Jersey Bulls 1 (Jay Giles 52), Burgess Hill Town 3 (Chris Whelpdale 7, 23 & 89)

at Burgess Hill Town as F.A. rules do not allow Island teams to host midweek, but Jersey would be hoping that they could replicate the wins they had had in similar circumstances against Sutton Common Rovers (2021) and Sittingbourne (2023). If not it would become the shortest of their four F.A. Cup campaigns to date. F.A. Cup Preliminary Round Replay Attendance – 428 Admission - £12 (£8 concessions) Conditions – Cloudy 21C, Westerly F3 (3G pitch) Programme – 28pp (online only) Teams stayed ends, Burgess Hill kicked off attacking the wooded end 7.46.10

The third instalment in this saga as the original replay on the 8th had to be aborted, after the team spent a long afternoon in the departure lounge, due to problems with the air traffic control system in the U.K. Elliot Powell was back from his “minimoon” so his team were back in the saddle after the U23 management had looked after the original tie and the postponed replay.

For the original replay Jersey had made three changes to the team that played out the draw. Joe Kilshaw, Casey Nixon and Miguel Carvalho replacing Jack Lumsden, Lorne Bickley and Toby Ritzema. Bickley was unavailable and the other two were substitutes. James Sunley was suspended with Fraser Barlow and Harry Mackenzie added to the bench. A week on and the squad showed three changes to the one planned for the 8th. Jamie Watling, Lorne Bickley and Seaney McColgan taking the places of Harry Curtis, Toby Ritzema and Fraser Barlow, the latter as a substitute.

A late change to the Jersey starting line up had to made when Miguel Carvalho injured himself in the warm up and Casey Nixon was brought in to replace him.

Burgess Hill also made three changes from the drawn game. Jay Beckford, Charlie Lambert and Yoan Edoukou started instead of Joel Daly, Ben Pope and Joshua Rosuke. The latter two were on the bench and were joined there by Luca Oliva.

Burgess Hill looked to use more of an aerial attack whereas Jersey tried to play the ball through the Burgess Hill defence, perhaps too much so. Harry Lawson whipped a shot just wide of the right post after five minutes before Burgess Hill took the lead with a magnificent header. Luther Williams, forty yards out right of centre, launched a high diagonal ball forward to Chris Whelpdale who rose to meet it ten yards out and head it back across Euan Van der Vliet and into the bottom right corner. You could see how the 39 year old veteran had scored 51 English League goals in a 309 game career spanning a decade (2007-17) with Peterborough United, Gillingham, Stevenage and A.F.C. Wimbledon.

Burgess Hill were just wide again after quarter of an hour before Whelpdale struck again midway through the half. Yoan Edoukou on the left flank lofted the ball to the far post where it was headed away by Jay Giles. The loose ball was picked up on the right side of the box by Whelpdale who cut in and shot between Giles and Sammy Henia-Kamau and past Van der Vliet’s left hand for his seventh goal of the season. Jersey gradually came back into the game after being second to the ball early on. A more direct route was taken by Lorne Bickley who launched a dipping 25 yard shot that hit the top of the bar ten minutes before the break. As the interval approached Bulls players were twice brought down on the edge of the box but neither of Henia-Kamau’s free-kicks troubled Roco Rees in the Burgess Hill goal. Shortly after the resumption Henia-Kamau had a shot deflected on to the right post before Jersey reduced the arrears. Henia-Kamau was brought down on the edge of the box but this time did not take the subsequent free-kick. Jay Giles shot low into the bottom left corner to give Jersey a glimmer of hope. Before the hour Van der Vliet made a good save from Lambert and just after it Giles launched a left sided corner to the far post where Watling looked well placed but he failed to make contact. With just under ten minutes remaining Hamish Morrison broke down the right flank and cut in but Van der Vliet was down smartly to his left to keep Jersey in the game. At the other end Bickley brought a good save out of Rees as Jersey sought an equaliser. However, it was that man Whelpdale who sealed the victory when he completed hit hat trick just before time. Van der Vliet gave away a soft corner that substitute Jake King took on the right. Whelpdale, initially at the far post, attacked the ball and from near the penalty spot guided a firm glancing header into the bottom left corner. Whelpdale was understandably the opposition player of the match and was substituted early in added time to warm applause from the Burgess Hill support.

Jersey Bulls – Euan Van der Vliet, Jonny Le Quesne, Jay Giles (wore 14), James Queree (c), Jamie Watling, Luke Watson (wore 16), Casey Nixon, Joe Kilshaw, Lorne Bickley, Jarma Mohamed (wore 20), Sammy Henia-Kamau (wore 21)

Substitutes – 10. Harry Mackenzie (for Mohamed 66), 11 Miguel Carvalho (not used), 15. Darryl Mvalo (for Nixon 83), 17. Jack Lumsden (for Watling 70), 23. Seaney McColgan (for Kilshaw 85) (only five substitutes, seven permitted in the F.A. Cup)

All Red; GK All Yellow

Elliot Powell (Manager), Dave Kennedy (Assistant), Karl Benest (Kit), Nikki Nicolle (Medical)

Burgess Hill Town – Roco Rees, Hamish Morrison, Reggie Ward, Harry Lawson, Luther Williams, Luca Cocoracchio, Jay Beckford (wore 15), Kieran Rowe (c), Charlie Lambert, Chris Whelpdale, Yoan Edoukou Substitutes – 7. Jake King (for Beckford 67), 12. Henry Yorke-Johnson (for Whelpdale 90+1), 14. Joshua Rusoke (for Lambert 86), 16. Ben Pope (not used), 17. Shamir Sanchez-Fenelon (not used), 18. Luca Oliva (for Edoukou 90+4), 21. Jake Rhodes (sub GK) (not used)

All White; GK All Grey

Gary Mansell (Manager), Lewis Taylor and Ben Austin (Assistants), Matt Hayward (Analyst), Ben Bacon (Fitness), Chloe Parker (Medical) Formations (R to L) Jersey Bulls (4-1-4-1) 1; 2-4-5-14; 16; 7-8-20-21; 9 Burgess Hill Town (4-4-2) 1; 2-5-6-3; 15-8-4-11; 9-10 Officials – Patrick J. Jolliffe (Lingfield), Richard Lamprell (Eastbourne) and Gage Deitsch (Hitchin) were appointed to the initial replay but were supplanted by the team that had been appointed for the Bulls league match v Hartley Wintney on this date - George W. Salloway (Brize Norton), Charlie (sic) W.G. Balcombe (Balham) dug outs, J. Promise Phillips (Streatham) grandstand

Caution(s) – Jarma Mohamed (JB) 44, Yoan Edoukou (BHT) 45+1, Luke Watson (JB) 47 dissent, Luther Williams (BHT) 51, Charlie Lambert (BHT) 55, Darryl Mvalo (JB) 87 Corners – Jersey Bulls (1) 5; Burgess Hill Town (1) 3 Assist(s) – Sammy Henia-Kamau Player of the Match – Sammy Henia-Kamau Added Time – 3.30 & 6.50 (10.20)