Heath return from Devon with 3 points!

The Heath picked up an excellent 3 points away at Buckland Athletic yesterday (Sat 19th Sept) after Sam Crumb netted his first goal for us in a hard fought 1-0 win in the Toolstation Western League Premier Division. A superbly committed performance by everyone secured the win but unfortunately a few injuries were sustained on top of those that were picked up on Tuesday away at Keynsham which will now test the squad over the coming games. The Heath lined-up with Ollie Jones in goal, Trey Anderson at right back with Loui Ward at left back and a centre half pairing of Toby Rennie (Captain) and Tom Smallman. Jake Thomas started on the left hand side of midfield with Liam Oswin on the right and Ben Wych and Tom Welling forming the centre midfield pairing. Luke Bryan started up front with Sam Crumb. On the bench for the Heath were new signings Jamie Okell (welcome to the Heath Jamie!), Matt Huxley, Ben Brooks, Ollie Price and Gaffer Mitch Hodge. Both teams went close with several chances in the first half and once again solid keeping from Ollie Jones kept the hosts at bay along with committed and determined defending by the back line. Liam Oswin went close with a looping header on 9 mins and Jamie Okell (on for the injured Tom Smallman) also saw a chance saved by the Buckland keeper after 25 mins. The Heath were forced into a second change in the first half when Luke Bryan went off injured to be replaced by Matt Huxley.
The Heath almost took the lead in the 63rd minute when a great drive by Matt Huxley was well parried by the hosts keeper. The Heath kept knocking on the door and went even closer when a superb move ended up with a strike by Ben Brooks hitting the post and going wide. Again we almost took the lead when a Ben Brooks (on as sub) free kick forced a great save from the Buckland keeper and Toby Rennie fired over from the rebound. The Heath pressure finally told in the 83rd minute when great work by Matt Huxley saw the ball into the box and a looping header from Sam Crumb found the back of the net for his first goal for the club! The Heath again went close in the 87th minute when Jake Thomas twisted and turned through the Buckland defence but just shot wide. Buckland almost found an equaliser in the 89th minute but for a superb aerial clearance by Toby Rennie which cleared the danger but came at a cost as he wasn’t able to continue after the challenge, which forced the Heath down to 10 men for the final minutes. But they held on to bring all 3 points back to BS30! A fine win, a clean sheet and the perfect response to Tuesday nights defeat to Keynsham - well done to Mitch (who was sent to the stands in the 25th minute for protesting a penalty claim - passion proves you care!!), the rest of the management team, the players and the committee and supporters that travelled to support the team. We’re now 4th in the table and the league games keep coming as we’re back in action on Weds 23rd Sept when we welcome Bradford Town to Springfield in the league, kick off at 1930. Please come along and keep supporting the lads!
UP THE HEATH