Broadbridge Heath U23 4-2 Roffey U23

Back to league action and a home match at the BodyMould Community Stadium for the Bears U23 against Roffey U23 on a cold damp Autumn evening.

The first half was a very evenly contested match between two good sides both playing some very entertaining football to warm up the watching spectators.

On 28 minutes Ilias Al Meskin, some 30 yards from goal, won the ball off a Roffey player and played it forward to Szymon Kowalczyk, the Heath forward split the defence with an inch perfect pass allowing Harry Kent to dribble round the final Roffey defender before rifling a right foot shot that saw the ball fly into the bottom left corner.

Heath doubled their lead a minute before the break and it was a case of déjà vu with Ilias again winning the ball in a similar position to the first goal, playing it forward to Kowalczyk who interchanged passes with Kent before running into the box skipping past the Roffey goalkeeper before striking a left foot shot into the empty net. 2-0 at the break.

Heath made the perfect start to the second half making it 3-0 within a minute and it was Kowalczyk who capitalised on some uncertainty in the visitor’s defence and ran through unopposed to score comfortably past the Boars keeper.

The visitors weren’t done though and reduced the score-line within a minute when Morgan Prill received the ball wide on the left and cut inside and hit a right foot shot that curled nicely, out of reach of Watson-Price, into the top right hand corner.

Minutes later and it was goal number four for the Bears when a corner from the right was played into the danger area and cleared as far as Al Meskin wide on the left, the midfielder took the ball to the goal-line before playing it hard and low across the face of goal where it was turned in from close range by Nathan Pickering.

Both sides continued to push forward in search of goals but it was the visitors who reduced the deficit on 79 minutes when a corner from the right was headed back across the goal to Tristan Greenwood who converted from close range to score on his Roffey debut.

Congratulations to both sides, the Boars and the Bears, for putting on a really enjoyable match to watch and played in the right spirit.

Next up for the Bears is a County Cup match on Thursday 16th when we welcome Surburban League side East Grinstead U23’s, now managed by our former U23 manager’s Howard Wrate and Steve Coveney.

Team: Watson-Price, Edwards, Richards, Wraight, Pickering, Duneclift, Kowalczyk, I Al Meskin, Kent, Barlow Penalver. Subs. H.Webster, Maznica Mark, Cranfield, Bridgman.