The Heath cruised into the second round of the RUR Cup with a dominant 5-0 victory over AFC Uckfield Town at the HSEnergy Group Stadium.
Manager Kev Green’s side were forced into an early change in the 15th minute when Mark Goldson pulled up with an injury. Joe Radley-Martin was brought on as his replacement.
Despite the disruption, it was the visitors who came closest to opening the scoring in the 22nd minute. Ola James displayed strong determination to win the ball off Sanchez before firing a shot towards goal, but his effort cannoned off the crossbar and Heath hastily cleared their lines.
The Blues took the lead in the 32nd minute. A well-placed corner from Charlie Towning was flicked towards goal, but Uckfield keeper Harry Howes misjudged the delivery, failing to punch the ball clear. It fell kindly to Jonathan Sanchez, who was in the right place to tap home from close range.
Just five minutes later, it was 2-0. A low cross into the box from Billy Fuller bypassed the arriving Radley-Martin, but found Charlie Towning, who rifled the ball into the roof of the net to double Heath’s lead.
The match got even better for The Heath in the 39th minute. Radley-Martin’s intelligent link-up play created the space for a cross into the box, which was palmed away by Howes but only as far as Lloyd Francis, who calmly found the far corner to make it 3-0.
On the brink of half-time, Heath had added a fourth. Radley-Martin capped off a lovely move involving Sanchez and Fuller. A perfectly timed through ball from Fuller released the substitute, who showed great composure to lift the ball over the advancing keeper and tap into an empty net. It was a perfect way to open his account for the club.
With a 4-0 lead at the break, the second half became a mere formality for the home side, though they did manage to add one more. Green made changes early in the second half, with Kiko Tanev and Henry Watson replacing Billy Fuller and Ryan Warwick in the 57th minute. Kyle Sim also came on for Sanchez in the 66th minute.
Radley-Martin was not done for the evening and bagged a second goal in the 68th minute. Lloyd Francis found Radley-Martin in space on the edge of the box, and he fired a low shot into the bottom left corner, leaving the goalkeeper rooted to the spot.
Jack Barnes replaced Charlie Weller in the 72nd minute as the final substitution of the match, but no further goals followed.
The game finished 5-0, and The Heath will now look forward to the second round of the competition, where they will travel to Forest Row.
Heath now turn their attention to their FA Vase fixture against Roffey, before welcoming Horsham YM to the HSEnergy Group Stadium on Tuesday.
