'We shot ourselves in the foot with a mad 10 minutes' - Haywards Heath Town boss Shaun Saunders

Haywards Heath Town boss Shaun Saunders was left disappointed after his side 'didn't turn up' for the Sussex Senior Cup semi-final against Burgess Hill Town.
Andrew Dalhouse holds off a defender. Picture by Grahame LehkyjAndrew Dalhouse holds off a defender. Picture by Grahame Lehkyj
Andrew Dalhouse holds off a defender. Picture by Grahame Lehkyj

Heath were stunned as the Hillians scored two goals in the first 10 minutes and Saunders' side never fully recovered. Callum Saunders pulled one back but it wasn't enough on a misty night. Read the match report hereSimon Wormull's side now face either Bognor Regis Town or holders Brighton and Hove Albion u23s in the final at The Amex.

Saunders said: "For whatever reason we didn’t turn up tonight and the lads know I am really disappointed.

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"It’s unlike us to not turn up for a game but we shot ourselves in the foot with a mad 10 minutes and that’s why we never got going."

Andrew Dalhouse holds off a defender. Picture by Grahame LehkyjAndrew Dalhouse holds off a defender. Picture by Grahame Lehkyj
Andrew Dalhouse holds off a defender. Picture by Grahame Lehkyj

Heath did not have the best preparation to the game. Saunders said: "It didn’t help young Keiran [Rowe] breaking down in the warm-up, that affected us. And with Melford [Simpson] stuck in traffic - he was down as a starter - it’s not the best preparation."

Saunders also said he warned his side that it would be a frantic start to the game. He said: "One thing I said to the lads was start quickly, it will be mad the first 15-20 minutes being a local derby. But we never got out of the blocks and they did."

Heath still have plenty to play for this season. They are still in the running for a play-off place in the league and they face Peacehaven in the RUR Cup final.

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Saunders said: "It’s been a great run for us but the league is important and we need to recover quickly and see if we can get something from Hastings on Saturday.

"We have the RUR Cup final in the bank so we will look forward to that.

"It’s been a great season for us though. For us to get to the Sussex Senior Cup semi-finals is a great achievement.

"The night at Crawley was fantastic. All-in-all, if someone had said to me six months ago we would be where we are in the league at this time, in an RUR Cup final and in a Senior Cup semi final I would have probably laughed at them.

"But we have to take the positives and move on quickly."

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