Newhaven charge halted in Crowborough

Crowborough Athletic 1 Newhaven 1, SCFL Premier Division match #10

Following three successive home games, the Dockers were back on the road this afternoon as they headed north to Crowborough.

The Crows are back in the SCFL, having spent the past few years in the more Kent-based Southern Counties East Football League. 

Athletic have made a solid start to the season, including a run of just one defeat in their last eight games, meaning Newhaven knew they’d have to be alert in order to extend their winning run in the league to eight games.

Unfortunately, alert wasn’t the word you could use to describe the Docker’s start to the match. In fact, a number of similarities to their opening exchanges against Eastbourne United earlier this season were all too apparent; the ball spending too much time going backwards to Jake Buss.

In fairness to Crowborough, the hosts were well drilled and highly organised, not giving Newhaven any time to find their rhythm.

The Crows undoubtedly edged the opening half-an-hour, albeit without really creating any clear opportunities. 

At the other end, Newhaven had a couple of penalty appeals waved away by a ref who certainly appeared to be giving the hosts the benefit of any 50/50 decisions. Much to some of the Docker's players' evident – and growing – frustration.

The hosts took a just about deserved lead on the half-hour mark, scoring with practically the first shot on target in the entire match. It was some strike too! Harvey Killick was afforded far too much space 25 yards out, but there still appeared little danger as he lined up his shot from distance.

Shots from outside the area have to be good to beat Buss – and this was, in fairness, a very good strike, arrowing into the top left-corner, giving the Newhaven ‘keeper absolutely no chance.

Six minutes later, things threatened to go from bad to worse for the visitors when Alfie Rogers was sin-binned for taking his protestations regarding the ref’s, shall we say, ‘inconsistent’ performance, a step too far (in the ref’s opinion).

Surely this was time for the Dockers to shut up shop for ten minutes, get through to half-time still just a goal behind, and then come out firing with a restored Rogers after the break.

Nope, apparently not.

In fact, Newhaven being temporarily reduced to ten men actually galvanised them and they produced their best ten minute-spell of the match so far.

Demas Ramsis was denied by a good save from the Crowborough goalie (although the young left-winger should have probably squared the ball to the unmarked Lee Robinson rather than have taken the shot on himself).

Minutes later, Jack Meeres thought he’d equalised when he put the ball into the net from close range, after Crowborough’s number one had spilled a long-range John Lucero shot, only to be denied by an off-side flag.

The equaliser did arrive before half-time, though. Meeres did well to win a header from a Lukas Franzen-Jones corner, and the ball fell invitingly to Marcin Ruda who made no mistake from close-range.

As has been a recurring theme at times this season, the Dockers did improve after the break, playing more on the front-foot and pinning their hosts back.

Bizarrely, the ref seemed to have changed allegiances at half-time, and now appeared to be favouring the visitors with any minimal call. (Although this didn’t last the entire half – but we’ll get to that in a little while).

However, while Newhaven were enjoying plenty of the ball, they were finding clear opportunities hard to come by. 

Robinson headed wide from around the penalty spot, while Franzen-Jones burst through only to hesitate a moment too long before getting his shot away, allowing the Crowborough keeper to smother his effort.

A lengthy break in play for a nasty-looking facial injury to Crowborough defender Tom Boddy seemed to curb Newhaven's flow just when they were building up a head of steam.

Read this sentence in an Arsene Wenger voice if you like, but I didn’t actually have a clear view of the incident that led to Boddy sporting a nasty shiner come full-time.

While some Crows fans behind the goal were screaming for a deliberate elbow, I’d find this highly unlikely as Robinson, the supposed perpetrator, is one of the least likely players that I can think of to deliberately hurt an opponent.

I have little doubt it was an accident. A nasty accident, to be sure. But an accident none the less.

The last ten minutes of the match followed pretty much the pattern of the second half. Newhaven pressing for a winner. Crowborough defending stoutly and restricting their opponents to very few clear opportunities.

With five minutes of injury time having just been announced, Newhaven thought they had the perfect opportunity to win the game when Robinson was clearly brought down in the area. And I mean clearly. It was a two-hands in the back shove. A tackle that would not have looked out of place on a rugby pitch.

It was a penalty. The Dockers players knew it. The Crowborough players knew it. Both sets of fans knew it. I’m sure the managers did too.

The referee didn’t, though. Somehow.

To general astonishment, particularly seeing as he’d seemed to be favouring the Dockers in the second period, the ref waved play on. It was a simply baffling decision!

In truth, a draw was probably a fair overall reflection of the game. 

The Crows battled well and held their visitors at bay for much of the match, while possessing a constant threat on the counter (second-half, in particular).

But having been denied a stonewall penalty in injury time, what would probably have been viewed as a decent point after 89 minutes, probably didn’t look quite so pleasing come full-time.

So the run of consecutive league wins is halted. 

Fortunately, though, results elsewhere mean Newhaven stay top of the league for another week at least. Although with just three points separating the top six, it couldn’t be much closer in the upper echelons on the table.

Newhaven meet one of the chasing pack next, with Broadbridge Heath visiting Fort Road next weekend. It should be a tense and, hopefully, entertaining encounter.

It would be great to see you there.

Come on You Dockers

My MOM (aka, the controversial part): Henry Watson. Although not a vintage performance from any Newhaven player, Watson was on hand on numerous occasions in the second half to step in and break-up some dangerous looking Crowborough breaks.

After the match, Reuben was on hand to interview Lee Robinson (under strict instructions not to mention the penalty incident). It may have come up, mind you…