Basketball at Broadbridge Heath? Bears and Brickies share four goals in final 20 minutes

Sittingbourne came into the game on a run of just one win in their previous eight matches but with a new manager at the helm after the departure of Reece Prestedge, they were hoping for a new beginning.

At the same time Chris Simmons’ Broadbridge Heath side were on a good run of form with just one defeat from their previous eight.

Heath got off to a good start forcing the Sittingbourne keeper Carter Sullivan to make the first save of the match on 15 minutes when Zac Young crossed to the far post, where Zac Jeanes chested the ball down and struck a shot that Sullivan saved with the foot of his outstretched leg.

The Brickies’ best chance came in first half injury time when Sullivan took a free-kick wide on the right just inside the Sittingbourne half. A long kick deep into the Heath half was headed on by Harvey Smith to Mitchell May, who hammered a shot that was brilliantly saved by Heath keeper Alfie Hadfield diverting the ball out for a corner.

The second half was end to end, with both sides creating chances, but it looked like one of those days when neither side would score.

But that changed on 71 minutes when Smith won the ball on the halfway line, turned and played a long ball straight down the left channel which saw May sprint away and with the ball bouncing once the striker hit a left-foot lob from distance over Hadfield and in.

But the visitors’ celebrations were shortlived with the Bears back on level terms within two minutes of the restart when Ben Holden received the ball wide on the left, close to the halfway line and played a pass forward inside the full-back – allowing Sam Hards to run at the defence. A mistimed back-pass by the centre-half saw Hards intercept the pass and take the ball around the keeper to score for the sixth game running.

Again the visitors hit back on 77 minutes when May broke down the left, Heath claiming what looked like an obvious offside which was waved away as he took the ball towards the goal-line before cutting it back into the path of Darren Foxley.

He hit it first time from 12 yards, Hadfield made a superb diving save which saw the ball fly high up into the air and bounce back off the post and in – tough on Hadfield after what would have been a spectacular save.

In the final minutes, Heath won a corner on the right which was delivered into the six-yard box by Zac Jeanes to Ollie Rawlins who stooped low to head home from eight yards for his first of the season to earn his team a well-deserved point.

MoM was Jack Church.

Boss Simmons said: “We were really good through the first two thirds but were just lacking the cutting edge or finish, then in the last 20 minutes the game turned into a basketball game. But I was really pleased with the fighting character of the lads to come back twice and get a deserved point.”

The Bears go to Merstham on Tuesday night before taking the long and winding road to Margate on Saturday.

BBH: Hadfield, Richardson, Holden, Marino (Buchanan 60), Hyde, Peters, Jeanes, Church, Hards, Connell, Young (Rawlins 85).