SATURDAY’S MATCH PREVIEW – BURGESS HILL TOWN (AWAY) KICK OFF 3.00 PM

With a week left of the regular season, Dulwich Hamlet take a trip to the Hillians, themselves in need of points to stave off the drop.

It all seems a world away from mid-September when the clubs met at Champion Hill, scrapping out an error-riddled encounter that left both clubs floundering in midtable. Never team could find much early fluidity until a moment of pure class from Gavin Tomlin not long before the interval. As a long ball out of defence eluded the Burgess Hill defence Tomlin darted in behind them pulling the ball out of the air with his right foot before executing a tidy finish past Josh James in goal to put the Hamlet ahead. If that goal had left the crowd awestruck the Hillians response early in the second half would silence all but the travellers from Sussex. Having staved off the early threat of the Hamlet, the Hillians began to inch their way back into the contest. Just ahead of the hour mark, a long throw-in into the box was headed clear but only as far as Dan Pearse who returned the clearance with extra interest as his first-time volley from 25 yards out crashed into the net via the underside of the crossbar despite Preston Edwards getting a hand to the effort. The goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of the Hamlet, with Burgess Hill having the better of the few chances until the introduction of Alex Teniola. Within a minute the debutante was haring away down the right wing, his sweeping low delivery divided past his own goalkeeper by Cheick Touré. Teniola’s maiden outing in Pink and Blue might have had a dream ending as, with ten minutes left on the clock, he met Nyren Clunis’s delivery from the right flank with an arching header that left James in goal leaden footed only to cannon back into play. Instead the dream became a nightmare as, at the death, Dulwich’s defence seemed mesmerised, transmogrified even, as James Richmond seized on a loose ball two yards out to stab past Edwards and snatch victory from the Hamlet’s clutches.

The final 2-2 score line then may have pushed the Hillians down from 9th to 11th but they remained in advance of Dulwich, languishing in 13th spot already adrift of the early pacesetters. Much rumblings of discontent from the ranks then but fast forward seven months and it’s a whole different story for both of this weekend’s protagonists.

For the Hamlet, brief moments of pain were soon replaced by many more moments of pleasure. An FA Trophy run almost to the ticket gates of Wembley Station, that saw loftier clubs picked off as a cat might the unwary pigeons, goals that shook the world, on social media at least. Yet more importantly came a renaissance in form in the Ryman League. From that lowly position of 13th Gavin Rose’s troops would once more scale the heights, if not the summit, until Tuesday last when a 4-1 quashing of Merstham allied with Andy Lomas 79th minute leveller at Leiston moved Dulwich ahead of their Suffolk rivals into 3rd spot. The championship may now be a lost dream, the South Coast shootout on Easter Monday at Havant & Waterlooville’s Westleigh Stadium likely to decide whether it is the Hawks or the Rocks who lift the silverware on Saturday week, but the prize of a home play-off semi-final is not one to be sniffed at. The Hamlet’s mission, and there is zero doubt they will not accept it, is to pick up the points from their three remaining league fixtures.

For Burgess Hill, the heady days of early season vanished like summer lightning once the hard grasp of the season. An eleven-game unbeaten run encompassing that Dulwich draw kept the Hillians lightly simmering in midtable whilst also seeing them enjoy a splendid run in the Emirates FA Cup, one that took them to the Fourth (and last) Qualifying Round of the competition. Unfortunately, the big guns of National League side Dover Athletic, eyeing promotion to the Football League, proved to have too much ammunition in their arsenal for the Hillians to defend against. Doubles from the two Rickys, Miller and Modeste, ensured there would be no upset at Leylands Park, the Lilywhites trumping the hosts 5-0. As the campaign continued Burgess Hill found themselves treading ground just ahead of the relegation trapdoor, a poor run of just one win in eleven games culminating in a 3-3 draw at home to erstwhile playoff pretenders Staines Town, finally sucking them into the bottom four. The stranded Swans may be in the midst of pre-summer fire sale but they still had the assets to fight back from 3-1 at the Green Elephants Stadium to rob Burgess Hill of a win that would have helped them beat off the threat of the drop. So tight the fight down amongst the not yet dead, that when club stalwart secured victory over Kingstonian at Leylands Park a fortnight back they were out of the death zone. Nine days later they were tugged back in there when the K’s, with Craig Edwards at the helm, gained revenge with 2-0 win in their antepenultimate game at Kingsmeadow. However, come last Saturday and it was about face once more as K’s slipped back the cut-off line, Burgess Hill leaping up to 19th place with Tyrell Richardson-Brown’s first half double seeing off Harrow Borough at Earlsmead.

With a blanket of nine points flung from AFC Sudbury second last (or 23rd as the more optimistic might say) as far up the table as 15th placed Harrow Borough, one suspects many may not know their final fate until the final whistle of the final day. For many fans of both clubs that scenario will ring a bell for back at the end of the 2011-2012 Dulwich Hamlet travelled to Leylands Park still within touching distance of leaders Whitehawk whilst Burgess Hill looked set to drop out of the Ryman League, lying last behind Whyteleafe. The Hamlet performance that day gained a place in infamy, particularly down in leafy Surrey, the Hillians 1-0 win clinched their safety and sent the Leafe tumbling into the Kent League. Since then the Hillians have had something of an Indian Sign over the Hamlet with Dulwich not having registered a win over the Sussex side since earlier that same season when 2-0 was the score at Champion Hill. Five subsequent clashes have ended in draws, most famously of all when it took Xavier Vidal’s 65th drilled shot to cancel out Nicky Wheeler’s first half opener, whilst the Hillians have claimed the only win, 3-2 back in September 2015.

This Saturday’s game takes place at the wonderfully named Green Elephants Stadium. If you are travelling to the ground by train, please remember that the nearest station to the ground is Wivelsfield NOT Burgess Hill. Leylands Park is a short walk from the station with directions available on the Burgess Hill Town website by clicking here

Admission Prices:

• Adults: £10
• Concessions: £6
• Under 18’s: FREE