Derby day misery for disheartened Dockers

Peacehaven and Telscombe 4 Newhaven 0, SCFL Premier Division match #36

Sometimes a scoreline tells you everything you need to know about a game. 

This, unfortunately, is one of those times.

On an unseasonably miserably wet Easter Monday morning, Newhaven’s chances of finishing second – and thereby snatching a promotion play-off spot – took a literal battering.

Despite arriving at Piddinghoe Avenue on the back of a ten-match unbeaten run, three draws in their last four matches had threatened to derail Newhaven’s promotion aspirations.

Still, belief remained that three wins from their remaining three league games could still be enough for Newhaven to potentially end the season on a high.

Local rivals Peacehaven, though, were never going to lay down and let the Dockers merely take three points without a fight.

In fact, since their chances of winning silverware were effectively ended with defeat to Crowborough in the semi-finals of the Peter Bentley Cup last month – thus ending hope of a Haven derby in the final – you get the feeling that this morning’s game became Peacehaven’s cup final.

Following a pitch inspection, it was the hosts who settled quicker; Newhaven once again being found guilty of trying to overplay at times on a surface not suitable for that style of football.

Jake Buss had already been forced into a good save by the time the opening goal arrived on ten minutes. It was scrappy. A long throw-in wasn’t dealt with by any one of three Newhaven players, and Callum Edwards was afforded the freedom of Peacehaven to pick his spot and fire the home side into the lead.

Newhaven actually responded fairly well to the setback. Charlie Bennett’s free-kick produced a routine save from Stroomberg in the Peacehaven goal, before Harry Reed’s angled shot crashed against the post.

At the other end, Peacehaven came close to doubling their advantage in comical circumstances (well, not that comical actually; not for us, anyway) when Jack Meeres’ header back wrong-footed Buss, forcing the keeper to quickly adjust his footing and turn the ball past the post.

Still, at half-time my feeling was that Newhaven done enough to suggest the match was far from over. They’d started to exert increasing amounts of pressure as the half progressed and there were signs that a stirring comeback could well be on the cards.

Not for the first time this season, I was wrong. Very wrong, as it turned out.

After 15 minutes of what could only be described as fairly non-descript football, with neither team looking overly threatening, Peacehaven doubled their lead from out of nowhere.

Edwards did well to beat two men down the left, only to totally mishit his cross. Fortunately for Peacehaven, and unfortunately for Newhaven, the ball looped over the stranded Buss’ head and nestled in the far corner of the net.

The goal seemed to demoralise the Dockers, who were already starting to look a little leggy and shorn of confidence.

Within two minutes, Peacehaven had a third and the game was effectively over. Once again, the Dockers’ defending left a lot to be desired as a fairly innocuous-looking low ball into the box wasn’t dealt with. It somehow arriving at Edwards' feet at the back post, and he duly completed his hat-trick.

To make matters even worse, Henry Watson was then sin-binned for the Dockers to temporarily reduce the already struggling visitors to ten.

I still don’t really like this sin-bin rule if I'm being honest. 

Actually, that’s not strictly true. I like it in principal. I just don’t like the way it’s applied with seemingly no consistency. 

This morning, for example, as with every match this season, there was plenty of moaning at the ref and his assistants by players from both sides. Yet only one player was sin-binned. Surely you either have to sin-bin every player who moans, or none of them?

Anyway, it’s not a decision that had any impact on the outcome of this match, so let’s move swiftly on.

With Watson’s time in the sin-bin all-but up, Peacehaven added a fourth. Once again, it owed more to poor defending then good play. From a free kick, Callum Hart was left completely unmarked in the area; the ball swiftly found its way to his feet and moments later into the back of Buss’ net.

Everyone of a Peacehaven persuasion was really enjoying themselves now. Although, it’s hugely annoying to have to listen to chants against your own team - especially when not all of them made an awful lot of sense - it’s understandable really. Let's be honest, we’d have been exactly the same if the boot was on the other foot.

Thankfully, no further goals were added to what was already an embarrassing enough scoreline. By full-time, the Dockers players looked absolutely demoralised – evidently devastated by what had occurred. No one saw this coming!

Peacehaven’s players and fans, meanwhile, celebrated as though they had just won the league and cup double.

Yet while promotion now resembles more pipe dream than reality – even though it’s still not totally out of the question, just yet – we do at least still have the chance to win silverware this season. The Peter Bentley Cup. It may not be exactly what we wanted at the start of the season, but the chance to win a cup is never to be sniffed at.

Hopefully, the remaining two league games – away to Eastbourne Town on Saturday; home to Loxwood a week later – will see the Dockers play themselves into a bit of form again, before we face Crowborough in the final at Hassocks on 1^st May.

In the meantime, let’s just try and forget that this morning ever happened.

Come On You Dockers

My man of the match (aka, the controversial part): Nope, giving this a swerve today! Possibly the least controversial choice I’ve made all season!