Manager Steve Painter wanted his team to bounce back after the disappointment of midweek defeat at Crawley Down and there was no better way of doing that than getting his team to put in a good performance against the early season pace setters Haywards Heath Town who arrived at the Leisure Centre with a record of having played 4, won 4, scored 14 goals and only conceded 1.

Painter was able to welcome back goalkeeper Michael Chester who’s missed the last six games through injury but he was missing, Ollie Moore, Jake Holmes, Tim Martin and Scott Weller through injury.

Heath started well putting the visitors under pressure with a series of corners and Marlon Maxwell was first to test the Blues keeper Nick Taylor with a header that was comfortably saved at the near post. Gradually the visitors got into the game with some good possession football but they rarely troubled the Heath defence marshalled by the impressive Stuart Chester and Andy Howard.

With 30 minutes gone Heaths Shaun Findlay took a quick throw-in to Piers McDermott who hit a powerful right foot shot straight at Taylor and then McDermott’s long throw was only half cleared and just as a Heath player was about to strike the ball he was upended 10 yards from goal, despite good claims for a penalty nothing was given.

Six minutes before the break another long McDermott throw was only cleared as far as Jamie Robinson who smashed a left foot shot through a crowded penalty area that fell to Tiago Andrade just six yards out with two defenders in close attendance, somehow the Heath striker got his foot under the ball to lift it over the defenders and wide of the keeper, a typical classic goal from Andrade which gave Heath a narrow lead at the break.

The visitor’s almost equalised minutes into the restart when Naim Rouane rose above everyone to power a header goalwards but Michael Chester was there to make an impressive save. As in the first half the visitors continued to have a lot of possession and won a series of corners in search of the equalizer but rarely did they trouble the Heath defence.

In the final 10 minutes Heath should have wrapped the game up first when Jamal Sultan shot straight at Taylor at the near post, then Shaun Findlay broke away down the right flank, got round the fullback but then shot over the bar and with seconds remaining Jamie Liddell found himself in space, went one on one with the keeper but shot just wide of target.

The result sees Heath move up to fourth place with four wins from five games, a tremendous start to the season but still a very long way to go and many more good sides to play.

Team: M.Chester, Holvey, Robinson, Howard, S. Chester, Maxwell, Hunter (Godfrey 83), McDermott, Findlay, Andrade (Liddell 83), Sultan (Bevan 81).