A lovely three points on Valentine’s Day

Bexhill United 1 Newhaven 2, SCFL Premier Division match #28, Saturday 14^th February 2026

The less said about Newhaven’s last match the better…

So with that swiftly covered, we move on to yesterday’s match away to Bexhill where we were looking for a reaction (not the first time I've written those words this season).

With Bexhill firmly ensconced in mid-table, and on a mixed run of form not all that dissimilar to our own, it was hard to predict the outcome of this game. Especially given our inconsistent record at the Polegrove.

A change of shape along with a couple of new arrivals further accentuated the feeling that this was a game in which anything could happen.

And after just 30-seconds something did happen. Bexhill’s number five, who it’s fair to say will enjoy more productive halves during his career, made a complete hash of a routine pass/clearance, allowing Lee Robinson to race in behind and fire the Dockers in front.

The fast-start galvanised Newhaven and really seemed to knock the Pirates. The opening stages completely belonged to the Dockers who swarmed all over their opponents, continually winning the ball high up the pitch as Bexhill tried unsuccessfully to play their way out from the back.

By the time Robbo doubled the lead in the 23^rd minute, Newhaven could have already been further ahead, with Teddy Wood and Robbo himself both having chances.

It was those two who players who combined to grab our second. Ryan Blunt’s ball out to the right set Wood away, and he beat his marker before crossing low for Robbo to stab home from the centre of the area.

The second goal brought no change in the flow of the game. It was all Newhaven.

Tom Howard-Bold’s free-kick was deflected just over, before a fine bit of skill saw Robbo glide past the bamboozled number five but he could only shoot wide across goal.

Ten minutes before the interval, Robbo really should have had his hat-trick. Dan Allen won the ball in midfield and his fine ball over the top led to Robbo getting through one-on-one, but he could only shoot high over the bar. At this point it looked like being a Valentine’s Day Massacre.

However, this latest miss was punished in the worst possible way. Just two minutes later, Bexhill scored from practically their first attack of the match. The scorer will come as no surprise to Dockers fans, with Jack Shonk prodding home from close-range, having been given the benefit of the doubt by the assistant, with Newhaven’s players adamant he was off-side.

Allen almost immediately restored our two-goal advantage but his header from a corner dribbled just wide.

Despite a first-half of pure dominance, the Dockers reached the break just a goal to the good. The one thing we should all know about Newhaven by now, is that we don’t tend to do things the easy way.

The second-half was a far more even affair, with chances for both teams at a premium.

Bexhill were lucky not to be reduced to ten men five minutes after the restart, when their captain was only booked for an ugly late lunge on Allen, but that aside there was little to get the pulses racing.

Still, it was Newhaven who continued to create the better of the few chances that the second-half produced.

Howard-Bold had another free-kick that went just off target, before Ezra Roeg sent a long-range chip wide.

With time ticking down, the sense of nerves amongst the Newhaven faithful was palpable. This was a game in which we’d looked comfortable for the most part; one we should have been further ahead in… but we weren’t. There was a clear sense that there could be a nasty sting in the tail coming our way.

But there wasn’t. Marshalled superbly by Howard-Bold, playing in an unfamiliar centre-back roll, our defence looked solid throughout; not allowing the hosts a single shot on target in the second-half. Jonny Barnes-Galloway will certainly have busier days!

So a much-needed (and fully deserved) three-points to keep our slim play-off chances alive. Once again, the boys displayed how good they are at bouncing back from disappointment.

On Tuesday we travel to Shoreham (weather-permitting) to play Steyning in the semi-final of the Peter Bentley Cup. They’re quite good are Steyning (not that we’ve played them recently, of course) so we’ll need to be at our very best to keep our hopes of finishing the season with some silverware alive.

We then host Eastbourne United at Fort Road in the league next Saturday. Another decidedly tricky-looking fixture against one of the division’s form teams (17 goals in their last three league games).

Your support at both of these games would be greatly appreciated.

Come On You Dockers!

My man of the match (aka, the controversial part): Tom Howard-Bold. Playing in the middle of a back three, ‘Boldy’ used all his experience to help the defence stay solid and keep Bexhill at bay, giving us organisation that we’ve perhaps lacked at times this season.