First Team
Isthmian League South East Division Tue 28 January The Home Call Carpets Community Stadium
Burgess Hill Town
  • Perry (7')
  • O'Neill (90+4')
2
Herne Bay
0
2-0

The Hillians won their first home league game of 2025 2-0 with goals from Dan Perry and Brannon O’Neill.

It was also the first home game since the announcement of the passing of Club President Peter Miles and a minute of silence was held before the game in honour of his legacy in football and tenure at the club.

There were four changes to the side that won at Broadbridge Heath on Saturday, with Ryan Worrall coming into the team in place of Nathan Cooper to captain the side, along with Reggie Ward and Dan Perry replacing Bobby Price and Ben Pope. Ollie Davies earned a start ahead of Martyn Box after his winning goal on Saturday.

Ollie quickly showed that starting him was the right decision as in just the third minute he won a penalty. He found himself in behind before being taken out by Bay defender Sinnkaye Christie with a heavy tackle. The penalty was put away confidently by Perry, who fired it into the top left corner.

There was another penalty shout in the 24th minute, when Ollie was again brought down by Christie, but the referee waved away the claims. Ollie proved to be a real danger and created chances for both him and his teammates. Just before half time he played a nice pass in behind to Stefan Vukojie, who missed a great chance to double the lead.

The level dropped slightly in the second half despite the best efforts of the Alliance in the Ashley Carr terrace, who were singing and drumming nonstop in the second half. Herne Bay started to gain momentum and had a few half chances from set pieces. Their best chance came in the 65th minute, where a volley from around the penalty spot produced an excellent reaction save from Slav Huk.

The game started to open up towards the end, with the Hillians chasing a second goal and Herne Bay chasing an equaliser. Both teams had good chances, with Herne Bay edging closer to an equaliser through chances from Monty Saunders and Scott Heard before Martyn Box hit a volley wide for the Hill.  

But it was the Hillians who got the all important second goal in the second minute of added time through Brannon O’Neill. It came from a swift counterattack where Box headed the ball up into space, before finding Kieran Rowe in the middle with a pass who slotted it through to O’Neill to calmly finish the one-on-one opportunity to secure the three points.  

It was a solid Hillians performance, securing a vital three points that put us in third place in the league while continuing a fine run of form, having only lost once in the last 19 games.

Hill: Slav Huk, Reggie Ward, Hamish Morrison, Harry Lawson (Bobby Price 90), Ryan Worrall, Marcus Allen, Stefan Vukoje (Joe Overy 73), Kieran Rowe, Dan Perry (Ben Pope 59), Chris Whelpdale (Martyn Box 51), Ollie Davies (Brannon O’Neill 78).

Report by Adam Donlevy

Picture by James Gething