Following heavy overnight rain the pitch at the BodyMould Community Stadium past two pitch inspections before the game was given the go-ahead and the Gods were kind to the groundsman too, as the predicted heavy rain never materialised and by kick-off the sun was beating down on the well manicured but wet surface.

Heath created the first chance of the match on 7mins when Sam Lemon struck a low right foot shot from the edge of the penalty area that the Rams keeper Tom Hadler did well to save low to his left. Halder then launched the ball forward bouncing once before entering the Heath penalty area where Tad Bromage headed it back towards his keeper Roshan Greensall; Alfie Paxman anticipated the pass and played the ball between Brackpool and Greensall who briefly grabbed the striker’s shirt, a move that saw the player tumble to the floor. The Match Referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot but then produced a red card for Greensall which looked a harsh decision given the ball was travelling away from the goal. Jack Frankland took over between the sticks and his first job was to retrieve the ball from the back of the net following Joe Taylor’s conversion in off the post.

At that point, with no recognised goalkeeper and down to 10 men, most Heath supporters were probably thinking this could be a rout but to be fair the Heath players really dug-in to protect their goal and even created chances of their own with Mario Quiassaca twice going close with long range shots that saw Hadler struggling to get back and the ball dipping just over the crossbar. Frankland did make a good save from Lee Martin’s free kick, clawing the ball from going in the top right corner but a minute from the break it was 2-0 and another penalty kick.

Although there was no question over the first penalty kick, this one looked harsh on the Bears when Ramsgate’s Medy Elito received the ball inside the penalty area but then collided with his own player Alfie Paxman before falling to the ground, the Match Referee immediately pointed to the spot claiming that Jamie Chesworth had committed the foul and despite the Heath players protests the kick was awarded and Taylor stepped up to make it 2-0 at the break.

The visitors started the second half well with Taylor testing Frankland with a long range shot which the Heath keeper saved comfortably while at the other end Ryan Brackpool’s headed a Louis Evan corner against the Rams crossbar.

On 65mins Taylor came close to completing his hat-trick with a shot that came off the top of the crossbar and Hadler was forced to make another fine save to deny Bromage a consolation but it remained 2-0 just as the rain started to fall again.

A really good battling performance from the Broadbridge Heath players, with no recognised goalkeeper and only 10 men for 80mins against one of the best teams in the division it would have been very easy to have folded under the circumstances but to-a-man they worked really hard and were a credit to the club.

Next up is a trip to Littlehampton Town on Saturday 29th October, PLEASE NOTE This game kicks off at 1.00pm.

Team: Greensall, Frankland, Chesworth, Weller, Bromage, Brackpool, Waddingham (Lindsay 69), Penfold, Quiassaca, Doughty (Scally 10), Lemon (Khallouqi 90).