Seven-up for dominant Dockers

Mile Oak 1 Newhaven 7, Pre-season friendly #3

The new season draws ever closer.

Not only did yesterday see Newhaven reach the halfway point of their pre-season schedule, but it also saw the release of the league fixtures for the 2022/23 campaign.

Due to the ongoing redevelopment of Fort Road, the Dockers start the new season with three consecutive away trips: Steyning (30^th July), Crawley Down Gatwick (13^th August) and AFC Uckfield (16^th August). Their first home match on the brand new 3G surface is scheduled for Tuesday 23^rd August, when Little Common are the visitors, before another home match on Bank Holiday Monday (29^th August) when local rivals Saltdean visit Fort Road.

And preparation for the new season certainly seems to be going to plan. Both on and off the pitch.

True, on the pitch, tougher challenges will lay ahead for the Dockers than Mile Oak. Last night’s opponents were robust, hardworking but ultimately outclassed from the off, and it always seemed a question of how many goals Newhaven would rack up over the 90 minutes as opposed to who would win the game.

In fact, the toughest challenge for Newhaven to overcome last night was arguably the pitch.

I’m pretty sure you could almost get a house playing non-league-pitch bingo (possibly not an actual game) using the Mile Oak Recreation Ground.

Slanted pitch? Check.

Uneven grass length? Check.

Jungle left to grow inside the goals? Check.

Random lines painted on the pitch? Check. (Needed to mention this just to give Aaron Winser an excuse for taking a throw-in at least five yards over the actual touchline).

Despite being played in considerably cooler conditions to that of Saturday’s sauna, the evening was still warm and one for lazing around in rather than running around in (probably an age thing; most evenings are for lazing around once you’re north of 40!).

Despite the far from ideal playing surface, Newhaven tried to get the ball down and play football from the kick-off. Although they looked threatening throughout the first-half, and created plenty of chances, there were a few occasions when moves broke down and possession was given away unnecessarily.

Not that the pitch can be held solely responsible for this. By my reckoning (and I could be wrong here; I’m still trying to get used to all the new players) only two players who started Saturday’s match at Arundel remained in last night’s starting 11: Lukas Franzen-Jones and Alfie Rogers. With the players still getting to used to each other, it stands to reason that the team won’t be in full-flow just yet.

It was Franzen-Jones and Rogers who propelled the Dockers into a commanding half-time lead.

Franzen Jones tapped in a Billy Barker cross from close-range to open the scoring midway through the first half. The same player then swiftly doubled the lead, expertly controlling a delightfully disguised pass from the impressive Ryan Storrie, before turning on a six-pence (I love a modern-day reference) and smashing an emphatic finish past the helpless Mile Oak goalkeeper.

Alfie Rogers added a third before the interval. A well-worked team move led to last season’s top scorer being afforded the freedom of the 18-yard box and the outcome was never in doubt.

The break brought with it wholesale changes. Yet the flow of the game didn’t alter in the slightest.

In fact, if anything the Dockers were even more dominant in second 45 than they had been in the first. They certainly looked more controlled in possession and moved the ball quicker, although for the opening 20 minutes of the half they did struggle to create any clear chances.

Hardly surprising, really. None of last season’s front three were on the pitch by this point; Franzen-Jones and Rogers having been replaced at half-time and Lee Robinson unavailable.

However, with the Mile Oak players visibly starting to tire, it always looked as though one goal might open the floodgates. And so it proved.

It was the introduction of Demas Ramsis midway through the half that seemed to give the Dockers the creative spark they’d been lacking to that point.

Yet it was Mile Oak who actually scored the first goal of the half. The referee ignored huge cries for a foul in the build-up and the Mile Oak striker raced through to confidently finish past the hitherto untested Jake Buss in the Newhaven goal.

Any hopes the hosts may have had of this unexpected goal igniting an unlikely comeback were quickly extinguished.

Newhaven restored their three-goal lead within minutes. Conor Sidwell’s towering header was blocked, only for defensive partner (and improbable goal machine) Henry Watson to lash in the rebound.

From that moment on the Dockers looked like they would score every time they went forward. The increasingly tired home defence were really struggling to get to grips with the pace of Ramsis down the right flank and Herbie Rogers down the left, and space soon started to open up all over the park.

Young striker Marley Ambler (last season’s Under 23 golden boot winner) got his first and Newhaven’s fifth with a typically composed finish, before Ramsis grabbed the goal his performance deserved with an acrobatic scissor kick inside the six-yard box.

Ambler then rounded off the scoring with another confident finish with time ticking towards the 90-minute mark.

Yes, as I said earlier, there will be far tougher challenges to come. But this result (and performance) is yet another sign that the Dockers are heading in the right direction. Let’s not forget, they still have Bailie Rogers and Ian Robinson to come back from injury yet. The squad depth they possess is simply huge! Quality everywhere.

Arguably the coaching staff’s biggest challenge this season may be whittling down the 16 players needed for a matchday squad!

Still, don’t just take my work for how well the boys are playing at the moment. Come along and see for yourselves.

On Saturday, the Dockers make the short-trip to Seaford in what is sure to be an entertaining encounter. Kick-off is 3pm at The Crouch. Hopefully see you there!

MOM (aka, the controversial part): Ryan Storrie. The experienced midfielder showed plenty of class on the ball in the first half, before looking equally as comfortable in a 20-minute cameo at left back. Honourable mention here to Demas Ramsis who was electrifying for the relatively short time he was on the pitch.