Technical went on to dominate the first half, but Mosgiel bounced back late in the second spell, and was unlucky not to share the points.
In perfect conditions at the Caledonian Ground, Technical had more structure and menace, with Burgess giving a master class in running angles and dragging defenders. And, as always, he had his finger on the trigger.
His ability to make first-time shots at goal, despite some close marking, and possibly aided by some slack Mosgiel marking, should have wrapped the result up by halftime.
Technical was without Alistair Rickerby and George Milne, but new signing Victor da Costa emerged as a box-to-box player with good control and energy to burn.
In the team reshuffle, Sam Enright dropped back into the unfamiliar role of central defender and did well, as did Matt Joy who went on to have some earth-shaking challenges with Mosgiel's giant Tom Bekkers at corners and set plays.
Whether Technical went off the boil, or Mosgiel lifted its game in the second half, the single-goal margin looked fragile as Plainsmen pushed forward, especially late in the match.
Referee Jeff Clamp waved away a possible penalty infringement, Mosgiel won a series of corners, striker Phil Kelly moved up front, player-coach Mike McGarry came off the bench and shots and headers started to fly at the Technical goal.
But brave defending and a saturation defence enabled Technical to survive. Coach Mike Fridge was more than pleased with his team's efforts.
Mosgiel manager Pat Howell admitted it took Mosgiel half the game to get going, and that early opening goal by Burgess robbed the team of confidence.
At Ocean Grove, Grants Braes blunted Caversham's attack to earn a 0-0 draw and give coach Al Laidler a platform to work from this season.
A despondent Caversham coach Richard Murray was unhappy with his team's inability to hit the net, despite having chances galore.
In Queenstown, Luiz Uehara's University side prevailed with an eventual 4-2 win in what is always a difficult away fixture.
Striker Gui Melo scored twice and Steve Blackmoore and Anthony Tarrant got the other Varsity goals.
Unbeaten Green Island stayed ahead of Northern 2-1 to move to fourth, with Cody Robinson leading the way with a powerful header, and Taylor McCormack also scored for the Island.
Northern coach Steve Brook was disappointed with Northern's form: "Not comparable with last week's excellent effort."
News that Joel Stevens returns soon from the United States to Sunnyvale should boost coach Malcolm Fleming's ambitions for a top placing.
Roslyn-Wakari had the bye.
