This was a game in which neither team looked very secure at the back and there probably should have been more than five goals. Whitstable started much the better and an early Josh Spencer strike put them in front and they could have added more with a header smacking against the post and some other close attempts. Burgess Hill gradually improved though, with their balls over the top to some lively forwards looking increasingly threatening and they finally found the equaliser just before the break when Erivaldo Felix turned in a cross. Charlie Bennett and Warren Mfula added further goals in the second half as the Whitstable defence went missing, but a spirited fightback towards the end earned some reward when Liam Gillies finished well from outside the penalty area. More late pressure in added time failed to complete the recovery and Burgess Hill held on for the win.

The teams were meeting for the first time since the 2014-15 season, which was a memorable one for both. Burgess Hill were the runaway winners of Division One South with 109 points from their 46 games, whilst Whitstable achieved their highest ever finish at Step Four as the Ward brothers guided them to 8th place with 71 points. The game at the Belmont finished 1-1, but the trip to Sussex resulted in Whitstable’s heaviest defeat of that campaign and a 5-0 loss. Burgess Hill’s stay in the Premier Division ended with relegation last season. They started this season with an incredible 7-2 win against Hythe, but had lost their next four games and lined up with a relatively young side for this match. Whitstable were without Luke Girt through work commitments and Tom Bryant, TJ Jadama and John Walker were all on the bench after recent injuries, while Harry Stannard is not yet fit to return.

There was an early scare for Whitstable when an attempted clearance was charged down, giving Aaron Smith-Joseph a sight of goal, but he curled his shot well wide. Apart from that however, the home side looked like a team low on confidence and they struggled to get into the game in the first 25 minutes. John Ufuah received the ball on the right side of the penalty area, but his shot lacked the necessary power to trouble Mitch Bromage. Whitstable did take the lead on 7 minutes when Ufuah got past three defenders on the right before his shot was blocked, but the ball rebounded to Aaron Millbank who played it across goal where Spencer was able to fire it into the net from 6 yards. Whitstable then won a couple of corners and from the second, Spencer rose at the back post with Drew Matthews and his header came back off the upright. In the 12th minute, Millbank hit a shot from distance that Bromage just managed to keep out. The Hillians goalkeeper then spilt a cross, but the ball went safely wide for a corner. A long throw by Connor Sanders was met at the near post by the head of Liam Dickson, but Bromage saved.

Burgess Hill were perhaps fortunate to be trailing by a single goal, but gradually came into the game, winning three successive corners, the last of which was headed wide by Felix. Jake Mackenzie was then robbed by Felix and Eason was quick to smother the danger, before the referee brought play back to award a free kick and book Mackenzie for his attempt to retrieve the ball. The much travelled Ryan Palmer struck the free kick into the wall and Mfula dragged the rebound wide. On 38 minutes, a clever flick by Mfula sent Smith-Joseph clear, but his shot was off target. Smith-Joseph was seeing a lot of the ball on the right and that was the source of the equaliser in the 43rd minute when he delivered a low cross that was turned in at close range by Felix who slid in between two defenders. There was one further opportunity at each end before the break, as Spencer headed a free kick just over the bar and Bennett headed a Palmer cross over for Burgess Hill, leaving the half time score at 1-1.

There were a few half chances in the opening minutes of the second half, as Mfula had a weak shot saved by Eason, then Sanders, Gillies and Millbank all tried to restore Whitstable’s lead without success. On the hour mark, an under hit back pass let Smith-Joseph in, but he was denied by Eason. Burgess Hill were regularly playing balls over the top for their lively front players, into the spaces left by Whitstable and another goal looked increasingly likely, with Eason having to come out several times to head the ball away. It came in the 61st minute from a corner, which was headed out to the far side and crossed back in by Junior Baker to a completely unmarked Bennett who was able to pick his spot and head past Eason. Another quick break saw Mfula shoot wide, then Eason had to rush out once more to clear as far as Michael Wilson who tried his luck from distance, but his lob went over the bar. A home corner led to a scrambled clearance, then the next corner was allowed to bounce across the Whitstable box before being forced over the line by Mfula to make it 3-1 in the 67th minute.

In an effort to change their fortunes, Whitstable introduced Taylor Fisher and new signing, former Ebbsfleet and East Grinstead midfielder, Leo Mazzone. On 70 minutes, Millbank turned and shot, but Bromage gathered safely. Then, Matthews tried to shield the ball back to his goalkeeper when Sanders chipped it into the box and the referee adjudged it to be a back pass, but Millbank’s shot when the free kick was rolled to him was deflected for a corner. Palmer had a shot blocked and Wilson rolled the rebound wide and Mfula then hooked a cross over the bar. Whitstable kept going with Ufuah, Fisher and Gillies all trying to create something and it was Gillies who found the net on 89 minutes, when Eason punted a free kick forward and the attempted header away was collected by the midfielder who shot into the bottom right corner from 25 yards. There was one final chance to find a dramatic leveller, when Dickson headed a Mazzone free kick over the top in added time, but it wasn’t to be and the whistle confirmed a 3-2 home win.

It was a game that Whitstable will feel they could have got something from, after a promising start and a spirited finish, but in between they just were not good enough defensively. There is now a break from league action with away trips to Chalfont St Peter in the FA Trophy and Cray Valley in the Kent Senior Cup.

Burgess Hill	Data	Whitstable
5	Shots on target	7
9	Shots off target	6
4	Shots blocked	5
7	Corners	10
9	Fouls conceded	12
7	Offside	0
0	Penalties	0

Burgess Hill Town
Mitch Bromage, Charlie Bennett, Will Robinson (Noe Vendrells 61), Junior Baker, Drew Matthews, Michael Wilson, Ryan Palmer, Pat Harding (Andrew Briggs 71), Erivaldo Felix (Josh Short 83), Warren Mfula (c), Aaron Smith-Joseph.
Subs (unused): Jak Alcock, Ellis Webster.
Goals: Erivaldo Felix 43, Charlie Bennett 61, Warren Mfula 67.
Yellow cards: Pat Harding 58, Michael Wilson 90+1.

Whitstable Town
Dan Eason, Jake Mackenzie, James Brown, Connor Sanders, Josh Spencer, Liam Dickson (c), Liam Gillies, Marshall Wratten (Taylor Fisher 68), Marcus Elliott (Leo Mazzone 69), Aaron Millbank, John Ufuah.
Subs (unused): John Walker, Tijan Jadama, Tom Bryant.
Goals: Josh Spencer 7, Liam Gillies 89.
Yellow card: Jake Mackenzie 34

Attendance: 346
Referee: Andrew Connor
Assistants: Andrew Senior & Mark Browning