Heath suffer last minute Hawks heartbreak
The Heath made the short trip to Whitehawk for their opening game of 2023, coming off the back of successive victories for the first time this season. They would be coming up against a tough test going against former manager Shaun Saunders, as well as ex Heath players including Luke Glover, Hamish Morrison, Nathan Cooper, Luke Robinson & Jerson Dos Santos.
Whitehawk had lost 3 on the bounce prior to this game, and looked short on confidence with a nervy start. An early Alex Laing corner in the third minute was cleared back to Laing. On the second attempt his cross was inch perfect, with Ibrahim Jalloh thumping home his second header in three games as early as the third minute.
Heath were well on top early doors, and Collins could have doubled the lead after smart play down the right hand side, and a knockdown from Laing. His half volley drilled wide of Glovers post.
Whitehawk began to settle into the game, with Robinson in particular causing issues down the left side but several low driven crosses couldn’t be dispatched by the Hawks.
In the 21st minute, Whitehawk found their equalizer and their voices, with Hamish Morrison driving home a powerful low effort into the far corner.
The Hawks, now with their tails up continued to pin Heath in, and Daly should have put them ahead in the 35th minute skying a chance from just outside the six yard box after good work from Morrison.
The second half got underway with Whitehawk continuing to be on top now shooting downhill, but with the Heath looking dangerous on the break. The Hawks highest crowd of the season (633) were vociferous knowing that three points would put them back in the playoff places. In the 50th minute Collings looked to be fouled when claiming a corner, upon spilling the ball Warwick poked wide when it looked easier to score.
The Blues were undeterred however, and hit the woodwork immediately after following a looping Tom Collins effort. The game was becoming really end to end with Lambert hitting the inside of the post at the other end, with heroic Heath defending to block the rebound.
Whitehawk continued to press and were now penning the Heath in. The Blues responded by bringing Nabeel Ghannam on for Leon Moore and switching to a 4-3-3. The response almost instantly paying dividends as Jalloh got in several times on the right hand side, but being unable to hit the target.
As 4 minutes of added time were indicated, both teams continued to push for a winner, but it was the Hawks who found it in the 90th minute. A corner from the right hand side was half cleared to Robinson, who drove a left footed shot into the centre of the goal past an unsighted Billy Collings.
