When it’s not your day…

Newhaven 0 Broadbridge Heath 1, SCFL Premier Division match #11

Sometimes you just have to accept that it’s just not your day!

This afternoon was definitely one of those occasions where this sentiment rang true for the Dockers.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that Newhaven were particularly unlucky today. The bottom line is they didn’t play well enough. There’s no hiding that.

They started slowly, as they had done in the past two games against Crowborough and Bexhill. On this occasion, though, unlike in the previous matches they failed to pick up the pace as the game progressed.

The fact is that when facing a well-drilled team like Broadbridge Heath, you sometimes need a little something to go your way in order to get something from the game. That simply wasn’t the case today.

The Bears have started the season very well indeed, having lost just one league game so far – and that away to one of the division’s other top teams, Eastbourne United.

On this afternoon’s evidence it’s not hard to see why. Well-organised and hard to break down, Heath succeeded in doing what very few teams have managed to do so far this campaign – restricted Newhaven to very few clear-cut opportunities. If any!

In what was always going to be a game of fine margins, those margins certainly weren’t with the Dockers today.

Maybe the signs that this wasn’t going to be Newhaven’s day were there from the start. Alfie Rogers fell awkwardly in the first few minutes, twisting his knee in the process. Although the Docker’s number 10 battled on, he seemed hampered by the injury, lacking his usual influence on the game.

It was the first of many similar incidents throughout the match, as Newhaven players went down with non-contact niggles with alarming regularity – a potential downfall to the otherwise pristine new playing surface, perhaps.

It comes to something when the physio is the busiest person on the pitch, but that was arguably the case today as Graham Roe received the sort of runabout it’s safe to say he hadn’t been expecting prior to kick-off.

Injury breaks aside, not a lot happened in what was a rather damp squib of an opening 45 minutes. Whether it was a case of two good teams cancelling each other out, or two good teams not quite at the races, it’s hard to tell. All I know for sure is that both goalkeepers will endure far busier afternoons.

From memory, the Docker’s only shot on target in the entire match came midway through the first-half; a Rogers free-kick which went straight down the visiting keeper’s throat.

Heath actually ended the half well, exerting some persistent pressure for the first time in the match. Jake Buss was tested twice as half-time approached, but a couple of good saves ensured the game remained level going into the break.

It was in the second-half when things started to go really wrong for the hosts.

First new signing Tyler Scrafton – thrown straight into the starting line-up in place of the suspended (we think – long story) Lukas Franzen-Jones – limped off injured. He was one of a few players that seemed to be carrying an injury suffered during the first-half.

Then, on the hour-mark, Alex Plummer was sent off for a second yellow card in quick succession. True, the second booking looked harsh. Plummer was undoubtedly not helped by the OTT reaction of the Broadbridge Heath players who, not for the first time in the match, screamed at the referee as if their teammate had suffered a horrendous mauling at the hands of an MMA fighter. This was clearly a tactic; one that certainly succeeded in winding up the Newhaven players and supporters.

But, at the same time, Plummer was perhaps naïve in making what was rather a needless tackle and giving the referee a decision to make – especially given the visitor’s flair for making mountains out of molehills. But when it’s not your day…

To compound matters, Marcin Ruda – who had also been struggling with an injury since the first-half – was hurt further in the immediate lead-up to the red card incident and had to be replaced.

In the space of 60 seconds, the Dockers had been shorn of their influential midfield duo. One had to feel sorry for 17-year-old Ryan Blunt, thrust into a game that Newhaven were already struggling in, a man light and without another recognised central midfielder alongside him. When it’s not your day…

From there it was always going to be an uphill struggle for the hosts.

The visitors didn’t exactly go hammer and tongs in their search for a goal. It’s not like Jake Buss suddenly became super busy or that the defence had to repel wave after wave of attack.

But they did continue to probe, look for gaps in the hosts defence and methodically try to make the most of their extra man.

The winning goal ultimately arrived just over 20 minutes from time. It came from arguably the only true piece of quality in the entire match. A brilliant through ball totally dissected the Dockers defence and pacey forward Louie Evans raced through before finishing calmly past Buss.

Newhaven tried to respond and managed to force a few corners and free-kicks in decent areas. In truth, a set-piece looked to be their most likely route back into the game. Again, though, they could not do enough with their opportunities, and Heath’s goalkeeper remained largely untested.

At the other end, Heath had a few half-chances to put the game to bed, making full use of their numerical advantage and the extra space afforded to them as Newhaven pushed men forward in search of an equaliser. The chances went begging, though, and the Dockers remained in the game right until the final whistle. Not that it ever truly felt like an equalising goal was coming.

To top off Newhaven’s miserable afternoon, Conor Sidwell became the latest player to suffer an injury, pulling up with just a few minutes left. Although he played on till the final whistle, he was limping heavily as he left the pitch and it would be a surprise to see him involved on Tuesday night. When it’s not your day…

In fact, the toll taken on the players could prove to be even more troublesome for the Newhaven management over the coming weeks than the result itself. Depending on their respective severity, of course. Fingers crossed we’re looking solely at some very short-term absences.

Newhaven return to Fort Road on Tuesday night, in a Sussex Senior Cup match against lower-division Mile Oak. There may be some spectator offers available for the game, so make sure you keep an eye on our social media channels over the next few days.

Next weekend, the Dockers travel to Lingfield, hoping to get their league campaign back on track. Let’s hope they don’t have another one of those days on Tuesday night otherwise we might not have enough fit players to field a team…

My MOM (aka, the controversial part): Conor Sidwell. No one particularly stood out, but Sidwell, along with centre-back partner Henry Watson, was fairly solid throughout.

No Reuben interview tonight, I’m afraid. Not the day for it...