The latest of late goals means joy for Hill

It is always something of a shame when sides from the same Division are drawn together in the early stages of the FA Cup. First of all, it guarantees that one of them will be knocked out long before they get the chance of a ‘glamour’ tie, and secondly it does away with the opportunity of a trip to somewhere rather more exotic. There can also be an issue with familiarity and- dare we say it- boredom, but that wasn’t the case this afternoon as this was the first meeting of the season between Burgess Hill Town and Pitching In Isthmian newcomers AFC Croydon Athletic, and indeed a first meeting since…well, we couldn’t find details of another, so perhaps this sentence should have just ended at ‘first meeting.’

It looked, on the face of it, an intriguing contest. The Hillians seemed to have their strongest squad in many a year- indeed perhaps since they were relegated to this level in 2019- whilst the visiting Rams, with their superstar celebrity owners, have plenty of higher level experience in their ranks and high expectations. Quite a crowd had gathered to see whether it lived up to that billing. 

Ten minutes prior to kick off, we had a major catastrophe. Programmes- sold out! “We had twenty left last week, it must be the attraction of the FA Cup!” It was a shame, because a Hill programme is a thing of unusual beauty, but those arriving close to kick off had to make do with a beer and a bacon sandwich, not that either of those came with a managers preview or a squad list.

Hill kicked off, and on two minutes they had the first chance. Great work from Dan Perry, and a shot from Martyn Box curled past the upright, the Hill number eleven holding his head in anguish. 

This promising start was followed by…very little. A collection of kids on the five a side pitch behind the far touchline, a mixture of girls and boys mostly in Hill green apart from one interloper in a Brighton shirt, were making more noise than the crowd. This wasn’t surprising as there was little worth making a noise about. 

Croydon fans began singing a ditty mainly made up of “oohs and aahs,” rather like a Thornton Heath version of Coldplay, although perhaps without the exotically named offspring. We were twelve minutes in, and apart from that early effort from Box this was the closest we’d come to excitement. Visiting full back Finley Marjoram tried to disprove that statement with a cross which could have been a shot, but was ineffective whichever label you gave it. The Croydon choir then appropriated the Geordie National Anthem, swapping Blaydon for Croydon. We hope Chris Martin doesn’t get any ideas.

On twenty minutes Hill earned the first corner of the match. It was aimed at the front post, hit a home head, and ended up as a throw in for the Rams. That summed up what we’d seen so far in a way that simple words never could. We needed some excitement, desperately. What we got was drizzle- so much for ‘zero percent chance of rain,’ BBC Weather App. 

An injury- it looked like a hamstring problem- for Nya Kirby forced Athletic into a change on twenty eight minutes,  Michael Agyemang emerging from the bench for his debut. Another injury, this one for Hill skipper Ryan Worrall, gave us another lengthy stoppage, but on this occasion no change was necessary. In between the injuries the visitors were hogging most of the possession, but intelligent running from Brandon Pierrick and David Omilabu came with no end product. 

What the match needed was a goal- and thankfully, on forty two minutes, it got one. Omilabu found the ball at his feet on the right hand side of the box, dipped a shoulder and fired a beauty across Hill keeper Slav Huk into the corner, his attempts at a running high five with the fans behind the goal somewhat thwarted by the protective netting. 

Goal: Burgess Hill Town 0 AFC Croydon Athletic 1, David Omilabu

Into added time- only two minutes, which seemed rather brief given the stoppages- and Hill earned a corner, which caused some consternation amongst the visiting defence, but they managed to clear, and that was that.

A rather scrappy first half had been enlivened by a fine goal, and the visitors held the lead. We hoped for a far more lively second half.

Half time: Burgess Hill Town 0 AFC Croydon Athletic 1

Hill went straight on the attack at the start of the second period, and a Ben Pope header tested Amadou Tangara in the Rams goal. The attendance was announced as four hundred and fifteen, and a second Hill foray ended with a penalty shout, but the only people shouting were in green, and they were wrong. A fine tackle from Bobby Price stopped a Rams breakaway, and then, goal! 

