Entertainment non-existent… but Dockers sneak through

Hailsham Town 0 Newhaven FC 0, FA Vase First Qualifying Round

What a difference a few days make!

Earlier this week, I wrote a match report which waxed-lyrical about the joys of non-league football.

Tuesday night’s FA Cup replay against Sheppey was everything you want from a match at this level. Two good teams going at each other. Loads of chances. An open game. Great entertainment. Even if, from my perspective, the result ultimately didn’t go the way I wanted it to.

Today’s trip to Hailsham featured none of the above. It was dour. A 90-minute attack vs defence training drill. Virtually zero entertainment was on show. Very much a game to forget for the spectator. Even though, from my perspective, the result went the way I wanted it to.

Things started off okay. Well, okay-ish. After Newhaven had got themselves into a couple of early dangerous positions without being able to produce a final ball, Hailsham went close to taking the lead. A long pass into the area found their striker completely unmarked, but he could only loft the ball high over Jake Buss’ crossbar.

It was almost the last time the hosts showed any attacking intent for the next 85 minutes.

Now, before I get accused of sour grapes (or being disrespectful), let me be clear, Hailsham had a game plan. They stuck to it. And it worked. Almost. Fair play to them for this.

From ten minutes in, it was abundantly clear for all to see that the hosts had no intention of trying to win the game during the 90 minutes. They were playing for a penalty shoot-out. And they got it. Credit to their players for executing their manager’s game plan so successfully.

Did it make for a good spectacle? Hell no! 

This was not a game that will live long in the memory. Thank goodness.

Yet this was knock-out football. The result was the main thing.

Newhaven will be disappointed that despite 90 per cent of the game (probably more) being played it their opponent’s half, they failed to score. And, maybe more worryingly, they didn’t particularly create too many clear-cut chances either. Again, credit to Hailsham for that.

In fact, it took just over half-an-hour for Newhaven to seriously test the home team's goalkeeper. Alfie Rogers’ instinctive effort had plenty of power behind it, but unfortunately went straight at the ‘keeper, who nevertheless did well to push it away. Anywhere else and it was probably a goal.

A few minutes later, a prodded Lee Robinson shot bounced off the foot of the post.

In truth, there was little else to get excited about in the opening 45 minutes.

The second-half was a carbon copy of the first.

Ten minutes into the second-half, the Dockers hit the post for a second time. Jack Meeres heading Lukas Franzen-Jones’ corner against the upright.

With Newhaven continuing to come at them, Hailsham’s defending became ever more frantic. Reckless tackles began to come in; none worse than one on Baillie Rogers just past the hour-mark which somehow produced only a yellow card for the offender.

Despite the Dockers’ dominating the ball, Hailsham’s defence continued to hold-firm. A succession of corners and free-kicks caused panic in the home penalty area, but somehow the ball stayed out. A combination of wasteful finishing, determined defending, rushed final passes and a smattering of luck all helping Hailsham to keep the score goalless.

With Newhaven committing more-and-more men forward – they were playing one-at-the-back at times – Hailsham had a couple of opportunities to counter. However, these were (thankfully) wasted and Buss remained untroubled throughout the afternoon.

With the match entering the first of about ten minutes of injury-time (there was, shall we say, a fair bit of time-wasting going on), Hailsham were, to no one’s great surprise, reduced to ten-men when Alfie Rogers was the victim of a brutal-looking lunge on the halfway line.

Newhaven continued to pour forward without success. Hailsham’s resolute now 10-men holding firm.

That said, Franzen-Jones had a glorious chance to win the game with the last kick (head) of the game, but headed wide from close-range.

And so the match went to penalties.

Now, I don’t speak for every Newhaven fan, but I’m fairly sure I wasn’t the only one who was fully expecting to see the Dockers exiting the FA Vase once we got to the dreaded shoot-out. As regular readers of this blog will know, penalties haven’t always been our strong point.

Thankfully, after nine confidently-taken, almost flawless penalties (Newhaven’s five being scored by Franzen-Jones, Charlie Bennett, Lee Robinson, Demas Ramsis and Alfie Rogers), Jake Buss pushed the Hailsham goalkeeper’s well-struck penalty onto the bar. According to my youngest, he’d spotted a pattern in the home team’s spot kicks and shouted it to Bussy. If this can be confirmed, it actually gives young Reuben a claim to be man-of-the-match!

Anyway, the upshot was that after 90 minutes of almost non-existent entertainment, Newhaven just about stay on the road to Wembley. Credit once again to Hailsham, who came within a whisker of executing their gameplan and causing a cupset, but it’s Newhaven who will face Eastbourne Town at Fort Road in the Second Qualifying Round next month (24^th September).

It’s back to league action next for the Dockers, as they welcome local rivals Saltdean to Fort Road on Bank Holiday Monday.  

It would be great to see you there.

My MOM (aka, the controversial part): No one stood out, to be honest. No one played badly, but no one was outstanding either. (I’m open to bribes if you want me to change this 😉)

After the match, my youngest spoke to Newhaven goalkeeper coach (and physio for the day) Graham Roe to ask for his thoughts about the game.