Crawley Down Gatwick 1 Newhaven 4, SCFL Premier Division Match #27
As the season starts to round the last bend before entering its final
strait, there’s little doubt that every game, every potential three-points, starts to take on increasing importance.
Room for error is getting narrower and narrower.
A trip to Crawley Down Gatwick, last season’s runners-up, was always going to be a challenge. While The Anvils haven’t hit the heights from last campaign this time out, they have remained competitive, having won as many games as they’ve lost. Draws, however, are a rarity. They’ve had just one all season – and that against fellow title contenders Steyning.
Yet while a tricky afternoon may have been in the offing,
the Dockers couldn’t have got off to a much better start.
After just two minutes, Luke Donaldson picked up the ball on
the halfway line, drove forward and unleashed a brilliant shot from range that
crashed in off the post. A real contender for our goal of the season, and one I
suggest you get onto our socials as quickly as possible to take a look at!
Things almost got even better a couple of minutes later when
Callum Edwards danced his way into a dangerous position, but couldn’t find a
teammate with his cutback and the chance was gone.
Having made the perfect start, Crawley Down soon served
notice that they were still very much in the game when they went close just
after the quarter-of-an-hour mark. Jake Buss had to be alert to palm away a fierce
strike after Crawley’s striker got in down the right.
Minutes later, the same player found himself in a similar
position, but was this time caught late by Max Vardy to give the hosts a penalty.
Oli Leslie made no mistake from the spot to draw the Anvils
level. The long wait for a clean sheet drags on.
The goal seemed to knock Newhaven’s confidence somewhat and,
for the next ten minutes, it was Crawley Down who looked the team more likely
to go in front, albeit without ever really managing to test Buss.
Now, in the past two games, the Dockers had improved markedly
when switching from a back three to a back four. Having started with a back
four yesterday, it was only when we switched to a back three with around
half-an-hour on the clock, that we once again began to wrestle some control
away from Crawley Down. It’s a funny old game.
Kudus once again to the coaching team for identifying and
solving a problem with near immediate effect.
With 36 minutes on the clock, Vardy’s cross rebounded
off the bar and landed at the feet of Edwards whose driven cross-shot was
headed home by the diving form of Rob Malila. A player who had only moments
earlier been moved from right back to centre midfield in the aforementioned
reshuffle. Tactical genius strikes again.
Having reached the interval in front despite not really
having played particularly well, there was very much a feeling among the
Newhaven faithful that three-points were all that matters. How they came was
irrelevant.
The hosts missed a golden opportunity to draw level for a
second time eight minutes after the restart, when their player could only drag
a shot wide when well placed inside the area.
To be honest, the opening 20 minutes of the second-half were
fairly non-descript, with neither side creating any real chances of note.
In fact, it took until the 66th minute for
Newhaven to create any sort of chance. Alfie Rogers seeing an effort deflected
just wide from the edge of the area. From the resulting corner, Robbie Keith
got up well but could only head over.
Newhaven got the two-goal cushion you felt they would need
15 minutes from time. An awful pass in the Crawley Down defence presented the
ball to Alfie Rogers deep inside their territory. While Alfie has been Newhaven’s
goal-scorer supreme this season (and last), on this occasion he turned provider
for our goal-scorer supreme from the ten years prior to that, with a perfectly
weighted through-ball to Lee Robinson, who did the rest.
With Crawley Down now starting to open up in pursuit of a
route back into the game, Robinson almost got in again a couple of minutes
later, but could only shoot over from a tight angle.
Not to be denied, he did grab a second, Newhaven’s fourth,
with five minutes left. Rob Malila bundled his way into the area before the
ball broke to Robinson. He’s first effort was well saved but when the ball fortuitously
bounced back to him, there was no way he was ever going to miss. The score-line
was hugely flattering to the Dockers; but no one involved in Newhaven cared.
There was to be no chance of a Robinson hat-trick, though.
With the game now safe, he was one of a number of players replaced; with our
newest signing, Lewis Croal, given a late run-out. Welcome to the club Lewis!
Aside from a Crawley Down player being somewhat pointlessly
sin-binned for the final 10 seconds, there was little more to write home about
in the closing stages.
This was very much a case of job done for the Dockers. Three
more points. Onto the next.
And, by the way, what a three-points those would be, as we
travel to promotion rivals (and one of the division’s form teams) Haywards
Heath next weekend in what is quite simply a huge game. Especially given that
fellow title rivals Crowborough and Steyning face-off against each other, while fourth-placed Hassocks face a potentially tricky trip to Peacehaven. It’s shaping up to be a
massive weekend in the SCFL Premier Division title race. I’m sure Sky Sports
will be all over it!
It would be great to see as many of you at Haywards Heath as
possible next weekend, to cheer us on against the team with highest average
home attendance in the division. Your support is always appreciated. Next week it could make the difference.
Come On You Dockers!
My man of the match (aka, the controversial part): Robbie Keith. Didn’t put a foot (or head) wrong all afternoon. Won almost every aerial duel he contended and was his usual calm presence on the ball. A rock at the back.
After the game, Reuben caught up with our recent signing, and scorer of an absolute worldie, Luke Donaldson…
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