HEYBRIDGE Swifts are still to win at Scraley Road in the Ryman One North this season as they were beaten 3-2 by AFC Sudbury.
Neil Richmond's brace for Swifts were not enough as Ryan Hervel, Aryton Coley and James Baker gave the visitors all three points.
Swifts were behind in the tenth minute as Coley burst down the right hand side after a good delivery over the top. He crossed straight onto the head of Hervel who had the simple task of nestling the ball into the bottom corner.
Billy Hunt thought he had equalised four minutes later when he rounded Alex Archer in the Sudbury goal and put the ball into an empty net. But the linesman's flag went up very late for offside and the goal was ruled out.
Kris Newby should have made it two for the visitors in the 17th minute when he latched onto a long ball over the top. But his attempted lob just didn't get over Danny Sambridge who managed to parry it away.
Coley looked bright for the visitors, cutting in from the right hand side and firing in a left footed shot that just drifted over the bar.
But Swifts got the equaliser with just over five minutes left in the first half. Skipper Liam Springett clipped the ball over the top that hit Hunt in the back and fell into the path of Richmond. The striker calmly slotted the ball under keeper Archer to level the scores.
But Sudbury would regain the lead on the stroke of half time. Sambridge did well to parry a Hervel effort from range, but when the cross came back in Coley was there to flick the ball in from close range.
Danny Lopes had a good chance to level the scores again straight after half-time when Stephen Good flicked on a Michael Fitzgibbon long throw. Lopes snuck round the back post but couldn't connect with his effort and the ball trickled to Archer.
And that would cost Swifts as Baker extended Sudbury's lead. He rose highest to meet a Michael Shinn corner and bullet his effort past Sambridge to make it three.
Springett then hit the post with a free-kick before Richmond grabbed his second goal of the game in the 57th minute. Hunt shrugged off Payton Swatman down the left and fired in a cross. The Sudbury defence failed to deal with it and the ball fell to the Swifts' striker who swept the ball home.
Newby then missed his second one-on-one of the match, as he tried to be too cute his shot and only preceded to clip the effort the wrong side of the post.
Then in the 75th minute Reece Morgan hit an absolute bullet from outside the box that seemed destined for the top corner. But unluckily for the Swifts midfielder the ball rattled the crossbar and bounced safe.
Swifts were unable to put real pressure on the Sudbury, with Hunt's injury time strike well held by Archer in the dying minutes.
Heybridge Swifts: Sambridge, Springett, Beale, Evans, Fitzgibbon (Spriggs 84'), Good, Morgan, White (Holdstock 73'), Richmond, Hunt, Lopes.
Subs not used: Farthing, Andrews, Hession-Harris
Bookings: Springett (29'), Morgan (34'), Fitzgibbon (41')
Goals: Richmond (39', 57')
AFC Sudbury: Archer, Swatman (Guyton 65'), Flynn, Shinn, Mallardo, Hervel (Maxwell 77'), Newby, Clarke, Baker, Coley, Wilkinson (Davidson 46').
Subs not used: Kemp, Blackwell.
Bookings: Newby (29'), Clarke (55'), Baker (80')
Goals: Hervel (10'), Coley (45'), Baker (54')
Referee: Stuart Pawley
Attendance: 107
