PITCHER BRACE SENDS HEATH INTO NEXT ROUND

This First Round County Cup tie saw Heath run out comfortable winners against plucky lower division opponents Maresfield thanks to two well taken goals by the classy forward Dean Pitcher.

The game started at a brisk pace in front of a decent crowd which contained big contingent of local children who are being actively encouraged to attend the Heath home games. Their support for their local team was rewarded after only seven minutes when Olly Day played the ball out wide to Lee Skinner who beat the full back and headed down the right flank. When he got to the edge of the box he cleverly held the ball up before passing inside to Day who had continued his run. He was challenged as he shaped to shoot but the loose ball spun to Dean Pitcher who calmly controlled it before hammering it past the Maresfield keeper Pete Dingle. Instead of sparking Heath, both teams then spent the next twenty five minutes misplacing passes and creating very little in the way of chances.

On 32 minutes however, Heath put together the best passing movement of the game with Mark Beard and John White combining well to move the ball down the right and forward towards the halfway line. The ball was then slipped inside to Tommy Howes who moved forward and sprayed an accurate pass to Ross Newman who was out on the left touchline about 35 yards from goal. He controlled the ball, looked up and hit a fabulous cross with a flat trajectory that picked out Dean Pitcher who had timed his run away from his marker perfectly, and he powered a header into the net in spite of a good attempt to save it by the Maresfield keeper. This was Pitcher's third goal in three games for Heath and he is gelling rapidly with the rest of the team and proving a good addition and a clinical striker.

The half ended with Lee Skinner having a shot cleared off the line, and then in quick succession Olly Day and Dean Pitcher both had shots from 25 yards that fizzed narrowly past each post.

At half time Mark Beard was replaced by Mark Enticknap and Heath changed their formation as they tried a different system. However with Maresfield apparently resigned to the defeat Heath struggled to be cohesive and the whole of the play in the second half seemed curiously disjointed, which could have cost Heath badly as after ten minutes Maresfield managed to get their centre forward free in the Heath area and only ten yards out. He smashed it goalwards, but as many forwards have discovered already this season, Chris Turner is a superb keeper, and yet again he made a fantastic save to preserve the two goal cushion - his legion of fans in the stand gave him a massive ovation for the save!

With 20 minutes left Louis Wright replaced Lee Skinner and freed from his normal defensive duties he decided that he would do his best to score a goal which led to some clever runs past people - and then some not so clever shooting that threatened a corner flag! Mark Enticknap was proving a handful with Maresfield unable to get the ball off him which led to one of their players persistently kicking him until the ref finally booked him. Enticknap then had a goal ruled out for offside before playing a clever ball for Dean Pitcher who flicked it over the keeper's head but he was unable to get his shot in and so missed out on the chance of a hat trick. The final score was 2-0 to Heath which puts them into the next round where they have a home tie against Fern Estates FC.

This Saturday Heath return to League action when they entertain Rottingdean Village at Hanbury Stadium with a 3pm kick off, all are welcome with free admission for children under 16.

Team

Turner, White, Howes, Moores, Newman, Humphries, Beard (Enticknap 45), Day, McMenemy, Pitcher, Skinner (Wright 70)

Man of the Match

Pitcher