After last weekend’s cancelled fixture following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Heath made the trip across the county to East Sussex to take on AFC Uckfield Town at The Oaks.

Was able to welcome back Ryan Brackpool to the heart of the Heath defence as they looked to add 3 more points to the tally.

Heath broke the deadlock 10 minutes in after a some good possession saw Kyle Sim carry the ball out from the back before releasing out wide to Jack Frankland. Frankland hit the by line before pulling back to Mason Doughty who fired off his shot early into the defender. Doughty’s quick reactions saw him regain possession before firing back across goal into the path of Lewis Croal who flicked the ball in with the outside of his knee for 1-0.

5 minutes later Heath thought they had doubled their lead after Charlie Weller’s ball over the top saw Doughty through on goal and fire off a thunder bolt from just inside the area. The Uckfield keeper was able to get a strong hand to it but the spin of the ball saw it bounce back towards goal. As Uckfield attempted to clear their lines with Heath’s Ben Cooksley breathing down their neck, the Uckfield defender threw himself towards the ball and ended up in the back of the net as the ball bounced over his head and into the goal. As Broadbridge Heath’s players turn to celebrate, the referee blows his whistle and awards a foul in the 6 yard box to Uckfield leaving the bears bench scratching their heads.

From the resulting free kick, the Uckfield Keeper kicked the ball straight out of play just into the Broadbridge Heath half. A quick long throw saw the ball coming straight back at him as Doughty gambled on the defenders mis judgement before playing the ball across the 6 yard box for Croal to tap in for his and Heath’s second of the game.

Just before half time, Heath then lost Doughty to injury seeing him replaced by Renato Carvalho. This was then followed by a late challenge on Lewis Croal seeing him replaced by Louis Blake.

Heath came out in the second half looking to finish the game off having a few attacks on goal but unable to extend their lead. AFC Uckfield, sensing they were still in the game began pushing players forward as they looked for a goal to get back in the game. A long ball into the box which was cleared by Ryan Brackpool came straight back before being headered clear again by Brackpool. Heath did not pick up the second ball and it was hit home from outside the area by Uckfield’s Cameron Apted to make it 2-1.

Despite a few attempts to get an equaliser, Heath continued to push for a third with a few half chances which never really looked like troubling the home side. The chance came to add a third goal and effectively put the game to bed after a flicked through ball from Renato Carvalho saw Frankland charge into the box only to be brought down by the Uckfield defender and the referee point to the spot. After a lengthy wait following the Uckfield Town protests, which having watched the replay suggests they had a point after the defender played the ball before making contact with Frankland, Cooksley stepped up only to see his penalty saved by saved by James Broadbent.

As legs began to tire, Heath made a change in midfield withdrawing Harry Mark bringing on Mitch Clark to freshen things up.

In the 77th minute another chance came following a long clearance from the Uckfield keeper saw Jamie Chesworth meet it was a strong header sending the ball back to where it came from. On this occasion the Uckfield defender misjudged his header and flicked it back towards his own goal. Carvalho was the quickest to react running on to the loose ball and volleying past the keeper from the edge of the box to make it 3-1 to the Bears.

Following a coming together on the edge of the Heath box between Sim and Uckfield’s George Cook, a free kick was awarded to the home side which Jasper Sheik watched comfortably as it flew over his crossbar. Following the collision, Sim was unable to continue and was replaced by Mark Zydonik returning to the club following a short stint at Hassocks.

The experience of Zydonik and Brackpool at back showed as they soaked up the pressure as AFC Uckfield threw everything they had to try and take something out of the game. Following his strong performance at the back Ryan Brackpool was named as Heaths Man of the Match.

Broadbridge Heath now turn their attention to Saturday and the visit of Erith and Belvedere FC to High Wood Hill Sports Ground in the FA Vase.

Team: Sheik, Frankland, Chesworth, Penfold, Sim (Zydonik 80), Brackpool, Weller, Mark (Clark 60), Doughty (Carvalho 37), Croal (Blake 46), Cooksley