Heath win 6-pointer against Chipping Sodbury

The Heath defeated local rivals Chipping Sodbury Town on Sat 12th Oct in the Toolstation Western League to move up to 13th in the table and create some distance from the teams near the bottom. The Heath made a few changes to the starting line-up due to player availability and the suspended Joe Woodley. Gabriel Nichols made his debut for the Heath at centre back alonside Nathan Hewitt with Harry Goldspink and Dan Winstone at fullback infront of Ollie Jones in the Heath goal. Centre midfield included Ross Moorhead and Ash Kendall in the middle of the park, with Ben Allen and George Boon on the wings behind Matt Huxley and Eli Nichols up front.
The pitch was in superb condition and despite a number of local clubs having their games postponed this match at Springfield was never in doubt thanks to the incredible efforts of Keith Huxley and Dave Smart on the pitch over the past few months.
The game opened up with a minute's silence in honour of Stuart Taylor - the Bristol Rovers legend was also a legend here at the Heath, having spent a number of years at the club playing for and managing the Reserves (+10 years) and a very active member on the Heath committee.
This was a massive game for both sides who were desperate for the 3 points on offer and that desperation certainly impacted the game in the first half with both sides struggling to take control of the game and carve out any real chances, although Sodbury almost took the lead on 5 mins when a bullet header from 5 yards out was superbly tipped over the bar by OIlie Jones - a superb save. There was little clear cut chances in the rest of the half other than long range efforts by both teams but the pace of Eli Nichols was causing the Sodbury defence real problems.
The 2nd half started with the Heath bossing the game and we took the lead on 52 minutes when the clinical Matt Huxley slotted home well to take his tally to 5 goals for the season. The lead didn't last long as a penalty was conceded on 58 mins when Gabriel Nichols bundled over Sodbury forward - it was a dubious penalty at the best of times but the ball was clearly out of the penalty area. The resulting penalty was expertly converted by Sodbury, giving Ollie Jones no chance, 1-1.
The Heath continued to push forward and re-took the lead when good work by Ben Allen created space for him to put in a low cross at pace to the predatory Matt Huxley who drilled the ball high into the roof of the net, 2-1!
The Heath really started to come to life but were always susceptible to getting caught on the break. On 73 mins a great Geroge Boon corner was swung in from the right and a brilliant Ben Allen header was cleared off the line. On 77 mins George Boon fired over the bar from the left hand side of the penalty area when found well by Matt Huxley. The Heath missed a great chance to seal the game in the 79th minute when Eli Nichols effort on goal was well parried by the keeper and the ball rebounded to Ben Allen on the penalty spot but he blazed over. Sodbury were starting to come back into the game and created a couple of chances, one in the 88th minute that was straight at Ollie Jones and well held, but we had another big chance in the 90th minute when Josh Williams beat the offside trap to be sent clear on the half way line only to see his effort deflected wide by the onrushing Sodbury keeper.
Final score was 2-1 to the Heath in a game that was all about getting those points. Nick Parker kindly sponsored the match ball and he selected left back Harry Goldspink as the Man of the Match - well done Harry!
We're back in action next Saturday away at Wellington in the league, 3pm kick off.
UP THE HEATH