Cup EP2-0192Folkes, Tighe
Sat 10 AugAMargateIsthmian South East0-0402
Sat 17 AugHRedhillFA Cup P1-3193Spinks
Fri 23 AugHAFC Croydon AthleticIsthmian South East2-1228Lawson, Weaire
Mon 26 AugASevenoaks TownIsthmian South East2-2107Harris, Daniel
Sat 31 AugHDeal TownIsthmian South East2-3124Daniel, Tighe SEPTEMBER
Tue 3 SepHMersthamVelocity Cup 20-1115
Sat 7 SepAHartley WintneyFA Trophy 1Q1-2163Harris
Tue 10 SepHBroadbridge HeathIsthmian South East1-293Folkes
Sat 14 SepAPhoenix SportsIsthmian South East2-186Daniel, Weaire
Sat 28 SepABurgess Hill TownIsthmian South East1-2415Humpherston OCTOBER
Tue 8 OctANewhavenSussex Cup 21-1Harris East Grinstead Town win 7-6 on penalties
Sat 12 OctASteyning Town CommunityIsthmian South East3-2110Andrade Filipe, Tighe, Folkes
Tue 15 OctHAshford UnitedIsthmian South East1-3113Tighe
Sat 26 OctAThree BridgesIsthmian South East1-066Christmas NOVEMBER
Sat 2 NovHErith TownIsthmian South East0-4123
Tue 5 NovABroadbridge HeathIsthmian South East2-4107Daniel, Tighe
Sat 9 NovHPhoenix SportsIsthmian South East4-2101Harris, Humpherston, Christmas, Daniel
Tue 12 NovHLancingSussex Cup 30-277
Sat 16 NovAAshford UnitedIsthmian South East0-3434
Tue 19 NovHRamsgateIsthmian South EastPostponed
Sat 23 NovHBurgess Hill TownIsthmian South East3pm
Sat 30 NovHLancingIsthmian South East3pm DECEMBER
Sat 7 DecABeckenham TownIsthmian South East3pm
Sat 14 DecAHerne BayIsthmian South East3pm
Sat 21 DecHHythe TownIsthmian South East3pm
Thu 26 DecAEastbourne TownIsthmian South East1pm
Sat 28 DecHMargateIsthmian South East3pm JANUARY
Wed 1 JanHSevenoaks TownIsthmian South East3pm
Sat 4 JanASittingbourneIsthmian South East3pm
Sat 11 JanHSheppey UnitedIsthmian South East3pm
Sat 18 JanALittlehampton TownIsthmian South East3pm
Sat 25 JanALancingIsthmian South East3pm FEBRUARY
Sat 1 FebHBeckenham TownIsthmian South East3pm
Sat 8 FebAMersthamIsthmian South East3pm
Sat 15 FebHSteyning Town CommunityIsthmian South East3pm
Sat 22 FebARamsgateIsthmian South East3pm
MARCH
Sat 1 MarHThree BridgesIsthmian South East3pm
Sat 8 MarAErith TownIsthmian South East3pm
Sat 15 MarHHerne BayIsthmian South East3pm
Sat 22 MarAHythe TownIsthmian South East3pm
Sat 29 MarHLittlehampton TownIsthmian South East3pm APRIL
Sat 5 AprASheppey UnitedIsthmian South East3pm
Sat 12 AprHSittingbourneIsthmian South East3pm
Sat 19 AprADeal TownIsthmian South East3pm
Mon 21 AprHEastbourne TownIsthmian South East3pm
Sat 26 AprAAFC Croydon AthleticIsthmian South East3pm
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TEAM LINE UP
EAST GRINSTEAD TOWN F.C.
