Looking to build on Tuesday night’s victory over Saltdean, the Dockers welcomed Crowborough Athletic to Fort Road yesterday afternoon, for the first of two meetings with them in the space of four days.
Like us, The Crows entered the season looking to replicate last season’s form which took them all the way to the play-offs. Also like us, the opening weeks of the season haven’t quite gone to plan, with a new-look team taking time to gel.
With all three matches between these two teams ending 1-1 last season, the odds on this match being similarly tight were high.
Yet for long periods yesterday afternoon, this match was nowhere near as tight as the final scoreline may suggest. Had Crowborough had their shooting boots on, the outcome could easily have been very, very different.
The visitors could conceivably have been two-up inside the opening ten minutes, with the first clear opening of the match coming within 30-seconds of kick-off, only for Josh Tuck to make a great last-ditch tackle.
Jake Buss then twice made very good saves to perverse parity.
Newhaven’s first real opening didn’t arrive till just past the half-hour mark when Lee Robinson fed Ryan Warwick, but the midfielder couldn’t get enough purchase on his shot to trouble the Crows’ goalkeeper.
Callum Edwards then curled an effort wide from the corner of the box, but these were rare forays forward, as The Crows largely dominated proceedings and looked more dangerous throughout.
The sound of the half-time whistle would surely have been greeted with much relief from the Newhaven players (it certainly was by the fans) as the Dockers somehow managed to make it through to half-time on level terms.
The pattern of the game didn’t particularly alter in the early stages of the second-half. Crowborough still looked to be in the ascendancy with Newhaven attacks few and far between.
It was surely only a matter of time until the Newhaven backline was breached and, indeed, five minutes into the second-half, The Crows went ahead. Buss misjudged a speculative effort from Harry Forster, and the ball bounced over him and into the net.
There was no immediate response from Newhaven. Crowborough, having finally gotten themselves in front, seemed content to stick with what they had. The Dockers were struggling to gather any momentum going forward with The Crows backline coping easily with the home side’s sporadic attacks.
The turning point of the game probably came with just over 20 minutes remaining, following the introduction of Cai Pritchard. The youngster injected some much-needed energy into what had to that point been a strangely lethargic team display.
Still, though, as the game entered its final 20 minutes, it would have taken a brave person to bet on anything other than a 1-0 win for Crowborough (even given the fixture’s propensity to end 1-1). Surely no one would have foreseen four goals coming in the final 15 minutes – with three of them going to a team who had up to that point not really looked like scoring. But, then again, maybe that’s why I’m not a gambler.
The Dockers equalised with 15 minutes remaining. It started with Pritchard winning a header in midfield (a sentence I don’t imagine myself typing too often this season), and culminated with Warwick finishing at the far post following a strong run and cross from Jake Robinson.
Having looked comfortable throughout, Crowborough suddenly looked even shakier than we had against Saltdean on Tuesday night.
Four minutes later, the game was completely turned on its head. Crowborough failed to clear their lines, and Lee Robinson finally forced the ball over the line following a goalmouth scramble.
The Crows backline had gone to pieces, and with six minutes remaining Jake Robinson almost put the match out of reach only to see his effort cleared off the line.
However, Newhaven are no strangers to throwing leads late-on this season, and just a minute later they looked to have done so again. A deflected effort hit the bar and landed straight at the feet of Forster who couldn’t miss from close-range. Dockers appeals for off-side fell on deaf ears.
Suddenly, the momentum of the game looked to have swung firmly back in the visitor’s favour. Having been the better side for most of the afternoon, then looked destined to lose, only to claw themselves back into the game, surely the game was once again theirs for the taking.
Newhaven, though, had other ideas. A sumptuous ball over the top from debutant Regan Clarke-Salter, set Lee Robinson away, and Newhaven’s record goalscorer made no mistake, lobbing the ball over the stranded visiting goalkeeper’s head for what proved to be the winning goal.
A couple of minutes later, the same player nearly grabbed a hat-trick with a similar effort, only for the ball to go just wide of the target on this occasion.
So two 3-2 wins in two games, both of which have come with the Dockers being far from at their best. That’s the sign of a good team, right? Let’s hope so.
What we do know for sure is that despite a disjointed opening month of the season, Newhaven have emerged with 11 points from six games. Far from a disaster. If we can gain some defensive solidarity, while maintaining our goalscoring form, then hopefully we’ll be in the promotion mix again come April.
On Tuesday, we face The Crows again, this time in Crowborough, in the Peter Bentley Cup.
This starts a run of four straight away games, where difficult-looking league matches at Haywards Heath (7th September) and Petersfield (14th September) are interrupted by a midweek trip to Bilingshurst in the Sussex Senior Cup (10th September).
Our next home match is against Eastbourne United on 24th September.
We hope to see you at as many of the games as possible.
Come On You Dockers!
My man of the match (aka, the controversial part): Lee Robinson. Goals win games and, as he so often does, it was Robbo who came to Newhaven’s rescue when we most needed him.
