Heaths first match in only their second season at Step 4 football saw them travel to promotion favourites Sittingbourne on a hot sunny afternoon at the Staxson Stadium.

Last season at the same venue, the Bears surprised everyone when they came away with a 1-0 victory to dent the hosts automatic promotion hopes with Tad Bromage scoring the only goal of the game. The question being asked before the game was “Could Chris Simmons side cause yet another upset against the much fancied Brickies”.

It was clear from the start that the hosts were out to gain revenge for that defeat and they took an early lead on 9 minutes when a low corner from the left was flicked goalwards by Liam Smith and turned into the net from a yard out by Mitchell May.

The Brickies continued to dominate large spells of the game but without really troubling Heath goalkeeper Leo Anderson in for the unavailable Billy Collings and making his first team debut for the Bears. That pressure eventually led to a second 5 minutes before the break when a free kick was awarded on the right corner of the penalty area, Ritchie Hammill tried his luck with a left foot curling effort that came off the far post and fell kindly into the path of Joe Boachie who stuck out his right leg to steer the ball into the roof of the net to make it 2-0 at the break.

Boachie scored his second 7 minutes into the restart when Heath lost possession some 40 yards from goal, the ball was played out wide right to Troy Howard who took it to the goal-line before cutting it back into the “D” to Boachie running in from deep and he drilled a right foot shot into the bottom left corner, 3-0 to the home-side.

Things got even worse for the Bears just minutes later when a Liam Smith corner from the right was swung into the danger zone and avoided a host of players before going straight in at the far post.

Simmons made several changes to his team in an attempt to stop the onslaught but the home-side continued to dominate play with Heaths best chance of the game coming on 65 minutes when Callum Dowdell went on a run down the left flank, took the ball around the defender and cut it back, hoping to pick out a team-mate but the ball struck a retreating defender and flew off him towards goal before being brilliantly saved by the Sittingbourne keeper Harley Earle, going the wrong way but somehow managing to stick out an arm to prevent the ball from crossing the line.

In the closing stages one of the host’s midfield players picked up the ball on the halfway line and played a simple pass between two Heath defenders allowing Troy Howard to sprint through and coolly convert with a right foot shot from 12 yards past Anderson to end a comfortable afternoon for the home side.

After the game Chris Simmons said on X “Really disappointing performance by us yesterday, yes Sittingbourne are a very good side and deserved the win but that was probably the worst performance we have put in for a long time”.

Team: Anderson; Sim (Owen Cranmer-Flynn 64), Chesworth, Penfold, Bromage, Terry, Dowdell, Buchanan (Parmiter 46), Leslie (Hay 64), Evans (Croal 65), Dyson (Marino 72).