Late goal denies Dockers a point

Newhaven 1 Roffey 2, SCFL Premier Division match #9, Saturday 26^th September 2026

Having finally bounced back to winning ways in the league seven days ago, Newhaven faced a tricky trip to Roffey looking to keep that momentum going.

Roffey are a team that many have tipped to battle for a play-off berth this season, and have started the season looking like a side hoping to live up to that billing.

Now playing at Horsham FC (which is a personal shame as I loved the ‘Theatre of Trees'; although obviously Horsham’s ground isn’t too shabby, either), the Boars are a team with a burgeoning reputation for fast-flowing possession football.

The Dockers, still engulfed in the midst of a seemingly never-ending injury crisis (one that would get even worse by the end of this game), knew they’d have to be at their battling best to get something from it.

And, oh my, they were so close to doing so.

Despite the hosts seeing plenty of the ball in the early stages, it was Newhaven who actually created the first clear opening, when a delightful cross from Harvey Wheeler picked out Ezra Roeg, but the winger could only head over.

Within a couple of minutes, Roffey had created their first opportunity of the afternoon, but Shay Tobin managed to deflect a goal-bound effort behind for a corner, from which Fraser Trigwell made his first good save of the match.

In what was a fairly open game, Roffey were continuing to see plenty of the ball, but the Docker’s were managing to keep them at arm’s length for the most part. At the other end, the long throws of Reece Bickerton were causing problems in the Roffey defence and did lead to a couple of half-chances for the men in red.

The first goal of the afternoon arrived in the 26^th minute, and went the way of the Dockers. Ezra Roeg latched onto a misplaced pass by a Roffey midfielder, before bursting into the area and squaring for Billy Oliver to fire home from close-range.

An untimely slip in the Dockers defence almost gave Roffey an immediate route back into the game, but the eventual shot was fired harmlessly wide.

With half-time approaching, Roffey were really starting to build pressure, especially down the left flank where Wheeler was having to work overtime to keep Roffey’s two best players on the afternoon at bay.

There was a clear feeling amongst us fans that Newhaven needed to get into the interval a goal ahead, then regroup.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t quite manage to do so.

Charlie Gibson (not our one) was probably afforded a little too much space on the edge of the area, but take nothing away from his strike, which flew into the bottom corner.

Things could have gotten even worse for Newhaven on the stroke of half-time when Roffey looked to have a strong appeal for a penalty waved away, much to their striker’s obvious bemusement.

Level at the break, Newhaven were then forced into their first change of the afternoon when Thomas Sekyere replaced goal-scorer Oliver, who had to go off with a head injury. Thus leaving us without a recognised striker on the pitch.

Am enforced change in shape, though, seemed to boost the Dockers, who started the second-half the brighter of the two teams.

Roeg forced the Roffey keeper into a decent early save, only to injure himself in the process, depriving us of yet another valuable attacking option.

From the following corner, Matt Gunn had a header hooked off the line, before Joe Radley-Martin’s cross picked out Tobin, but his flicked header drifted just wide.

Perhaps understandably, it was Roffey who began to look more threatening the more the game progressed. Trigwell was again called into action, before Roffey hit the bar when our propensity to not mark properly from corners was almost punished for the umpteenth time this season. We survived. Just.

The final 20 minutes of the game definitely belonged to Roffey, as tried legs in the Newhaven ranks really began to take hold. Twice more we were indebted to good Trigwell saves to keep us level, while the hosts were also guilty of fluffing a couple of chances that they should have hit the target with.

Yet, just as it looked like the Dockers had done enough to secure a hard-earned point, Roffey snatched what would prove to be the winning goal a couple of minutes into injury-time. A patient move down the left culminated with a pass to Jordan Mase, who kept his cool in a crowded area to pick out the bottom corner and spark wild scenes of celebration among the Roffey players and bench.

On the stroke of full-time, the Dockers came within a few centimetres of earning a point. Sekyere burst down the right, picked out Gunn, now seemingly playing as an emergency striker, with a brilliant fizzed ball, but the centre back could only divert the ball the wrong side of the post by a paper’s-width. It was to prove to be the last kick of the game. So close, yet so far.

So it was a fourth league defeat of the season for the Dockers, but as with the loss at Eastbourne United a couple of weeks ago, there were plenty of positives to take from this one. But for a bit of fortune right at the end, we could have left Horsham with a more than creditable point. Instead, there was nothing for our efforts aside from a couple more injuries to contend with. It can be a cruel game sometimes, can football.

We’re back Horsham FC again on Tuesday evening, this time to play actual Horsham (those of National League South!!) in the County Cup. With injuries biting deep, and a couple of players cup-tied for this one, it’s going to be a really tough evening for whatever 16-man squad we manage to cobble together.

We’re back at Fort Road on Sunday (I repeat Sunday) when Bexhill visit us in the league, as part of the SCFL groundhop weekend. A big attendance is expected for this one, so make sure you get down there nice and early to support the lads. Kick-off is at 14:45.

There’s then barely any rest for the boys before we’re back at Fort Road again on the Tuesday evening (6^th October) when Guernsey are our visitors. Surely we’ve got to be due a win (or even a point) against the islanders at some point!

Your support, as it always is, will be much appreciated at any of these games.

Come On You Dockers!

My man of the match (aka, the controversial part): Reece Bickerton and Fraser Trigwell. Double award this week as both players more than played their part in coming so close to helping us secure a point. Trigwell’s saves were vital in keeping us in the game, while Bickerton looked really assured, playing out of position, in his first start for the club. Plus his long throw-ins could provide some fun between now and the end of the season.

While I’ve got your attention, my debut adult novel, Snapped is now available to download on Kindle. You can check it out here: Snapped eBook : Fuller, David: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store