Heath show character to overcome Bexhill

Sussex RUR Cup 2nd Round
JPCT 051013 FOOTBALL: Broadbridge Heath v Storrington. Photo by Derek MartinJPCT 051013 FOOTBALL: Broadbridge Heath v Storrington. Photo by Derek Martin
JPCT 051013 FOOTBALL: Broadbridge Heath v Storrington. Photo by Derek Martin

Bexhill United 1 Broadbridge Heath 2

Broadbridge Heath showed character to seal victory in the Sussex RUR Cup with a determined second half display, despite missing five key players.

Boss Steve Painter was without Kieron Purkiss, Michael Wood, Piers McDermott, Mo Shuga’aa and Andy Waddingham.

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He praised: “In the second half they (Bexhill) came out and changed their shape and deserved to go 1-1.

“We showed a lot of character in the second half when we were under pressure and we started to get a foothold.”

Heath were the better side in the first half and deservedly lead by 1-0 after Tiago Andrade played in Jake Holmes who scored on the rebound from goalkeeper Russell Tanner’s legs on 20 minutes.

The Pirates started the second half much stronger and had Heath penned back in their own half for a long period but despite having the majority of possession the home side just couldn’t get past Heath’s solid looking defence marshalled by Andy Howard and Martyn Flack until a fortunate deflection midway through the second period finally beat Heath keeper James Fisher.

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The equaliser should have spurred the Pirates on but instead the game opened up and suddenly Heath were looking the more likely to score, first Ollie Moore headed just over the crossbar from a Grant Miller corner and then on 78 minutes Andrade won the ball off the centre-half ran through on goal, drew the goalkeeper out and squared to Holmes who tapped in his ninth goal in four games since returning to Heath from Newhaven. Unfortunately that was the Heath striker’s last action as he left the field with a pulled hamstring. In the closing minutes a long punt forward allowed Jamal Sultan a free run at goal but as Tanner came out to narrow the angle the Heath winger struck a right foot shot that cannoned off the foot of the post and with that the game was over.

Bears: Fisher, Maxted (Copeslake 83), Alfieri, Flack, Howard, Miller, Sultan, Chester, Andrade (Petersen 87), Holmes (Whiting 80), Moore

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