Richard Waters will have a battle on his hands to dislodge current Burgess Hill No.1 Pat Gannon when he returns from injury.

Regular first choice Waters has pencilled in October 19 for a return to action with the reserves following a back injury but getting the keeper's jersey back off Gannon may not be easy.

Hillians boss Gary Croydon said: "Pat has been doing very well. He had five clean sheets on the spin, which is something we have been encouraging him to try and get.

"It is like a striker getting goals and wanting to continue to do well.

"Richard is getting ready to make his comeback and has a Friday night game on October 19 in mind. It will take a couple of games to get him right and then we shall take it from there."

When Whitehawk's Ollie Rowland beat Gannon with a free-kick in midweek it was the first goal Gannon had conceded in six games and ended his run of five successive cleansheets.

Although disappointed to see his side concede a goal, Croydon is much happier with the bigger picture.

He said: "We are not conceding goals, which was a big issue for us. We have only conceded one goal in the last six matches and it is good to be able to keep clean sheets.

"In the 2-2 draws with Ringmer and Pagham we defended poorly and conceded goals. We have been working specifically on our defending since then and in the last five or six games we have got it right."

Croydon believes moving Paul Williams to sweeper has been crucial in transforming the defence into a tighted-fisted outfit.

Whitehawk were the latest side to be steamrollered by the Hillians in midweek, going down 5-1 as Daren Newman got his first goals since returning to the club from player-manager at Withdean.

Newman, inserted in the midfield by Croydon, bagged two goals although his boss believes he still has a way to go before he is fully match-fit.