Plenty of contentious moments in Heath’s away match to Margate on Saturday with Luke Staight’s contender for goal of the season almost ruled out by the Match Referee and his Assistant while at the other end the hosts went on to win the game in the 92nd minute with a goal that maybe should not have stood.

Heath got off to a great start taking the lead in the 4th minutes when Luke Bejashvili received the ball on the halfway line and played it down the left flank for Jake Lawrence to run onto, the Heath striker cut inside the penalty area and struck a low right foot shot past Margate goalkeeper Thomas Wray into the far corner.

The hosts were soon back on level terms though when a Kai Garande cross from the left was met by a powerful Ben Greenhaigh header at the far post which was saved by Heath goalkeeper Alfie Hadfield but Ibrahim Olutade was on it in a flash to convert from close range.

The hosts continued to have the lion’s share of possession but Heath looked the more dangerous on the counter attack, Zac Young heading a Lawrence cross straight into the arms of Wray, Charlie Gibson going close with a left foot shot across the face of goal and narrowly wide of the post and Louis Evans having a goal ruled out for offside.

At the other end Greenhaigh struck a right foot free kick from 25 yards straight into the defensive wall, the ball fell kindly to Tushaun Walters whose shot was blocked by Lawrence and it remained 1-1 at the break.

The second half continued in a similar fashion with the hosts going close when a Greenhaigh corner from the right caused problems in the Heath defence, the ball found its way to Margate skipper Harry Hudson who blasted it high over the crossbar from 6 yards.

Heath had a great chance to take the lead midway through the half when Young played the ball forward to Lawrence who ran through on goal but was denied by a superb Wray save sprinting from goal to stand tall and block the striker’s goal-bound effort.

Just 2 minutes later Margate took the lead when another Greenhaigh corner from the right was played to the near post to Kay Haysman who had run across the face of goal to the near post to glance a header past Hadfield into the net.

Heath responded immediately when Luke Staight received the ball some 25 yards from the Margate goal and he hammered a right foot screamer that flew past Wray crashed against the underside of the crossbar and, into the back of the net, rebounded off the bar that holds the net down and out again; the Heath players ran across to celebrate with Staight but Wray picked up the ball and continued as if the ball hadn’t gone in.

What followed next was 5 minutes of chaos, the Match Referee who was only 18 yards away when the goal was scored, suddenly had doubts about the goal, the home players were now saying the ball hadn’t crossed the line, the home supporters too were now adamant that the ball hadn’t crossed the line; the referee spent a long time talking to his Assistant who had also run back towards the halfway line when the goal was scored but now he had doubts too. At one stage the Referee handed the ball to Wray to resume the game but then the other Assistant, some 50 yards away, called the referee over and after a consultation between the two the Referee rightly awarded the goal. Discussions between the Margate players, management and the officials continued for a few more minutes before play finally resumed.

The balance of the match completely changed from that moment, the crowd were now, for the first time in the match in fine voice fully behind their team and motivating their players to raise their game feeling they’d suffered an injustice and 2 minutes into time added on Margate scored a 3rd when Greenhaigh took the ball to the goal-line wide on the right of the penalty area and played it towards the near post were Hadfield blocked the first attempt on the goal-line, the ball came back out to Joseph Kpaka 6 yards from goal who flung himself forward, the ball flew up against the underside of the crossbar, came down and out before being cleared by a Heath defender. This time it was The Bears players who claim the ball had not crossed the line but the Assistant Referee thought differently and the goal was given leaving Gate fans in raptures and earning 3 points for the home side.

A tough afternoon for The Bears, video evidence available after the game clearly shows there was nothing wrong with Luke Staight's goal, the question to ask is why on earth the Match Officials couldn't see it. Heath can also feel hard done by for the Margate winning goal with video evidence suggesting the ball had not crossed the line. Football can be so cruel at times. COYBs!

Team: Hadfield, Staight, Gibson, Marino, Hyde, Terry (Connell 84), Bejashvili (Dowdell 64), Romain, Lawrence (Abudiore 68), Evans, Young.