FA TROPHY: Heybridge Swifts 2- 3 Lewes
Heybridge Swifts fought back twice to level the scores but the third evaded them in their 3-2 defeat to Lewes in the FA Trophy.
Lewes took the lead through substitute Leroy Griffiths but against the run of play Heybridge equalised through Reece Morgan on the stroke of half-time.
The visitors regained the lead when a Griffiths deflected shot found its way to Jordan Badger but the home side came back again when Michael Fitzgibbon attacked a back-post ball to equalise.
The scores weren't level for long though when just minutes later Sam Cole got on the end of a free-kick to volley confidently into the far corner to send them through.
The home side opted to keep much of the side that played against Lewes in the first match with Joe Pearman the only change coming in for Paul White whilst Lewes started in a 3-5-2 formation to pack out the midfield.
There was an early penalty shout rightly waved away by Alan Dale when Sam Cole went down in the box but was clear to see that nobody touched him and was lucky to escape the referee's book.
The extra man in the midfield was starting to pay dividends for the visitors with Heybridge finding it hard to keep hold of the ball when they cleared and the dangerous Nicky Wheeler had a great effort matched by Danny Sambridge in the Heybridge goal.
Lewes had a ten minute spell of domination soon after with Wheeler often the chosen out ball to make something happen whilst two corners were coped well by the home side.
Lewes took the lead with just five minutes left of the first half when the referee's advantage worked in Lewes' favour when Cole ran down the left-wing to whip in a dangerous cross where substitute Leroy Griffiths was at the near post to score with his head.
Heybridge equalised against the run of the play in a scrappy goal when Billy Hunt picked up a loose ball to shoot but Daniel Lopes got in the way of it.
The striker then tried his luck on the rebound and Rikki Banks saved but Reece Morgan was alert to the second rebound to finish and put the team levels at the break.
The visitors regained their lead before the hour mark when a corner dropped to Griffiths at the edge of the area and, despite Sambridge's best efforts to keep out the deflected shot, he couldn't do anything to stop the oncoming Jordan Badger scoring.
Heybridge equalised once again with 20 minutes to play when Michael Fitzgibbon met a corner at the back post but that was short lived when Lewes scored a carbon copy goal from a free-kick minutes later with Cole volleying into the opposite corner.
Heybridge were throwing their centre-backs forward in the final ten and brought on Aaron Gayle as a third striker but Lewes held on to progress in the FA Trophy.
Heybridge Swifts: Sambridge, Griffin (Boswell 74), Barber, Glowacki (Gayle 80), Fitzgibbon, Beale ©, Morgan, Pearman, Richmond, Lopes (Spencer 64), Hunt
Unused subs: Good, Springett.
