Isthmian League

PREVIEW: BURGESS HILL TOWN

Whitehawk enter Tuesday evening’s Isthmian League clash with Burgess Hill Town on the back of successive victories against Tooting & Mitcham and East Grinstead Town respectively.

It marked the first occasion this season where the Hawks had recorded back-to-back victories as Javaun Splatt’s memorable strike from range proved the difference as his side picked up three valuable points on Saturday afternoon.

Last time out

It had been a strenuous few weeks in the league for Ross Standen’s squad with four consecutive losses placing the Hawks at the wrong end of the table. A response was required and so it soon transpired as Splatt fired in the only goal of the game to overcome the visiting Wasps.

A stronger crowd of 348 filtered into the TerraPura Ground on a cool October afternoon to witness Whitehawk progress up to 16th position. Charlie Lambert earned his first appearance for the Hawks after arriving from Eastbourne Borough earlier in the week whilst Mo Kamara secured his maiden clean-sheet for the club as he partnered Adam El-Abd in the heart of the defence.

It was the Hawks’ second league win of the season, both coming at home courtesy of 1-0 scorelines. Splatt now has seven goals to his name in all competitions this season, those all coming in his previous seven appearances.

The opposition

A town that should need little introduction, quite literally as it is merely a 10-mile journey north along the A23. What of their football club, though? Well, ‘The Hillians’, as they are so known, have struggled for momentum in the recent fixtures. That is, until most recently when they departed Ramsgate with an impressive 4-2 victory.

It was their first win of the Isthmian League campaign. Prior to this, they had just the one point from their opening six league games, scoring just four goals in the process. Similarly, Burgess Hill too have recorded successive victories as they overcame Sevenoaks Town on penalties in the FA Trophy last weekend.

So then, two sides showing early signs of momentum facing off under the tall white lights of Whitehawk. Michael Uwezu leads his side’s goalscoring charts with three, all arriving in their previous two fixtures. Connor Tighe returns to the TerraPura for the first time since his departure in 2020 as both sides look to power forward up the league table.

Previous meetings

It comes with little surprise that the two clubs have met on frequent occasion over the past years. The pandemic prohibited the sides from playing each other in last year’s curtailed campaign with the previous meeting occurring the season prior.

Similar to the current time of year, quick-fire goals from Alfie Rogers and Fintan Walsh after the interval gave Whitehawk a 2-0 win over their local opponents on a crisp early November afternoon.

The 2018-19 season a year prior ended with both clubs’ relegation to the current South-East division. Although a painful reminder, the Hawks overpowered Burgess Hill in both encounters, recording 4-2 and 4-1 wins away and at home respectively.

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