Three more points as fine start continues

Newhaven 1 Horsham YM 0, SCFL Premier Division match #4, Saturday 29^th August 2026

Newhaven kicked-off August Bank Holiday weekend with a home match against Horsham YM.

Just a few weeks ago, this fixture was probably viewed as being one of the most challenging of our early league matches. YM were many people’s favourites for a play-off place at the very least, having reached the post season matches last season and then further strengthened during the summer.

Come yesterday, though, no one knew quite what to expect from our visitors.

A very early-season manager departure was followed by a player exodus, leaving YM to field a virtual team of kids in their past few games. A new manager appointment in the week brought with it a large influx of new signings in time for yesterday’s match.

Staggeringly, after yesterday’s game YM have already used 51 players this season! We’re not even through the first month!

Hence, no one knew quite what to expect from yesterday’s game! Especially given our own injury-hit squad, with over half a team’s worth of players still unavailable.

If anyone arrived at Fort Road expecting a free-flowing game of football, they would have left bitterly disappointed.

The blustery weather conditions ensured that flowing football was firmly off the menu. Instead, spectators were served up a gritty, largely dire, game of few chances.

That said, YM could easily have been in front in less than half-a-minute, with one of their players running straight through the heart of Newhaven’s midfield and defence before thankfully scuffing his shot wide.

Matt Feeney-Hill then tested their keeper with a shot from the edge of the area, but aside from these two chances there was very little to write home about.

YM did have the ball in the net on 20 minutes following a fine finish, but any celebrations were swiftly cut-short by the assistant’s raised flag.

Midway through the first-half, the Dockers got would prove to be the game’s only goal. Feeney-Hill’s lofted pass sent Ezra Roeg racing away. He reached the ball just before YM’s keeper, who found himself stranded in no man’s land, and kept his composure to slot home from a tight angle. A Fourth goal in two games for Ezra. Maybe the number 9 shirt suits him.

On the half-hour, Newhaven had a golden chance to double their advantage, when the ball fell invitingly to Thomas Sekyere by the penalty spot, but the young winger could only blaze over when he should have hit the target at the very least.

Moments before half-time, Feeney-Hill appeared to be about to score only to be denied by a brilliant last-ditch sliding tackle; a challenge that left the YM defender with a rather nasty looking astro burn on his leg. Still, I'm sure it was worth it.

If the first-half had been short on goalmouth action, things didn’t improve in the second-half. If anything, they got worse, with neither keeper being given an awful lot to do. Much of the entertainment was focussed on whether their keeper could get his GoPro to continue to stand. He couldn’t. Much to the ‘Ultras’ amusement.

Max Vardy did test the YM keeper about thirty seconds after he’d come off the bench, while Ryan Blunt was denied by a decent save in injury time, but they were the only saves either goalie had to make in the second-half (possibly in the whole game).

YM’s only opportunity of note in the second period came with 15 minutes remaining when they almost caught Newhaven on the break. Once again, though, the finish was wayward with the final attempt being neither quite a shot or a cross.

While this may not have been one for the purists, it ultimately doesn’t matter a jot. Three points are three points. It’s a win that keeps the Docker’s fine start to the league campaign going with 10 points from a possible 12. We would certainly have taken that prior to a ball being kicked.

And there’s not long to wait to see if we can keep the momentum going.

We’re back in action tomorrow (Bank Holiday Monday) morning when Haywards Heath visit Fort Road. Like YM, Heath were among many people’s tips for a play-off berth this season. Unlike YM, they haven’t experienced such early season upheaval and will undoubtedly therefore be as strong as most expect them to be. 

We’ll have to be at our very best to get something from the game, but if we can produce a similar performance to that at Hassocks a couple of weeks ago, then there’s no reason to think we can’t give it a real go. 

It would be great to see a few more faces down at Fort Road, so if you’re reading this get down there yourself, and try to bring a few friends along, too. Your support is always much appreciated. Kick-off is 11am.

Come On You Dockers!

My man of the match (aka, the controversial part): Shay Tobin. Only played the second-half, but was a calming presence in the middle of the park; winning pretty much every loose ball, and tidying up where needed. Exactly what was needed in such tricky conditions.

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. Snapped eBook : Fuller, David: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store