Newhaven made a rare trip to Hampshire this afternoon to take on division newcomers Petersfield Town.
With Petersfield traditionally having plied their trade in the Wessex League, very little was known about our opponents apart from the fact that it takes about three-days to get there (okay, that’s a slight exaggeration, but that’s certainly how it feels).
After a strong start to the season which saw The Rams win their first four league matches, their form has tailed off somewhat in recent weeks. They last tasted victory in normal time on 10th August.
However, with the Dockers still far from at their fluent best, and player availability an ongoing issue, no one knows quite what to expect from a Newhaven game this season (except for the fact it’s likely to be an uncomfortable watch).
The early stages today were promising enough, mind you. Newhaven settled quickly, seeing plenty of the ball in dangerous areas. Twice Jack Shonk worked his way into decent positions, only to not quite get his shot away when a chance looked likely.
At the other end, Petersfield went close with their first meaningful attempt, only for their striker to shoot wastefully over from by the penalty spot.
Josh Tuck’s departure due to an ongoing injury after just 10-minutes really seemed to disrupt Newhaven’s rhythm, and it was the hosts, shooting downhill on a hugely sloping pitch, who began to take control of proceedings.
That being said, other than one blocked save from Jake Buss, Petersfield were failing to make the most of the promising positions they were getting into, with the Dockers goalkeeper rarely being called into action.
However, the same criticism could just as easily be levelled at Newhaven, with a Jake Robinson header that when straight at the Petersfield custodian, the only effort that threatened to trouble him in the opening 45-minutes.
Five minutes before the interval, Buss made a decent stop, atoning for the fact his scuffed clearance had led to the opportunity in the first place.
Having reached half-time goalless, the Dockers will have been hoping to find things slightly easier kicking downhill in the second-half.
Five minutes into the half, this did seem as though it would be the case as Robinson twice had decent chances to open the scoring. First he shot just wide from range after Petersfield’s goalkeeper had presented him with the ball. Moments later, he couldn’t quite connect with the ball following an inviting cross from Cal Edwards.
Just as it seemed that Newhaven were turning the screw, the hosts took the lead. Despite one of their players seemingly wanting to swap shirts with Bailie Rogers while the game was going on, the referee allowed play to continue, and a low cross was tapped home at the far post by Dec Seiden.
If the Dockers felt aggrieved by the decision, then it was Petersfield’s turn to feel hugely hard done by just under 10-minutes later.
From a Newhaven corner, the Dockers were awarded a penalty for what I’m told was a handball, although I certainly didn’t spot it, and I didn’t see too many appeals from the Newhaven players, either.
Jake Robinson made absolutely no mistake from the spot, slamming the ball hard into the top corner. I don’t think two goalkeepers would have got near it, in fairness.
Us Newhaven fans hoped that this goal would lead to the momentum swinging back our way. However, it was the hosts who for long periods looked more likely to snatch a winner; the Newhaven backline – marshalled brilliantly by new signing Kwambena Osei – having to be on their toes in order to block and hack away probing balls into our box.
Again, though, while Petersfield may have looked dangerous, Buss wasn’t being tested.
As mentioned earlier in this report, the Dockers have not been at their fluent best this season. However, this has not stopped them from scoring goals. Only Crawley Down Gatwick had scored more ahead of today’s game.
With the game closing in on the 90-minute mark, Newhaven snatched what proved to be the winner. And it was quite some goal, too. Jack Shonk rifling into the bottom corner from the edge of the area from a tight angle to spark scenes of celebration.
Late goals seem to be a theme of Newhaven games this season; they’ve twice conceded injury-time equalisers and have now scored two last gasp winners, having also done so against Crowborough last month.
Still, though, it wouldn’t be a Newhaven game without doing things the hard way. After eight minutes of injury time, Buss was forced into a good save with the very last touch of the game to ensure the Dockers emerged from this exceedingly long journey with the three hard-earned points.
The win moves Newhaven up to sixth after eight games, keeping them in-touch with those at the top, which is exactly where they need to be as players begin to return from injury. That said, the sight of Cal Edwards limping off today was the last thing we wanted to see. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious.
It’s another away trip for the boys on Tuesday night as we travel to Horsham YMCA for a cup match for the second time this season. Hopefully this game (in the RUR Cup) will go rather better than our FA Cup match did!
After what will be out fifth away trip on the trot, we then head back to Fort Road next Saturday as we face Lydd Town in the FA Vase.
As ever, it would be great to see you there.
Come On You Dockers!
My man of the match (aka, the controversial part): Harry Reed. After a couple of recent outings in midfield, Reed was back to right-back today and excelled. Didn’t put a foot wrong all afternoon; looked full of energy going forward, and solid in defence.
