The games continue to come thick and fast for Heath with the midweek visit to Lingfield, the 19th game in a season that’s only just over two months old and the effect is having an impact on the team and on results with players missing through injury or suspension and others playing with knocks when they should be resting up.

Lingfield came into the game on a run of six straight wins that has seen them move up to 4th in their division and the confidence they gained from that was evident for all to see as they dominated play in the first half but failed to beat an inspired Michael Chester who blocked everything that came his way.

The first clear chance of the match came on 10 minutes when Richard Wetton broke away down the right flank and crossed the ball into the path of Nick Dembele who hit it first time from 12 yards but put it well wide of Chester’s right hand post.

Heath responded with Tim Martin playing a cross-field pass to Devon Fender who hit it first time across the face of goal with Alex Parsons inches away from converting it at the far-post.

Another Lingfield attack midway through the half saw Sammy Clements test Chester with a powerful shot from distance which went straight at the keeper and minutes later Chester made a double-save to deny Jack Horn; 15 minutes before the break Wetton’s strike was deflected off a post as the Bears clung on.

Minutes before the break Tim Martin played in George Cousins and his first time shot was saved brilliantly on the line by the Lingfield keeper to deny Heath a lead which would have been very harsh on the home-side.

Heath started the second half much better but their hopes were dealt a real blow in the 53rd minute when Shaun Findlay was shown a straight red card by the match referee who considered his attempt to recover a loose ball as dangerous play, a strange and harsh decision given there was no other players involved in the incident.

That seemed to galvanize the Bears who stepped up their game, had more possession and created the better chances; on the hour mark Fender ran at the Lingfield defence but shot straight at the keeper and from a free-kick Martyn Flack drilled a shot into the side netting.

Twenty minutes from time Tim Martin appeared to win a perfectly timed header against a defender but once again the referee had spotted something nobody else had seen and awarded Lingfield a free-kick; much to the displeasure of the Heath bench and players who were still arguing about the decision when the ball was played out wide right to Dembele who ran at the Heath defence and unleashed a powerful right foot shot from 20 yards that flew past Chester, Parsons continued to complain to the Referee about the decision and picked up his 5th booking of the season which means both he and Findlay will now miss the next league match at Hassocks.

In the closing stages Fender got round the back of the Lingfield defence and picked out an unmarked George Cousins 8 yards from goal but the Heath striker snatched at the chance and the ball flew way over the crossbar to safety and in injury time Dembele was denied a second by yet another block by Chester on the goal-line

So a disappointing night for the Bears who have yet another cup match to play on Saturday when they host Kensington Borough in the 1st Round Proper of the FA Vase.

Team: M. Chester, Morrone-Buckingham, Robinson, Sim, Flack, Findlay, Helsdown (Weller 80), Parsons, Fender, Cousins, Martin.