Dockers bounce back to form – and it’s not quite all over… yet

 Eastbourne Town 0 Newhaven FC 3, SCFL Premier Division match #37

What a difference a few days makes.

Having looked like their league season was effectively over following Easter Monday’s disappointing performance and result at local rivals Peacehaven, the Dockers will now definitely go into the final Saturday of the season next weekend still in with a chance of claiming a runners-up spot. 

Maybe even with an outside chance (admittedly a very outside chance) of winning the title. More on that later.

Neither scenario had looked particularly likely at just after 13:00 five days ago.

To keep their season alive the equation was simple. 

Newhaven had to go to Eastbourne Town and win; then hope results elsewhere went their way.

Not being able to affect what happens elsewhere, all the Dockers could do was make sure they returned from the Saffrons with three-points; whilst keeping their collective fingers tightly crossed.

It was a task that would be far easier said than done. 

Or so we thought.

Prior to Monday, Eastbourne Town hadn’t tasted defeat since 14^th February. What’s more, they hadn’t conceded more than once in a match in their past 13 games. They’d also already beaten Newhaven in the FA Vase, and were within a minute or two from defeating them in the reverse league fixture.

Three-points was going to be a tough ask. Wasn’t it?

Well, no, not really, as it turned out.

From the moment Tarun Rohilla headed home a Lukas Franzen-Jones corner in the third minute, there was only ever going to be one winner in this match. It was young centre back Rohilla’s second goal in just his third start. Seriously, what is it with Newhaven and goal-scoring centre backs?

The rest of the half was just a procession of chances for Newhaven, as Town seemed to be not quite at the races (to put it mildly).

With wide players Harry Reed and Ian Robinson both playing further forward then they had done in recent weeks, Newhaven more closely resembled the attacking force that they’ve been for much of the season – up until the start of March.

The home side’s two full-backs simply couldn’t cope with Newhaven’s pace out wide, while when they went forward (which didn’t happen all that often) there was very little threat posed to Newhaven’s backline. Skipper Jake Buss was a virtual spectator for much of the match.

At the interval, the only mystery was how Newhaven had not managed to put the game to bed. 

Chances came and chances went. Franzen-Jones arguably had the best of these, his close-range flick being blocked on the line by a sliding Town defender, while the home goalkeeper pulled off a good save to deny Reed.

The worry among Newhaven fans at half-time was that, having failed to grab the second goal, Town would surely grow into the game. The longer we went without increasing the lead, the more nervous the players would surely become.

We needn’t have worried. Town started the second-half still seemingly content to sit back and allow Newhaven on to them without posing any real threat at the other end. 

Ian Robinson and Franzen-Jones both had chances to increase the lead before Reed was rightly booked for simulation whilst trying to win a penalty.

The second goal finally arrived shortly before the hour-mark. A driving run from Marcin Ruda down the left culminated with a cross which found Reed in space, and the full-back turned winger fired an unstoppable first-time shot to net the goal both he and the team fully merited.

It had looked unlikely Town would score one. The chances of them pulling two-back seemed remote to say the least.

That possibility looked even more unlikely when one of their players was sin-binned in the 72^nd minute. I feel I’ve made my opinions on the sin-bin clear over the course of this season, so I’m not going to go into another diatribe about the inconsistencies of it again here.

Five minutes after the home-side had been temporarily reduced to ten-men, Newhaven put the game to bed – if indeed it hadn’t already been done so for the last hour.

Another driving run and cross down the left, this time from Ian Robinson, was finished instinctively at the near post by Franzen-Jones. You get the feeling Lukas really needed that one!

With the game safe, the Dockers made a flurry of changes, including another appearance for Under 18s striker Alex Patching – that youth conveyor belt at Fort Road just keeps on whirring.

The final 15 minutes, though, played out with very little happening at the suddenly rain-swept Saffrons (where did the downpour come from?). Newhaven looked content to sensibly see out the game and make sure they returned to Fort Road with clean sheet in-tact (something they’ve been guilty of not doing at times this season). Town, meanwhile, looked like they just wanted the referee to blow his final whistle and bring their frustrating afternoon to an end.

So, the dominant Dockers had held up their end of the bargain.      

Could other teams now do Newhaven a favour?

Well, a draw for Crawley Down Gatwick away at Steyning, and a defeat for Broadbridge Heath away at Crowborough, means that the Dockers are back up to second by virtue of goal difference – three points off league leaders Broadbridge Heath.

Both teams, though, do have a game in hand… unfortunately.  

On Tuesday, Crawley Down travel to Midhurst – a tricky place to go; as we found out earlier in the season. A defeat there for Crawley, and a win for Newhaven next Saturday – at home to Loxwood – would secure them the play-off place. Any sort of positive result for the Gatwick side, though, and we’ll be once more reliant on favours elsewhere.

On Thursday night, it’s Heath’s turn to travel to Midhurst (yes, we’re all Midhurst fans for the next seven days!), needing just a solitary point to take Newhaven out of the title race. Depending on the Crawley Down result on Tuesday, the Bears could well wrap up the title on Thursday night.

Should they lose that, though (and we may just be entering the realms of fantasy and Hollywood scripted endings here), then next weekend we could enter the final Saturday of the season with any one of three teams still in with a sot at winning the league.

Unlikely but possible. And, as we all know, it’s the hope that kills!

Regardless what happens in midweek, whether we’re playing for second or the title, it would be great to pack Fort Road next weekend to get behind the lads and thank them all for another memorable season.

It may… just may… still be one to really remember!

Come On You Dockers.

My man of the match (aka, the controversial part): Harry Reed. A really tough decision, with plenty of contenders all over the park this afternoon, but Reed was outstanding throughout and will have given the beleaguered Town left-back nightmares in the first-half; he simply couldn’t get close to him. Fully deserved his goal… we’ll try and forget about the dive, mind you!