#COYD - Come on You Dockers

Newhaven 3 Crawley Down Gatwick 5, SCFL Premier Division match #25 After three back-to-back league victories to start 2025 (as a reminder, cup matches haven been expunged from memory) Newhaven welcomed Crawley Down Gatwick to Fort Road yesterday afternoon. Runners-up in the league just two seasons ago, Crawley Down are back in the play-off chase this time around, whilst also enjoying a decent FA Vase run which ended just a couple of weeks ago. Having lost at their place in a seven-goal thriller back in August, this was always likely to be a tough first home match in charge for interim manager’s Ryan Walton and Clive Blunt. And it certainly appeared that way after an opening ten minutes in which the visitors were wholly dominant and already a goal to the good. The Anvils were almost in on goal in the opening ten seconds, could have had a couple more by the second minute, and had it not been for a Jack Webb-Olley save five minutes later, would have been in front then. It seemed...

Saltdean United 1 Newhaven 2, SCFL Premier Division match #24 Newhaven made the short trip to Saltdean last night, aiming to make it three league wins from as many games in 2025. On paper, the Dockers should have been more than confident of claiming three more points against a Saltdean side who are struggling near the foot of the table. However, as regular watchers of Newhaven this season will be only too aware, the only guarantee with the Dockers at the moment is that there are no guarantees. See Little Common at home for proof of that. And with former Newhaven coaching stalwart Kieran Ridley at the Saltdean helm, you can always be sure that the Tigers will be extra fired-up for this encounter. On a bitterly cold evening, and with the match being played on a surface that you couldn’t exactly describe as a carpet (understatement alert), few of the spectators present would have been expecting to watch a footballing classic.   And they didn’t. This most certainly was not ...

AFC Varndeanians 1 Newhaven 2, SCFL Premier Division match #23 Saturday saw Newhaven head to the Withdean Stadium for their first league match under the interim stewardship of Ryan Walton and Clive Blunt (there may have been a cup match in midweek but we’ll conveniently gloss over that – hey, it’s my blog and I’ll write what I want to). In years gone by, the Dockers would have been more than confident about their chances of taking three-points against AFC Varndeanians. However, this is a far stronger Vs side than those of the past. Going into this match the Brighton-based team actually sat above us in the league table, and are on-course for their highest SCFL Premier Division finish. Indeed, it was the Vs who drew first blood. With eight-minutes on the clock, the Dockers had largely been on the front foot, albeit without creating much (anything) in the way of goalscoring opportunities. Then, from their real first foray into our half, a cross from the left was met by the head of S...

Newhaven 2 Petersfield Town 1, SCFL Premier Division match #22 Nothing lasts for ever. All good things must come to an end.... Use whatever cliché you want, they are all, unfortunately, true. As I’m sure every man and his dog already knows, after more than ten years and 508 games, Saturday's home match against Petersfield Town marked the final time Andy Cook and Sean Breach will be in charge of the Dockers men’s team (although Cooky continues in his role as the women’s team manager). The term legend is bandied about far too often these days. But there can be little doubt that both Breachy and Cooky are, and will forever be, club legends. Their role in transforming Newhaven from a team in the doldrums to one of the most consistent and best-supported teams in the county league cannot be ignored. And as could be witnessed by the many messages that came pouring in via our Twitter feeds in the wake of their resignation announcement (from those outside the club as well as within)...

Newhaven 1 Peacehaven 3; Eastbourne United 4 Newhaven 1; SCFL matches #20 and #21 It was a festive period to forget for the Dockers, as they endured two bad defeats in the space of just over 48 hours. First up on Boxing Day, the local derby brought with it a bumper crowd, with more than 740 people packing inside Fort Road.  What it didn’t bring with it, though, was the three points that Newhaven fans have become so accustomed to in this fixture over the past few years. It was an opening half-hour of few chances. Lee Robinson and Ryan Warwick (twice) sent efforts off target for the hosts – while a brilliant Billy Barker challenge thwarted a dangerous Peacehaven attack. Unfortunately, it also left Billy with a fractured tibia! Get well soon, Billy! With the match low on quality, the opening goal came completely out of the blue; but it’s doubtful you’ll witness a better strike this season. A stunning Mo Kahdum effort from way outside the area, swerved in the air before nestling ...

Bexhill United 2 Newhaven 1, SCFL Premier Division Match #19 Following last Saturday’s postponement at Horsham YMCA, Newhaven travelled east to Bexhill yesterday afternoon, looking to extend their winning run to five. Bexhill United, though, are themselves one of the division’s form teams, coming into the match with just one defeat in their last 11 games. On a bobbly uneven surface, this was never likely to be a game for the purists and after a dull opening 15 minutes, during which neither keeper was tested (or even cam close to being tested), a long dreary 90-minutes looked to be on the cards. Then, out of nowhere, the hosts took the lead. The Dockers carelessly gave possession away from their own throw-in, and one ball over the top found Jack Shonk – who, of course, had started the season at Newhaven, before returning to Bexhill – in acres of space. Shonk kept his composure to fire the Pirates in-front with the game’s very first attempt. It was a blow for Newhaven, but one ...

Wick 2 Newhaven 4, SCFL Premier Division match #18 The first in a run of four straight away games saw Newhaven head west to Wick yesterday afternoon, hoping to keep their recent upturn in form going. Yet doing so would be far from a formality. Newly-promoted Wick have more than held their own since their return to the SCFL top flight, sitting firmly in mid-table and holding pre-season title-favourites Haywards Heath to a draw in their last outing. While things have certainly settled down at Fort Road in the past few weeks following a tumultuous early few months that left fans having no idea as to what starting 11 would take to the field from week-to-week, new goalkeeper Jack Webb-Olley (son of club stalwart Chris Webb) became the 47 th different first team player used this season yesterday (and around the 20 th to have donned the gloves; okay, that may be a slight exaggeration, but there’s certainly been a few). On a bobbly pitch typical of those seen the length and breadth of ...