Matt Huxley rescued a point for Cadbury Heath at Springfield this afternoon against visitors Shepton Mallet, who had earlier come from behind to go ahead after the break in a match watched by 103 spectators, including a fair few from down the A37.

Been a while since I had been up the Heath, plus I hadn’t seen Shepton Mallet for some time either, and there was also the added bonus of seeing ex-Bristol City favourites Steve Phillips (ex-Rovers as well of course) & Louis Carey in action for the visitors – so all roads led to Springfield. Alas, Louis Carey didn’t play in the end though!

Early exchanges were even, as the teams began to settle, but Heath then made the best possible start after just 5 minutes when Sacha Tong headed home a corner from the left. This boosted Heath who went looking for more goals as they put pressure on the Shepton defence & Matt Huxley went close when Steve Phillips saved his header. The visitors almost levelled on 17 minutes when Liam Wilson’s back header from a free kick just missed the far post with Heath keeper Dan Fox clutching at fresh air. Three minutes later, another Huxley header went just over the bar, but the offside flag had gone up anyway & then a fierce drive from Shepton’s lively midfielder Ben Cleverley on 25 minutes was tipped over by Dan Fox. The resulting Shepton corner then saw a header cleared off the home line.

Ex-Mango Jon Crowley then saw his low strike saved by Steve Phillips (30), as both sides continued to test each other out, and then Shepton’s Craig Loxton saw his chip from 15 yards go just over the home bar (38). Heath’s Nick Dyer then moved forward on 40 minutes, only to see his 30-yard drive just miss the left post. Heath in fact dominated the remaining minutes of the half, as they looked to extend their lead, but frustratingly for the home supporters, wasted the final pass each time.

HT: Cadbury Heath 1, Shepton Mallet 0

The visitors came out after the break & looked sharper straight away. A young sub, Kailan Gould, came on for Shepton at the re-start & not only did he look a bit like our own young starlet Liam Monelle (from a year or so ago), he started playing like him as well! On 51 minutes, he beat his marker down the left, crossed the ball & striker James Billing (another familiar name!) netted from close range to level the scores after the ball hadn’t been cleared properly. The lively Matt Huxley & Sacha Tong then combined well to win a corner as Heath looked to regain the lead, but then on the hour, Shepton took the lead when young Kailan Gould turned his marker & fired across the goal into the far corner. Three minutes later, it could have been 3-1, but Shepton’s James Billing fired high & wide on the turn from 25 yards. Steve Phillips then saved well from Nick Dyer’s volley as Heath tried their best to draw level.

Heath boss Andy Black then made a double substitution, but almost immediately, Shepton could have again made it 3-1 following a defensive error, but youngster Kailan Gould’s shot was easily saved by Heath keeper Dan Fox. Following another home substitution, Heath found a way back on 79 minutes, when Matt Huxley pounced on a mistake by Shepton defender Ross McEarlin & fired home to make it 2-2. In the time that remained, Shepton winger Ash Wilmott had a shot well saved by Dan Fox & Heath themselves enjoyed a late flurry of attacks, which included one or two wild or wayward efforts on goal, but come the end of the match & the points were shared.

FT: Cadbury Heath 2, Shepton Mallet 2

So, a fair result in the end, in my opinion, with a number of missed chances by both sides. Heath haven’t enjoyed the best of seasons so far, which is a pity as they’ve some great players at the club, but today wasn’t their best day. They seemed to stand off the ball too much, there were more misplaced passes than I would have expected & if I was truly honest, they never really got going, despite taking that early lead. I’m sure we’ve had games at Mangos like that as well, mind you! Still, they never gave up & a late equaliser brought them a deserved point.

Nice programme as ever at Cadbury Heath as well – colour action pictures inside! About time we had some of that in ours as well, don’t you think? Same printers as ours, I believe??!!

As for Shepton Mallet, they’re doing fine in their first season in the TL Premier Division & are currently in mid-table, but they’re only 7 points off the leaders & football is a funny old game as we all know! Never say never........In the meantime, good luck to both sides for the rest of the campaign.

MOM Sacha Tong

Many thanks once again to Dave Smale for his usual fantastic unbiased report, love to see you at the Heath more often Dave.