A Hill ball forward, Tangara out, deceived by the bounce, the ball goes over his head, comes back off the upright, and Dan Perry is charging in to head home. 

Goal: Burgess Hill Town 1 AFC Croydon Athletic 1, Dan Perry, 51 minutes

All to play for, and there was an argument that the first six minutes of the second half had given us more entertainment than the previous forty five.

Croydon attacked. The speed of Omilabu, Alpha Diallo and Pierrick had been noticeable all match, and a ball from the former set Diallo charging forward and he brought a save from Huk. Then Hill applied pressure, and indeed began to exert an element of control, with the Rams dangerous on the break. A fabulous run from Box ended with a cross which deserved a finish, and at the other end a desperate block kept out Omilabu.

And then, a red card. Croydon were on the attack. The ball looked to be getting away from Mekhi Savage. He stretched. Crunch. The referee blew his whistle, signalled the free kick, then went to his back pocket. Harry Lawson took almost five minutes to pick himself up after treatment, whilst the visiting fans questioned the extent of his injury. To the rest of us, it looked as if the ref had it right.

Hill had twenty four minutes left to capitalise. Their next chance went to Pope, but it was easily saved by Tangara. Then good work down the left from Perry saw Hill awarded a corner, and Perry’s header was superbly- and acrobatically- tipped over by Tangara. Another corner followed, some desperate defending, another…and a clash of heads saw another stoppage, Darryl Siaw coming off worse and needing treatment, the Rams number six rewarded with a serenade, his name sung to the tune of ‘Daddy Cool.’ 

Another Hill corner, headed wide. A Perry shot blocked, the rebound just over. All the pressure was coming from the hosts, but we had eleven minutes to avoid a replay. It was Perry’s last touch, and it seemed rather strange to see him replaced as he was their most dangerous attacking threat.

Six minutes left. A Hill corner. A scramble. A shot from the edge of the box. “Hand ball”- not according to the ref. A Croydon break, then Hill back on the attack. Pope- just wide of the far post. Into added time, the hosts pressing once more. Shot- Tangara saves then dives on the ball. And then, a ball forward, in between Pope and the keeper, crunch, Tangara poleaxed. Both physios on, and, after a few minutes, thankfully the keeper was able to sit up. The Hill forward was shown a yellow card, and he had certainly caught the keeper with his knee, but it was certainly a 50/50 ball, or perhaps a 51/49 ball in favour of the keeper, who then went down again, seemingly concussed, with everyone gathered, concerned, around him.

Off he went, on a stretcher, and in goal went defender Michael Kamara, all subs already used. By the time play restarted there were already an additional eleven minutes ‘played.’ Hill earned a corner, it was perfect, and in came Nathan Cooper to head home. Pope went down, seemingly with cramp. The referee was having none of it. “Get up- I’ve done more running than you.” He had, too. 

Goal: 90+13 minutes, Burgess Hill Town 2 AFC Croydon Athletic 1, Nathan Cooper. 

Rather unsurprisingly, there was little else to report. The whistle went, and Hill were through, the announcer sending best wishes to Tangara, and we’d like to do the same, Would a fit Tangara have stopped Cooper’s winner? It looked unlikely. Would Hill have triumphed had the Rams kept eleven men on the field? Or even ten?

That’s an entirely different debate.

The 2014-15 season saw Hill produce a record-breaking season. South Division Champions, one hundred and one points, the Second Round of the FA Trophy, the Fourth Qualifying Round of the FA Cup. The First Qualifying Round of the FA Cup that year saw them defeat a side from Croydon, after a tight match. Perhaps that might be an omen? 

As for Athletic, four matches against South East opposition so far this season are still to see them win- and yet, particularly with the attacking talent on show, you wouldn’t expect that run to continue for too much longer.