Newhaven 1 Crawley Down Gatwick 1, SCFL Premier Division Match #1, Saturday 1st August 2026
It may be just me, but I’m sure every year the football
off-season seems to get shorter and shorter.
Maybe it’s because the World Cup only finished less than two
weeks ago. Maybe it’s an age thing. The older I get the quicker time seems to
fly (I swear it was only Christmas a month or so ago). Whatever the reason, the
fact remains. Football is back. And most of us wouldn’t have it any other way.
Saturday saw Newhaven kick the 2026/27 SCFL season off with
a home match against Crawley Down Gatwick. In what many are expecting to be one
of the most open divisions for many years, both the Dockers and the Anvils have
gone under the radar when it comes to pre-season predictions. No one seems sure quite what to expect from either team.
From the Dockers perspective, though, pre-season has been largely
positive. Yes, a few players have left – that goes with the territory at this
level. But the majority of last years’ youthful squad (plus Robbo) have stayed,
and some exciting new additions mean we certainly start this campaign in far
better shape than we did the previous one. And that ended up being far from a disaster.
Ultimately, predictions (human or AI) matter not a jot. It’s on the pitch where points are decided. So with that in mind, could the Dockers get the new season off and running in the best way possible?
Well… not exactly.
Last season, we earned something of a reputation for being
the division’s great entertainers. Scoring plenty, but conceding pretty much
just as many. Defence is an area where we know we need to improve if we are
going to be serious play-off contenders this term.
Therefore, with just three-minutes on the clock, a sense of
same-old, same-old began to wash around Fort Road.
Geroge McCarthy was dispossessed on the edge of the area,
and Crawley Down’s Will Harley nipped in to open the scoring.
In fairness, it was to be a rare defensive lapse on what was to be
an overall controlled afternoon for the Dockers. Although that didn’t change
the fact that we were already a goal down while people were still arriving at the ground.
For much of the first-half the Dockers dominated possession,
but for the opening 35 minutes or so we struggled to create any real chances of
note. In fact, things could have actually got worse for us when the Anvils had
a big shout for a penalty turned down midway through the first-half. Seeing as the ref didn’t seem to like us very much, it was something of a shock that
it wasn’t given.
Having not really looked like scoring in the opening 35
minutes, it seems strange to write that we probably should have gone into the
interval at least two goals ahead. Yet that was the case, as Newhaven laid
siege to the Crawley Down goal in the latter stages of the half.
First the imperious Elliott Bresciani headed against the
post from a Joe Radley-Martin corner. A few seconds later, Lee Robinson somehow
smashed the ball into the skatepark with the goal at his mercy. Charlie Gibson
then snatched at a shot, that was comfortable for the keeper, Shay Tobin headed
over when well placed inside the area, and with practically the last kick of
the half, Tyler Capon flicked over after good work from Tobin and
Radley-Martin.
Behind at the break, there was a strong sense that an
equaliser would surely come if we continued to create chances in the way that we had been.
Indeed, we began the second-half as we’d finished the first.
Just three-minutes after the restart, Robbo went close when Capon slid him through,
only to drag his shot just past the post.
Not to worry. You don’t score over 500 goals for one team by
being anything other than persistent. Less than a minute later, the ball broke
kindly to Robbo inside the area, and this time he made no mistake, finding the
back-of-the-net with a trademark composed finish.
At 1-1 with still over 40 minutes to play, and with the
Dockers very much in the ascendancy, surely the game was there for the
taking.
Unfortunately, it was at this moment that the chances began
to dry up; perhaps with both teams sensing that a point to start the new season
with was better than a loss.
The lively Capon was unlucky with an attempted lob which he
created for himself, but, overall, the Dockers were struggling to get in behind
the Anvils’ backline.
At the other end, Newhaven’s defence remained largely
untroubled, although we did survive an almighty scare with ten-minutes left,
following a proper old-fasioned goal-mouth scramble which at times resembled a rugby
scrum rather than a football match. Great fun to watch. Especially as the ball
was eventually cleared. Just.
With five minutes remaining, the Dockers did create one big
opportunity to win the match. Dexter Lambert’s cross found Robbo at the back post,
his header back across goal found Billy Oliver, but Oliver, on
the stretch, couldn’t make quite enough contact to divert the ball over the
line.
The only other drama of note actually occurred off the
pitch, with McCarthy, who had been subbed some half-an-hour earlier, being
shown a second-yellow on the bench and therefore dismissed. Not sure of all the
ins and outs, but it wouldn’t be Newhaven without some sort of ref controversy.
So a point to start the season with. Could – and should on
the balance of chances created – been three, but there were plenty of positives
on display for the Docker, who were also missing a few key players. The early
mistake aside, the defence looked solid, and going forward the creativity was
there even though on this occasion the finishing wasn’t. All in all, a decent
enough point and performance to start the season with. Continue to play like
that, and the wins will surely come.
On Tuesday night, we face a real challenge as we head to
Hassocks – one of the teams being widely tipped for a promotion push. Last
season, it was our inability to get results against the top teams that largely
put paid to our play-off ambitions. This is an early opportunity to see if we
can start to put that right this season.
We then have a rare Friday night fixture as we travel to
Forest Row (or Three Bridges FC) in the opening round of this year’s FA Cup.
Both matches are 19:45 kick-offs and we hope to see as many of you at both
games as possible.
Come On You Dockers!
My man of the match (aka, the controversial part): Elliott Bresciani. A superb, composed and dominating performance from the centre-back, who barely put a foot wrong in the entire match.
While I’ve got your attention, if you’re off on holiday and
fancy a summer read (or just enjoy reading), please check out my debut adult
novel, Snapped (available to download on Kindle). Thank you
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