Brentwood Town kicked off the 2026/27 Isthmian League Premier Division campaign with a deserved 2-0 victory over Burgess Hill Town.
Goals from Bradley Sach, his seventh in nine games for the Blues, and debutant Nat Mardell secured all three points on the opening day of the season, as Brentwood also claimed an important clean sheet in front of a crowd of 550 at The Arena.
Both sides fashioned half-chances in the opening stages, with Brentwood’s first real threat coming from a Max Hudson free-kick that, combined with pressure from Bradley Sach, caused uncertainty in the visitors’ defence.
Burgess Hill enjoyed a good spell of possession midway through the first half and looked the stronger side for a period, with Joel Daly and Chris Whelpdale both trying their luck from distance. However, neither effort tested Aidan Prall.
Just as the opening 45 minutes looked destined to end goalless, the Blues struck on the stroke of half-time. Hudson won a free-kick in a dangerous area, and Charlee Adams produced an inch-perfect delivery into the box where Sach was left unmarked to calmly place his finish beyond Roco Rees.
Brentwood managed the second half impressively, particularly in the hot conditions, and almost doubled their lead shortly after the restart. Benas Vaivada was brought down on the edge of the area after stealing possession, with loud appeals for a red card dismissed by referee Robert Alderton, who instead showed Luther Williams a yellow card. Adams’ powerful effort from the resulting free-kick was pushed away well by Rees.
Clear-cut opportunities were at a premium as Brentwood controlled proceedings and limited the visitors to very little in the final third. With the score still 1-0, Burgess Hill were forced to commit more bodies forward in search of an equaliser.
Keith Rowland introduced Nat Mardell and Freddie Sears with 15 minutes remaining, both making their home debuts, and it was Mardell who wrapped up the points in the 83rd minute. After Burgess Hill failed to fully clear a Brentwood corner, Jesse Olukolu showed excellent skill to beat the defensive line before clipping a superb cross into the area, where Mardell guided his finish into the back of the net for a debut goal.
From there, Brentwood comfortably saw out the closing stages to secure an opening-day clean sheet, with Prall rarely called into serious action throughout the afternoon.
The Blues are back in action on Tuesday night when they travel to Princes Park to face Dartford.
BRENTWOOD TOWN: Prall (GK), Read, Cripps (C), Gibbs, Hudson, Freeman, Adams (Harvest 68’), Olukolu, Berry (Sears 76’), Vaivada (Mardell 76’), Sach (Steward 86’)
Sub not used: Davis
BURGESS HILL TOWN: Rees (GK), Morrison, Rusoke (Ward 79’), Daly, Williams, Cocoracchio, Lawson, Pope (Fenelon 79’), Whelpdale (C), Edoukou (Rowe 69’), Beckford (Sekyere 69’)
Sub not used: Yorke-Johnson
Written by Michaela Georgopolous.
Images courtesy of Nick Gunn Photography.
