AFC Uckfield 4-0 Broadbridge Heath

One of the most annoying football clichés has to be “goals win games” but how true that is at times and no more so than when Heath visited AFC Uckfield on Saturday for their final match of the 2017-2018 season.

For the opening 20 minutes of this match Heath dominated possession forcing the home defence and keeper Jake Roberts into making a series of important clearances, but despite the pressure the Uckfield defence stood firm and with some clinical finishing the game was all but over with the home side netting 3 goals in a 5 minute spell to lead by 3-0 after 26 minutes played.

Roberts was in action as early as the 3rd minute somehow clearing a Gicu Iordache shot with an out stretched leg and managing somehow to get a boot to the ball and knocking it out for a corner, minutes later the keeper was in action again to deny George Cousins with a well placed shot that was heading into the top right corner of the net. Heath continued with the pressure and you felt it was just a matter of time before they would open the scoring.

On 21 minutes the home-side were awarded a free kick on the right flank just inside the Heath half, a long ball was pumped forward into the penalty where the much-travelled striker Trevor McCreadie guided a header into the top right corner, a good finish but where was the defending? Two minutes later Jamie Robinson was dispossessed on the half-way line allowing the impressive Bailo Camara to attack down the right flank before playing a low pass across the face of goal which was converted from close range by McCreadie scoring his second of the match.

On 26 minutes it was game over when the hosts added a 3rd when a corner from the right was cleared as far as Matt McLean whose shot from the edge of the penalty area took a big deflection to give Conor Evento no chance of stopping. 10 minutes before the break Evento denied McCredie a hat-trick when the striker turned sharply but shot straight at the Heath keeper and in the closing minutes McLean again had a shot deflected off a defender but on this occasion it flew over the crossbar.

Heath never really recovered and rarely threatened the Uckfield goal in the second half which the hosts went on to dominate with Camara in particular looking a threat whenever he had the ball, the fourth goal didn’t arrive until 5 minutes from time when McCreadie received the ball inside the Heath penalty area but instead of shooting for goal he unselfishly squared the ball to substitute Regan Smith for a tap-in.

A disappointing end to the Bears campaign who can now hibernate until the summer when training starts and off we go again.

Team:- Evento, D.Riecker (Blake 60), Robinson, Flack, Balfour, Parsons, S.Chester, Iordache, Cousins, Fender, Findlay.