Blues made to pay in Kent
Photos by Ray Turner
Following their defeat to Bognor in the Sussex Senior Cup, the Heath had very little time to lick their wounds as they travelled to Kent to face Ashford United in Isthmian league action. The home side were riding high in the table and this was expected to be another tough challenge for the Blues.
Martin Dynan made a number of changes to the side that took on the Isthmian Premier side in the week, most notably Tom Collins coming back into the set-up to partner Lukas Franzen-Jones up top.
Ashford showed their strength in the early stages, within the first five minutes they already had the ball in the back of the net; the linesman’s flag saving Heath’s blushes.
Despite the Heath riding their luck it would only take a further five minutes for Ashford to open the scoring. Omar Lawson the man to send the home fans into celebration.
Nabeel Ghannam was one of the players retained in the team after the Bognor game, and his energy was causing some problems on the left.He squeezed through two defenders with a fantastic bit of footwork, he then won a foul after being hacked down, Ryan Sawyer entering the book.
Before the break, Ashford would double their lead through Lanre Azeez, the former Hastings man making no mistake as he made the Blues’ already uphill battle even harder.
The half-time whistle brought a disappointing half for the Heath to a close. The second half saw a change for the Heath with Cadman making way for Gunner, but this didn’t alter the Ashford domination. On the hour mark they would have a third goal, Gary Lockyer piling on the misery for the Blues, and all but confirming Ashford’s three points from the match
Heath were presented with a couple of chances with some fantastic movement from Lukas Franzen-Jones who could have been awarded a penalty after spinning his man and being dragged down by a desperate Nuts and Bolts defender, the referee wasn’t convinced however.
Ashford weren’t done there though and they found a fourth goal through Henry Muggeridge in the latter stages of the match. The full-time whistle brought the match to a close, Heath well and truly outplayed on the day by a very strong Ashford side who moved into second in the league. Heath meanwhile slipped further down the table, ending the week in 18th position.