Dockers denied comeback victory at the death

Newhaven 3 Horsham YMCA 3, SCFL Premier Division match #3

Just seven days after suffering a heavy defeat at Horsham YMCA in the FA Cup, the same team travelled to Fort Road this afternoon for a league encounter.

With the Dockers not exactly riding high on confidence following a disappointing loss at Crawley Down Gatwick in midweek, and YM still unbeaten in league and cup, another tough 90-minutes lay ahead.

In the early stages, though, you would have been hard-pressed to tell which team was the one who was low on confidence.

Newhaven started strongly, and could have been ahead inside a minute. Callum Edwards did well down the right, his pull-back found Ryan Warwick on the edge of the area, and Warwick’s well-struck shot rebounded off the crossbar.

A few minutes later, the Dockers had another chance to score. Edwards again caused problems down the left before crossing for Lee Robinson, who skied his close-range effort over the bar.

Still Newhaven continued to press, with Edwards and Harry Reed both seeing plenty of the ball down the flanks. On a couple of occasions, the hosts found themselves in dangerous areas, only for the final ball to not quite find its mark.

Cliché though it may be, the old adage goes that you always need to score when you’re on top. How profound those words proved to be just before the half-hour mark when, completely against the run-of-play, YM took the lead. 

Good work down the left scythed through Newhaven’s right-side, and a low cross found Luke Roberts who made no mistake from the edge of the six-yard box.

Understandably, the goal did seem to knock Newhaven’s confidence somewhat, and the game evened out for the rest of the half.

However, with the interval fast approaching, YM scored what could have easily been a knock-out blow to Newhaven’s hopes. And it was a goal that came from absolutely nowhere.

A long hopeful ball forward should really have been dealt with by stand-in keeper Dan Gibson. Unfortunately, Gibson could only fumble the ball, allowing Roberts the simple task of tapping the ball into an unguarded net for his second of the game.

Two-down at the interval in a match in which they had been for large parts the better side, it would have been all-too easy for the Dockers to crumble in the second-half. Especially given the previous two performances.

It’s full credit to the boys, though, that rather than feel sorry for themselves, they instead rolled up their sleeves (figuratively speaking), and set about their opponents, desperately searching for a way back into the game.

That route arrived eight minutes into the second-half when Jake Robinson burst down the left and crossed for Edwards to stroke home from near the penalty spot.

There was suddenly an increased vigour about the Dockers. It was YM, despite their positive start to the season, who looked decidedly nervous.

With 57 minutes on the clock, Newhaven were level. Jack Shonk’s shot was charged down, but the ball deflected right into the path of Jake Robinson who gratefully poked Newhaven level.

The momentum of the game had swung once again firmly in Newhaven's favour. 

However, just as the Dockers appeared to be the only side looking likely to get a winner, with 20 minutes left, YM suddenly created a couple of half-chances, one of which forced Gibson into a decent save.

Lee Robinson then almost capitalised on a poor pass in the YM defence, only for his touch to let him down at the crucial moment.

With 15 minutes remaining, though, it was comeback complete as the Dockers got the third goal they deserved on overall the balance of play. 

A brilliant ball from Tom Vickers set Shonk away and he was clumsily tripped inside the area to give Newhaven a penalty.

Jake Robinson made no mistake from 12-yards, blasting the ball high into the corner, giving the YM ‘keeper no chance whatsoever. 

Having taken the lead, however, it was only now that the Dockers started to look a little nervy. 

For the first time in the match, they began to sit deep, allowing YM to enjoy some consistent territory for the first time in the match.

Still, though, the visitors were struggling to create too much from open play, relying largely on set-pieces to unsettle the Newhaven backline.

Indeed, it was a set-piece that was to maintain YM's unbeaten start to the season. In injury time a long throw-in was inadvertently flicked on by a Newhaven head, allowing Jamie Taylor the simple task of tapping into the net at the far post.

It was a body blow for the Dockers, who looked to have done enough to earn the three-points.

That said, the manner of the overall performance is certainly cause for optimism going forward.

This was a much-improved performance on the last two (admittedly, that’s not saying much) and shows that despite a couple of early blips, it’s certainly not all doom and gloom down at Fort Road.

Yes, it wasn’t a perfect performance; not by any means. But with a number of new players still settling, and a few first-team regulars missing though injuries and suspension, four points from the opening three games is far from a disaster.

A change in the fixture schedule means there is no longer a midweek game this week. Instead, we will now host Bexhill United at Fort Road next Saturday before travelling away to Tooting Bec on Sunday (yes, Sunday) 25^th August for an FA Vase match.

Let’s hope the positive momentum from today’s improved performance can translate into a couple of wins and really kick-start our season.

Come On You Dockers!

My man of the match (aka, the controversial part): Callum Edwards. It was a toss-up between Cal and Jake Robinson for me, and could easily have gone either way, but Edwards for long periods looked the player most likely to make something happen for the Dockers, and he was fully deserving of his goal.

After the match, Reuben spoke to new signing (and stand-in skipper in Jake Buss' absence), Tom Vickers.