Burgess Hill have some good players that can hurt us so we need to start faster and be more alive for the whole 90 minutes, says Phoenix Sports boss Paul Bryon

PHOENIX SPORTS manager Paul Bryon says he wants his side to start on the front foot at Burgess Hill Town on Saturday.

The two sides met at Mayplace last Saturday with Phoenix Sports winning 3-2 to climb into eighth-place in the Isthmian League South East Division with 12 points from eight games.

Bryon takes his side to Leylands Park on Saturday to contest a FA Trophy Preliminary Round tie.

“We have a break from the league this weekend with an away trip to Burgess Hill Town in The FA Trophy,” said Bryon.

“It’s a bit weird as we played them in the league last week where it was definitely a game of two halves.

“We gave away two sloppy goals in the first half, which were avoidable and will be hoping for a better start this week.

“The game was a little flat from our perspective until we got one back, which kicked us into life and we nicked the game 3-2.

“It was a good fight-back but most pleasingly was the nature of the goals, good football and clinical finishing.”

Looking ahead to their trip to West Sussex, Bryon said: “Obviously, both teams know each other now and they have some good players that can hurt us so we need to start faster and be more alive for the whole 90 minutes.”

Bryon pulled off a transfer coup by enticing striker Harry Harding from Chatham Town, who was one of two players to leave the Southern Counties East Football League Premier Division club having lost centre-half Danny Fitzsimons who has signed for Glebe.

“It’s not our usual style going in for players that are sought after by many club’s but we have had our eye on Harry, not just because of his footballing ability but also his personality fits our squad and we are delighted he chose Phoenix when more affluent offers were available,” explained Bryon.

“It just shows not everyone in non-league makes decisions around money. We welcome Harry and his family to Phoenix. Thanks to those that aided in his signing.

“We have managed to extend Ben Allen’s loan from Gillingham, thanks to Gillingham for helping with this.

“Ben has been excellent since he came in and is one of Phoenix’s home grown players we are very proud of.

“He has aided in us coming off the bottom and sitting in eighth-place now and on a good run.

“We now have healthy competition for places and this brings difficult decisions each week but it’s a good place to be.

“We will need all our squad to get through these forthcoming fixtures but are looking forward to the next few challenges as the league starts to settle down a bit.”

Visit Phoenix Sports website:  www.phoenixsportsclub.co.uk

Burgess Hill Town  v  Phoenix Sports
The Buildbase FA Trophy Preliminary Round
Saturday 12 October 2019
Kick Off 3:00pm
at Leylands Park, Maple Drive, Burgess Hill, West Sussex RH15 8DL