Dockers winning run comes to a disappointing end

Peacehaven 2 Newhaven 0, SCFL Premier Division match #37

It was always likely to be highly unlikely… and so it proved.

After a stunning run of nine wins in a row had offered the Dockers an outside chance of claiming the most unexpected of play-off places, Easter Monday’s defeat at local rivals Peacehaven ended any such hopes for good.

Ultimately, even a win wouldn’t have made much difference. With Crawley Down and Petersfield also both claiming three-points yesterday, we wouldn’t have made it to the promised land regardless.

But let’s not have it wrong. Defeat to Peacehaven still stings; more so as it means that for the first time in quite a while it means the local rivals will finish ahead of us in the table, and also still have an outside chance of claiming a play-off spot too.

In fairness, like ourselves, Peacehaven came into his game on a good run of form, having tasted defeat in the league just twice since the start of February – and those losses came against runaway leaders Hassocks and runners-up Crowborough.

With a crowd of over 500 packed into Piddinghoe Avenue, it’s likely that most of the spectators would have been expecting to witness a tense, cagey affair.

After 10-minutes that certainly didn’t look like it was going to be the case.

The hosts had two early chances, both saved by Johnny Barnes-Galloway, while Jake Robinson hit the inside of the post.

After that, the game did start to take on a cagier outlook, threatening only sporadically to burst into life, without ever quite managing to do so.

An ugly late tackle by a Peacehaven player on Lee Robinson briefly got the temperatures rising as players from both sides piled in to have their say, but order was soon restored, and the game settled down once again.

Emmanuel Abudiore forced a decent stop for the home keeper, the rebound from which landed fortuitously (for them) at the feet of a Peacehaven defender rather than one of the onrushing Newhaven players, while at the other end the hosts hit the side-netting with a shot from an angle.

The Docker’s chances of getting the result they needed weren’t overly helped when Jake Robinson limped off with a suspected hamstring injury. An injury which could, unfortunately, mean that this was the last game of the former Brighton player’s illustrious career. Only time will tell.

While half-time parity was a fair reflection of the first-half, there can be little doubt that it was Peacehaven who stepped up the pace in the second-half. The effort expended in winning nine games in a row looked to have finally caught up with Newhaven’s squad.

Aside from an early Lee Robinson effort – which can probably be described as little more than a quarter chance – it was the hosts who looked the team more likely to take the lead.

They’d already missed a couple of chances, and hit the bar courtesy of an unorthodox Barnes-Galloway save, when just before the hour mark, they took the lead.

Following good hold-up play, the ball was rolled to Lewis Beebee, whose unerring finish into the bottom corner gave Barnes-Galloway no chance.

The Dockers huffed and puffed to find a way back into the game, and on a few occasions got into decent positions, especially down the right flank, only for the final ball to fail to find its intended target.

Indeed, it was Peacehaven who continued to look the more likely to score and with 11-minutes remaining, it was a former Docker (there were a few playing) who was to put the contest to bed, when Fin Agnihotri squeezed a shot into the net from a tight angle.

Newhaven didn’t give up and came close to reducing the arrears when Alfie Rogers headed a driven Corey Smart cross narrowly over the bar.

The hosts, though, saw the game out comfortably enough, and aside from an ongoing running battle between Max Mesquita and Ian Robinson, which led to both players receiving late cautions, there isn’t much more to be said.

So we now move onto the final game of the season when we welcome champion Hassocks to Fort Road on Saturday.

Despite it being a dead-rubber, it would be great to get as many supporters down to Fort Road as possible, to thank the players and managers (both present and past) for all their efforts this season.

It’s time to start building for the next campaign.

Come On You Dockers!  

My man of the match (aka, the controversial part): Ian Robinson. It was clear to see how much the game meant to the Newhaven skipper, and he was full of energy in whichever position he was asked to play in. Also made a brilliant saving tackle when the hosts looked certain to score. Possibly slightly fortunate to avoid a late red card for an off-the-ball incident (although I didn't actually see it, so can't possibly comment).