Midland Football League Division One
Max Banner reports from the Victoria Ground
BRACES for Reece Hewitt and Josh McKenzie helped continue Bromsgrove Sporting’s unbeaten start in the league as they demolished Heather St. Johns.
The duo opened their accounts in the first half after new signing Liam Spink marked his competitive debut with a stunning strike.
The visitors closed the gap to 3-2, but Sporting responded superbly as Hewitt grabbed his second before Luke Dugmore, McKenzie and Sean Brain struck in the final ten minutes.
Having notched up nine goals in their previous two games, the Rouslers were in high spirits and did not take long to break the deadlock against Heather.
With just seven minutes on the clock, Spink, who recently joined Bromsgrove from Redditch United, produced a superb effort from outside the penalty area, which bounced off the crossbar and into the net.
Sporting could have had two more within the space of five minutes as McKenzie put a header wide and Sam Wills had a free kick well saved by Ben Allsop.
Heather were being pinned back and they fell 3-0 down just after the half hour mark. After Hewitt cooly dispatched a spot-kick, the man who won the penalty, McKenzie, deservedly got the scoresheet when he headed the ball into the bottom corner.
It seemed as though Bromsgrove would enter the break with little to worry but that was not to be the case.
Heather striker Jonathan Jackson-Berarey managed to shrug off the defender and slot the ball into net, leaving Shaun Edwards with no chance.
There were further causes for concern for Sporting twenty minutes into the second half, as Heather reduced the deficit to one. A goalmouth scramble resulted in centre back and captain Daniel Wain dispatching the ball home.
Sporting regained the two goal cushion on the 70th minute when Hewitt received the ball in the box, calmly took it around keeper Allsop and the rolled it into the empty net.
He had the chance to complete the hat-trick ten minutes later after winning a penalty. But his second attempt did not have the power to get by Allsop, who held onto the ball well.
However, Sporting were not left to rue this miss for long as a brilliant last ten minutes saw the Rouslers net three more.
Dugmore fired home into the bottom corner, McKenzie claim his brace as his shot squirmed under the keeper into the goal and substitutes John Pykett and Brain team up effectively, with Pykett whipping in a delicious cross for Brain, who had the simplest of one-on-ones.
