Ball & Thomas blighted by absentees were forced into four changes, Markelic, Watson, Flynn and Tait all started with Abraha and Morris-Wright dropping to the bench. Jermain Hollis was ruled out with injury and with Jake Wright away, Tyler Blake captained the side.

Despite a promising start from the visitors, it was Heanor who took control of the match, capitalising on key moments and continuing Eastwood’s early-season frustrations.

In the 23rd minute, Eastwood had a golden opportunity to open the scoring. After a mazy run from Alfie Flynn, Ryan Tait found himself bearing down on goal, but with just the keeper to beat, he blazed his effort over the bar. Within seconds, Eastwood were punished for that miss.

From a cross on the Heanor right that wasn’t defended, Jamie Sleigh – who has made a habit of scoring against Eastwood – was on hand at the back post to tap home and give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

It got worse for Eastwood in the 34th minute. Following a failure to clear a free-kick – an echo of last Saturday’s defensive woes – Declan Dunn brought down a Heanor attacker inside the area. The referee pointed to the spot, and Sleigh made no mistake, sending the keeper the wrong way to notch his second of the night and put Heanor 2-0 ahead.

Eastwood finished the half strongly, with Tyler Blake picking out Phil Watt deep into first-half stoppage time. Watt forced a fine save from Roberts before firing the rebound over, summing up Eastwood’s luck in front of goal.

Half-Time: Heanor Town 2–0 Eastwood CFC

Heanor added a third ten minutes into the second half. Another cross into the Eastwood box wasn’t dealt with, and Mason Booth-David placed his finish across the goalkeeper to make it 3-0.

Eastwood responded swiftly in the 59th minute. Substitute Harvey Ridgley made an instant impact down the right wing, bursting forward before cutting the ball back for Tyler Blake, who finished first-time in off the crossbar to reduce the deficit to 3-1.

Despite Eastwood’s best efforts and increased pressure in the final half hour, Heanor stood firm and managed the game well to see out the win.

Full-Time: Heanor Town 3–1 Eastwood CFC

Heanor Town Lineup
1 Alfie Roberts
2 Josh Bowley (Reece 84)
3 Josh Newnham
4 Josh Craddock
5 Deondre Pascoe
6 Roger Lee
7 Kian Holloway (Cave 90+3)
8 Jack Tyson (c) (Ohmura 90+2)
9 Jamie Sleigh (23, 35pen) (Fearon 77)
10 Mason Booth-Davis (55)
11 John King (Thornberry 64)

Subs
12 Yasuto Ohmura
14 Marley Fearon
15 Max Thornberry
16 Tommy Cave
17 Charlie Reece

Eastwood CFC Lineup
1. Sam Wilson
2. Alfie Flynn
3. Abdul Saad (Ridgley 57)
4. Declan Dunn
5. Phil Watt
6. William Robinson (Morris-Wright 46)
7. Terry Hawkridge
8. Ryan Tait (Commons 68)
9. Tyler Blake (59)
10. Kieren Watson (Abraha 57)
11. Sacha Markelic

Subs
12. Elijah Morris-Wright
14. Noh Abraha
15. Harvey Ridgley
16. Thomas Hodgkinson
17. Finnley Commons

Attendance: 222

Man of the match: Alfie Flynn