On March 2nd 2002 Burgess Hill installed a temporary 500 seater stand for their game against Tiptree in the F.A. Vase Quarter Final. Yes, you read that correctly – the Hillians built a seater stand for just one single game and the stand got taken down again afterwards.

This weeks Throwback Thursday takes us back to a time before there were any seats available at the Hillian s home ground and only some covered terracing attracted fans to come watch the games. However, in the 2001/02 season, Burgess Hill reached the quarterfinals of the F.A. Carlsberg Vase for the first time in the club’s history and in the league, the Hillians were on route to take the championship.  

With such a successful run, the fans were enthusiastic about the upcoming match against Tiptree and the club, therefore, expected a big crowd for the game. To make the clash accessible to as many people as possible, Garry Newton, who was the club’s commercial manager at the time, had the idea of installing a seater stand behind the goal with room for 500 fans. 

No sooner said than done, the German beer company “Hasseröder” sponsored the installation of the stand and Burgess Hill was ready to face their record attendance of 1598 fans. 

Despite having multiple chances to score, including two shots that hit the post, the Hillians lost 2-1 to Tiptree who scored the winner in the 17th minute of extra time. After the final whistle, manager Gary Croydon said: “I feel really bad for my players because it is them that hurt most. It just wasn’t our day, the ball would not go in.” 

Whilst the Hillians lost on the pitch that day, they won something which is bigger than football – their community. The fans cheered on their team from the seater stand until the very last minute.

In the league, Burgess Hill was more successful and won the league, whilst being unbeaten until April. All in all, a positive season for the Hillians, both, on and off the field.