Bronte did not have the best of starts with a couple of very late dropouts leaving them with one fit substitute (although the sub was suffering with flu!)
However a big plus was the signing of Josh Kaine who had a solid debut depsite being called up late on.
It was his burst into the area that forced a Heckmondwike player to stick out a leg and bring him down within the first five minutes. James Bailey made no mistake against the big keeper drilling Bronte into a 1-0 lead.
With the pitch surprisingly not cutting up too badly, but still hardly the best for any sort of football the rest of the half was pretty devoid of chances with the most notable being a Heckmondwike drive against the post. However with only a couple of minutes to go the referee missed a handball in the area by the Heckmonwike forward and from the resulting pinball a high drive into the roof of the net equalised for half time.
After a first half clash of heads Dave Alderson was still reeling but was unlucky to miss his tackle after a mis placed pass in the second half and suddenly a high finish left Bronte 2-1 down.
Fox was introduced for Alderson with manager broadbent switching to a 4-4-2 and shuffling the pack to leave Fox up front with Bailey. This paid dividends when the best passing move of the game resulted in Fox equalising with his first touch.
Bronte continued to press as the half went on, but Heckmonwike also created chances, the best of which was a shot that Bainbridge injured his finger on pushing onto the post.
The game ended 2-2 and was probably a fair reflection but there are positives to take from the performance.
R.M.P Ross Chapman
M.M.P Dayne Ward