After weeks of wet or frozen pitches the weather was finally kind enough to allow us to play our first match of the year when we welcomed Merstham FC to the BodyMould Stadium, home of Broadbridge Heath Football Club.

Heath could have been in front in the opening minutes when Sean Terry picked up the ball in the left back position in his own half and started a run that saw the defender drift past players on his advance to the opposing penalty area where he hit a right foot shot that was well saved by Rob Tolfrey the Merstham goalkeeper.

At the other end Aaron Jenkins found space wide on the right and struck a fierce right foot shot straight at Heath goalkeeper Alfie Hadfield who collected the ball at the near post.

Heath continued to create some good chances, Mark Goldson struck a right foot shot from the edge of the penalty area just wide of the post and Charlie Parmiter had his shot from close range blocked by Tolfrey on the goal-line.

A contentious moment of the game came on the half hour mark when Adam Adam, making his starting debut for the Bears, tried to take the ball around a defender but was brought down in the penalty area; pundits would call that a stone-wall penalty but the Match Referee thought otherwise and inexplicably gave the visitors a free-kick and gave Adam a caution, a somewhat harsh decision and it remained 0-0 at the break.

Heath started the second half well with Mason Doughty going close with a left foot shot across the goal that went narrowly wide of the post. Kyle Sim had his shot deflected wide for a corner and Mark Goldson was just centre-meters away from converting a Callum Dowdell left wing cross.

Play was then held up for a long period after Tolfrey collided with one of his teammates and with the Merstham keeper in some discomfort, the advantage swung in Heath’s direction but it was the visitors who took the lead, against the run of play, on 63 minutes when left fullback Harry Murphy joined in the attack down the left flank and played a ball across the face of goal to Finlay Johnson sliding in at the far post to give the Moatsiders the lead.

Heath equalised on 70 minutes when Sal Marino played the ball from right to left to Tad Bromage to head across the face of goal to Goldson who converted from close range.

Heath continued to press forward but were again caught out at the back on 76 minutes when a long free kick was played into the penalty area, several attempts were made to clear the danger but the ball fell kindly for Johnson to hammer home his second of the match.

The Bears dominated the remaining 23 minutes of play (9 minutes added on) with Merstham putting a force-field around their goal, shot’s were blocked, cleared, put over the crossbar or flew narrowly wide of the post. But the Merstham defence, marshalled by their impressive skipper Matt Drage stood firm and held on for a victory.

Team: Hadfield, Sim, Terry, Marino, Bromage, Peters, Dowdell, Parmiter (Croal 89), Goldson, Doughty, Adam (Evans 65).