Burgess Hill's Road To Wembley Ends At Dartford
27th October 2014
By Peter Chapman

It was F.A Cup heartbreak for Burgess Hill Town FC on Saturday as they went down 3-1 to Dartford at Princes Park.

The defeat to opponents three levels higher on the football pyramid also saw the end of Burgess Hill's 15-game wining streak, in fact, it was the Hillian's first defeat all season.

A slow start to the game saw the Hillians 2-0 down with only 15 minutes on the clock, Dartford's Harry Crawford getting them both.

A few breaks in play for injuries broke Dartford's flow and Burgess Hill began to get into the game.

Hope was restored for the visiting side when substitute Darren Budd scored with his first touch when the ball came to him from 25 yards out following a corner. His shot flew in the top right corner to send the fans wild!

There's only one set of fans singing right now, ours! @Official_BHTFC pic.twitter.com/eW4Rqtj7MK

— BurgessHillUncovered (@burgesshillnews) October 25, 2014

Hill were back in the game.....for a while.

Disaster then struck in the 39th minute when Dartford went on the counter-attack. Their forward rounded Hillian's keeper Josh James, but his shot was saved at the near post by defender Toby Pointing. Sadly, Toby opted to use his hand and thus saw red.



Dartford scored the resulting penalty and as a contest, the match was essentially over.

It was 3-1 at the interval, but Hill came out the blocks quickly at the start of the second half and hit the foot of the post early on.

Unsurprisingly, Dartford had the lion's share of possession over the second 45 but failed to put Hill to the sword due to some resolute defending. With 15 minutes remaining, Hill managed to get the ball forward on a number of occasions, there was always a chance if they could pull another goal back that anything could happen. Sadly, it wasn't to be and the game ended 3-1.



The road to Wembley may have ended, but the team can be very proud of their journey, especially given that the last 3 fixtures were all on the road. They also gave fans memories to cherish with the 3-1 win at Sutton United in the previous round.



After the game, Hillian's boss Ian Chapman spoke to BBC Radio Sussex:

Hillians were defeated but not disgraced! Hill showed great fighting spirit but were ultimately out-muscled. #ProudToBeAHillian!

— Burgess Hill Town FC (@Official_BHTFC) October 25, 2014

Got an opinion on this story? Leave a comment below....
Were you at the game on Saturday? What did you make of the match? What will you remember from the 2014/15 F.A Cup run?