Comfortable evening for dominant Dockers

 Newhaven 3 AFC Varndeanians 0, SCFL Premier Division match #4, Tuesday 26^th August 2025

After three consecutive away games, Newhaven returned to Fort Road last night for a league match against AFC Varndeanians.

Still unbeaten in the league, the Dockers were confident of extending their record against a side who came into the match having won one, drawn one and lost one of their first three league fixtures.

This is a very different-looking Varndeanians side from last season, but perhaps the biggest change comes off the pitch where it appears the Brighton-based outfit have become the latest SCFL side to acquire a small, but loyal and noisy, band of ultras. Complete with drum, too.

As with the Little Common ‘ultras’ last week, I can give nothing but credit to the young lads who kept singing (and banging their drum) for the entire duration of the match; even though events on the pitch weren’t necessarily unfolding in the way they would have desired.

That this was the case was simply down to how good Newhaven were on the night; the opening 45-minutes especially. This was without doubt the best performance this new-look youthful Newhaven side have produced so far, with every player playing their part in a consummate team performance.

After a fairly cagey opening period, in which the Dockers saw plenty of the ball without creating too much in the way of chances, the first opportunity arrived in the 13th minute when Charlie Gibson, making his first start after a couple of appearances off the bench, chopped inside and fired narrowly over from the edge of the area.

Ten minutes later, Tarun Rohilla and Gibson both went close to opening the scoring, but neither was able to get a decisive touch on a dangerous ball in from the left.

Lee Robinson then had a shot hacked off the line as Newhaven ramped up the pressure.

It felt like a goal was coming… and it was.

Just after the half-hour mark, a brilliant ball over the top from the ever-lively Ezra Roeg sent Robinson away, and the striker made no mistake, slotting the ball under the advancing keeper. For those who are counting, that’s goal number 496 in a Newhaven shirt for Robbo.

Having scored one, the Dockers remained thirsty for more. Teddy Wood and Robinson combined well to set up Roeg, who blasted over, before Roeg had another chance that was well saved.

Robinson then had a shot blocked off the line for the second time in the match.

By half-time, the score remained only 1-0 and despite not having managed a single shot in the first-half, Vs were still in the game. What’s more, given the fact the Dockers had yet to keep a clean sheet yet this season, they will have been fully confident of being able to find a route back into it.

Newhaven needed another goal.

It almost arrived withing seconds of the restart. Wood was denied by a good save from almost point-blank range, while Harry Hammond couldn’t quite keep the rebound low enough to trouble the goal.

Looking for a way back into the game, Vs began to see more of the ball than they had in the first-half, but Newhaven’s defence still appeared to be in very little danger of being breached.

The Dockers finally got the second goal their performance had deserved in the 62^nd minute. Roeg’s fiercely struck free-kick clattered into the wall, bounced back to Roeg who headed the ball back into the area where Rohilla was quickest to react to lift the ball over the stranded Vs keeper.

One Vs goal had looked unlikely up to this point. To score two was surely too much to ask of them.

With 18 minutes of normal time remaining, the visitors did have their first meaningful shot of the match, when a free-kick was rolled into the path of a midfielder whose first-time shot looked to be heading straight for the top corner only to curl wide at the last moment. It would have been some goal.

This was to be as good as it would get for Varndeanians, who despite managing to push Newhaven deeper, still couldn’t find their way through an organised-looking Newhaven side. The experience of debutant Tom Howard-Bold, playing in a holding midfield role, certainly seemed to give the Dockers a solidarity that hasn’t always been present during the early weeks of the season.

When Newhaven netted a third with nine minutes remaining it didn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone. Neither did the scorer.

Lee Robinson beat the keeper to a long, bouncing ball, held off the challenge of a couple of V’s defenders and calmly lofted the ball into the keeper-vacated net. For those who are counting, that’s goal number 497 in a Newhaven shirt for Robbo.

With the game over as a contest, all that was left for the Dockers to do now was hold on for a first clean sheet of the season; a task that was navigated with a minimum of fuss.

So that makes it ten points from the opening four games; a tally that signals Newhaven’s best start to a season for many a year, and one that could only have been dreamed about back when pre-season got underway in late June. Credit to all involved for the start. Long may it continue.

It’s another lengthy away trip on Saturday when we visit Midhurst and Easebourne in the league. Let’s hope we can end the first month of the season unbeaten (in the league; I know we lost in the FA Cup).

We then host neighbours Seaford in the Peter Bentley Cup on Tuesday night, before visiting Wick in league action on Saturday 6^th September.

Hopefully we can keep the momentum going.

Come on You Dockers!

My man of the match (aka, the controversial part): Lee Robinson. An all-energy performance from the veteran striker, which went far beyond his two goals. Robbo looks to have struck up a great understanding with front-three partners Ezra Roeg and Teddy Wood, with the trio combining on a number of occasions last night to cause the Varndeanian defence problems.