Briggs was ‘shaking like a leaf’ after horror clash

IT WAS a clash of heads so horrific that Matt Briggs cannot bring himself to watch the footage of his football accident again. The very noise makes him sick to his stomach. One Tuesday night in non-League, the 21-year-old went for an inviting ball but the resulting collision led to the game in Burgess Hill being abandoned. Briggs laid on his back for 35 minutes as he awaited the ambulance and received oxygen. The referee, quite remarkably, told his parents and Dorking Wanderers’ manager they would be reported for encroaching on to the pitch to check on their son and player. They ignored him, knowing the seriousness of the accident. The clash left Briggs with a shattered cheekbone and several fractures around the eye socket. He required surgery, some bone was removed and he now has a metal plate in place which will stay with him for life. Briggs had been scouted this season by Crystal Palace, Stoke, Ipswich and Millwall, and is one of Sportsmail’s stars of non-League to watch. It remains to be seen when he will next be able to kick a ball competitively. Of the clash, he said: ‘I remember feeling a lot of pain in my face. A lot of pain and shock. I remember feeling very cold. I remember a lot of people standing around me. ‘I didn’ t know much of what was going on. I was just cold and in shock.’ The footage is available online and shows Briggs going for a ball that is there for the taking. He contests for it with Burgess Hill defender Gary Elphick. They collide at full speed. ‘I watched it once and don’t want to watch it again,’ Briggs said. ‘The noise was what made me feel sick. My dad watched it once and he told my mum, “Don’t watch it. You don’t want to see that.’’ ‘The other player came to see

me in hospital and said sorry. He had a cut in the back of his head which needed glueing up. ‘It was an accident. The ball just sat up. It was 2-0 to them at the time.’ The game now has to be played again. ‘I’ve got to be honest… I’d rather have lost the three points than this.’ The referee who felt Briggs’ mum Sandra, dad Derek and manager Marc White should have stayed off the pitch was Michael Ryan. White was furious it took longer than half an hour to abandon the game while his winger went from ‘shaking like a leaf’ to lying motionless. A ‘Get Well Soon’ card signed by his team mates landed at Briggs’ parents’ house on the morning of

Sportsmail’s visit. Briggs is an Aerospace Engineering student at the University of Surrey. He was supposed to have two exams in January, which have been deferred. ‘I’ve been a bit lost,’ he said. ‘I was expecting to be really busy, revising, late nights. Having all that to do and then having nothing to do, it feels worse.’