Burgess Hill Town boosted by home win – now it’s ‘bring on Brighton and Hove Albion’

The Hillians beat Sittingbourne 2-1 on Saturday thanks to first-half goals by Dan Perry and Lewis Finney.

It lifted them to 11th in the tightly-packed table ahead of Saturday’s trip to Hythe Town.

Lovett said: “First half we were excellent, we created a lot of opportunities.

"The only gripe would be that we probably should have score a couple more goals.”

With Sittingbourne pulling a goal back in the second half, Lovett recognised his team struggled and had to dig deep to secure the three points.

He added: “Credit to them (Sittingbourne) – we had to weather the storm, so it was backs to the wall for a little bit.”

The trip to Hythe puts the Hillians against a side five places but only four points behind them in the table.

Lovett said: “We need to get a couple of wins under our belts because the table is so tight-knit in that middle area that one loss can drop you down a few places.”

He said both sides were looking for a sequence of wins and added: “For us it’s about going into that game trying to get a bit of consistency.

“Our focus is to carry on from last week, when I thought we were excellent - and if we take that into the game, I’m sure we’ll do all r right”

Meanwhile the draw for the third round of the Sussex Senior Cup has handed Burgess Hill a meeting with the holders, Brighton and Hove Albion’s U23 side. It will be played at the More Than Tyres Stadium on Tuesday (7.30pm).

Lovett is looking forward to playing the favourites, who beat Three Bridges on penalties in the last round.

“They are going to be a very good side. But big draws like that are what everyone looks forward to and gets excited about,” Lovett said.

“Three Bridges did really well against them in the last round, so there’s no reason why we should fear anything.”