There was an Isthmian League South East derby at the Green Elephants Stadium on Saturday, as Sevenoaks Town travelled to Burgess Hill Town to kick off their FA Cup campaign.
Goals from Tommy Whitnell, Frankie Sawyer and a Charlie Bennett own goal all came in the last 20 minutes as Sevenoaks once again showed their composure and fitness to progress into the Emirates FA Cup First Round Qualifying.
This latest instalment of Sevenoaks’ busy opening fortnight, where they play five matches, has shown once again how their changes to pre-season has changed the way they are performing on the pitch.
Manager Micky Collins commented – after the season opener against Three Bridges on August 17th – how the club organised pre-season friendlies against opposition nearer their own standard, rather than playing pretty fixtures.
He said: “We changed it this year with a little bit of a different dynamic. Where we’ve always had big sides come down, trying to make it a bit of a showcase, we wanted to be more serious about it”.
He continued: “We had Dartford as our little opener and then we played people at our level or slightly lower, and I think it’s worked”.
Well it certainly has so far, with two wins and a draw in the bag already this season, Sevenoaks head to Cray Valley on Bank Holiday Monday for a tough encounter with the SCEFL title winners from last season. Kick-off is at 3.00pm and all support for the Isthmian League club would be much appreciated by all.