Mattie Pierson nn
Finlay Westen nn
Oliver Spinks nn
Tom Cadman nn
Michael Wilson nn
Matthew Weaire nn
Glenn Wilson (C) nn
Finlay Lovatt nn
Charlie Harris nn
Connor Tighe nn
Alex Andrade Filipe nn
Omar Folkes nn
Matthew Daniel nn
Kieran Humpherston nn
Jabari Christmas nn
Oluremi Onabanjo nn
Terlochan Singh nn
Khalifa Jabbie nn
Luke Harrison nn
Colours: Amber & Black
BURGESS HILL TOWN
Slav Huk (gk) nn
Hamish Morrison nn
Bobby Price nn
Martyn Box nn
Reggie Ward nn
Elliott Bresciani nn
Nathan Cooper nn
Lewis Taylor nn
Marcus Allen nn
Alex Malins nn
Kieran Rowe nn
Brannon O’Neill nn
Ryan Worrall nn
Harry Lawson nn
Chris Whelpdale nn
Noah Hoffman nn
Ollie Davies nn
Joe Overy nn
Ben Pope nn
Dan Perry nn
Tom Chalaye nn
Stefan Vukoje nn
Alex Brewer nn
Damien Theodore nn
NEXT MATCH
Lancing Saturday 30 November 3pm
MATCH OFFICIALS:
Referee: Daniel D'Urso
Assistant Ref: Chris Findlay-Geer
Assistant Ref: Nigel Owen
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 on either side of today's date. I'll start with East Grinstead v Chichester City on Saturday 22 November 2008 in division one of the Sussex County League.
The club notes welcome Chichester who had made a good start to the season but had fallen back in their last two or three matches. Nevertheless. they could still hope to finish somewhere near the top places - although disappointingly “we won't be challenging for it”.
A quick look at the league table did indeed support that view. We were third from bottom with two wins, two draws and nine defeats. However, there was a bit of hope in that our most recent league match – at home to second place Three Bridges on the previous Tuesday evening – had seen us drawing 1-1 with Simon Funnell 's deflected shot gaining us the point a couple of minutes from the end. Without the deflection it was considered unlikely that the shot would have beaten the Bridges' keeper - a bit of good fortune for us at last.
We have a page looking at previous games against Chichester. This would be our first match in four years against them, with 102 past meetings seeing us only winning 23. The programme tells us that we had received “some fearful hammerings in the past” - in particular one season in the mid-1960s saw us losing our two league matches 9-2 and 11-0.
So how did we do – our third league win or our tenth league defeat? Sorry but it was another loss with Chichester winning 3-2 – our goals coming from centre-half Marc Pelling and Dan Sullivan. A few years later we have East Grinstead v Selsey on Saturday 24 November 2012 in division one of the Sussex County League. With Sam Schaaf on the front cover. He had only joined us at the end of October and had already scored 6 goals for us.
Chairman Richard Tramontin's notes tell us that “Simon Funnell and his squad are currently in a rich vein of form having won each of their last six league matches and scored an impressive 31 goals in the process.“ The above Sam Schaaf had obviously played his part in that run of goals and wins. But perhaps more important than that recent run of form was Richard's news that the club had submitted a planning application to do all sorts of demolishing and constructing of buildings to bring our facilities up to the level required by the Isthmian League.
No surprise that Team Manager Simon Funnell was very positive in his notes , in particular that new players, signed on to cover a number of players injured or suspended or having left the club, seemed to be settling in very quickly.
Back in 2004...
Turning to our visitors we have a match report for a previous home match against Selsey back in 2004 – a match we won with first-half goals from Adam Dart and Steve Banks with Selsey pulling back one of those goals early in the second half. And on the same page we are told that we had also won six consecutive league matches back in 2004 – our current manager Drew Cooney contributing a goal in one of the matches.
A look at the programme's league table shows us that we had needed the 31 goals and six wins because we were only about halfway up the league table in tenth place. Our visitors from Selsey were nine places behind us. We all know that football can be a funny old game and all runs – whether good or bad - end somewhere. But not this week as we won 4-0. Another couple of goals from Sam Schaaf with Ben Chick and George Hiller-Jones also scoring. If you’ve had your memory jogged by this article then I’d be happy to hear from you at lestermedcalf@btinternet.com.
GLENN AND MATT GETTING PHYSICAL!
Glenn Wilson and Matt Wearie show their commitment during our recent games against Ashford United and Phoenix Sports. Photos by Stuart Gibson.
