Shock defeat derails Dockers

Newhaven 1 Bexhill United 2, SCFL Premier Division match #33

Newhaven returned to Fort Road yesterday afternoon, hoping last week’s stalemate in Pagham was to prove only a small blip on their title aspirations.

Bexhill United were the visitors on what would hopefully prove to be a day of both celebration and commemoration, with surviving members (and family representatives from those sadly passed) of the title-winning 1973/74 Newhaven squad in attendance to watch the current crop who are hoping to emulate their achievements.

Regardless of the result and overall performance – which I will get to in a bit – it was amazing to see so many faces from the past back at Fort Road, and brilliant to see so many friends and teammates from half-a-century ago sharing the same turf once again; banter still very much in-tact. 

Sometimes it’s important to remember that there are more things than just football matches that make for a successful community football club!

Unfortunately, events on the pitch couldn’t quite match-up with the feel-good factor of those occurring off it on this occasion.

It was the Dockers who made the early running against a struggling Bexhill side.

Two great chances to take the lead were missed inside the opening the opening 20 minutes. First, Bailie Rogers’ headed effort bounced narrowly over the bar before Lee Robinson (on as an early sub following a hamstring injury to Luke Donaldson) screwed an angled strike wide from the edge of the six-yard box.

Yet, despite this fairly positive start, for some reason the early intensity in Newhaven’s game suddenly dropped. With just 25-minutes on the clock, the team seemed to run out of ideas regarding how to break through the visitors’ backline. Too many safe – sideways and backwards – balls started to be played. The tempo slowed to a glacial pace.

Bexhill looked comfortable and, while they didn’t appear to be overly threatening going forward, they didn’t look like conceding either.

Ten minutes before half-time, however, on a rare foray forward, the visitors took the lead. Josh Tuck couldn’t get enough on an attempted clearance, the ball diverted to Charlie Curran on the edge of the area, and the Pirates' winger finished brilliantly into the far corner.

Despite the setback, there was no sense of undue panic at Fort Road just yet. Going a goal behind is not alien territory to this Newhaven squad.

Indeed, the goal did seem to briefly awaken Newhaven from their slumber, and Robinson at least forced the Bexhill keeper into his first meaningful save of the afternoon with half-time approaching.

With hopes high that Newhaven would turn it round after the interval (it wouldn't be the first time), the Dockers did start the second-half looking far more threatening. In fact, they created more chances in the opening ten minutes of the half than they had in the entire 45-minutes of the first.

As with Pagham last week, though, finishing said chances was proving to be somewhat problematic.

They also looked susceptible to being countered, and Bexhill had a big chance of their own to double the lead in the 53rd minute, only for an attacker to shoot wide when well placed.

Just a minute later, though, the Pirates did grab their second goal, silencing a stunned Fort Road in the process. Veteran striker Evan Archibald’s tame effort somehow squirming under the body of Jake Buss and trickling over the line.

It took Newhaven just six minutes to grab themselves a lifeline. An Alfie Rogers corner (set pieces looked to be our most likely route to goal all afternoon) found its way to Robbie Keith who lashed home a decent half-volley to reduce the arrears.

What followed was almost an exact repeat of the final half-hour of the Pagham game a week earlier. Newhaven creating – and then finding ever more creative ways to miss – a hatful of chances. Some of them from practically under the crossbar.

Credit here has to go to the Bexhill goalkeeper and defence, who simply threw themselves in-front of everything in order to preserve their lead. It wasn’t pretty at times, but they wouldn’t have cared a jot, celebrating at the final whistle with great gusto, having claimed three-points that many will have seen as highly unlikely prior to the game.

It’s Newhaven’s third defeat of the season; all of which have come at home! A somewhat worrying trend.

The result also means that the league is somewhat bizarrely in the situation where no fewer than three teams hold the outcome of the title in their destiny – us somehow still being one of them.

If we win our remaining five games (which at this juncture is going to be a very tough ask considering who we have left to play), then we will still be champions. However, Steyning and Crowborough can also both say the same thing. Football, hey, bloody hell!

After two disappointing results, what better way would there be to bounce back then with a huge victory against local rivals Peacehaven tomorrow morning (11am kick-off)? None, is the only correct answer.

While Peacehaven may already be out of the play-off picture after a disappointing season, they’d love nothing more than to throw our remaining title aspirations firmly into the mire, and maybe even cause us to start looking nervously over our shoulders for a play-off spot.

It’s simply a massive game, and we’ll need the support of all of you to help get the boys back on track and keep the season alive.

With the remaining four games after that coming against teams in the top six, the confidence boost a derby day victory would bring cannot be understated. Let’s get Fort Road rocking.

Come On You Dockers!

My men of the match (aka, the controversial part): The 1973/74 title winning squad. With special mention going to Alex Ladd for organising such a fantastic event!