Broadbridge Heath U23 5-2 Steyning Town U23

The forecasted rain stayed away just long enough for this game to go ahead although by kick-off the heavens had opened to torrential rain but the match itself was never in doubt.

The visitors started well and took the lead on 16 minutes when their No 7 received the ball wide on the left and ran towards the goal before cutting in and striking a left foot shot from 20 yards that flew past Heath keeper Monty Watson-Price.

Heath were level within 4 minutes when a move down the right allowed Eugene Moteane to get to the goal-line and cut the ball back into the path of Wiktor Maznica who struck a left foot shot from 16 yards, wide of the Steyning keeper into the net.

The Bears took the lead 15 minutes before the interval when Eric Schultz intercepted a pass in his own half and drove forward with the ball at his feet before exchanging passes with Maznica and striking a fierce left foot shot from the edge of the box that nestled into the bottom right corner of the net to give Heath a narrow 2-1 lead at the break.

Heath extended their lead on the hour mark when Ollie Gill picked up the ball on the halfway line and played a defence splitting pass to Moteane who drove towards goal before playing the ball across the face of goal which Maznica converted at the far post.

A fourth goal followed on 65 minutes and it was another delightful through ball from Gill to Moteane coming in from the left and having already struck both the left and right posts in the first half, the Heath striker finally got his bearings right to hammer the ball past the Steyning stopper into the net.

Four soon became five when minutes later a long John Smiths ‘Ave It! clearance by a Heath defender saw Maznica chase down the ball and with the keeper coming to collect and a defender not sure what to do, the Heath striker nipped in between them to steer the ball past them both and smash it into the net.

Full credit to the visitors who continued to push forward and they were rewarded with a second in the closing stages when their No 7 scored his second of the match with another left foot strike from distance over Watson-Price into the net.

Team: Watson-Price, Mark, Gorringe, Barlow, Duneclift, Schulz, Moteane, Gill, Symonds, Kent, Maznica. Subs. Bridgman, Crawfield, Sutton, Burrell.