A first-half penalty from Nic Ciardini and a penalty save from Liam Mitchell four minutes from time helped the Rooks get back to winning ways in front of their largest crowd of the season at The Dripping Pan. PHOTOS

Steve King made three changes to the side which had lost 1-0 at Kingstonian in their previous game, with Nic Ciardini, Matt Somner and new signing Max Noble, who had signed on dual-registration forms from AFC Wimbledon earlier in the day, effectively replacing Lewis Hamilton, Dwayne Lee and Hakeem Adelakun in the starting line-up.

The Rooks started the game brightly and nearly took the lead in the first 15 minutes, when both Michael Malcolm and Ian Draycott saw close-range efforts saved by Jonathan North in the Wealdstone goal following a perfectly-weighted clipped through-ball from George Nicholas.

A positive start from Lewes was rewarded after 17 minutes, as they took the lead. The goal was scored by Nic Ciardini, who converted a controversial penalty after the referee deemed him to have been fouled in the area by Chris O’Leary.

This goal galvanised the Rooks, who saw both Christian Nanetti and Max Noble go close with shots from distance.

However, the visitors finished the half strongly and were unlucky to see Kurtney Brooks denied by a fine save from Liam Mitchell following a through-ball from Richard Jolly.

From a subsequent corner, Malcolm hooked a goal bound header from Sean Cronin away from danger as the visitors looked to find an equaliser before the break.

There was very little action for much of the second half, until the game came to life with just over ten minutes remaining.

It was at the beginning of this period that Wealdstone saw substitute Peter Dean sent off for making a late challenge on Mitchell, after the goalkeeper had failed to hold a long-range shot from David Hicks.

This decision incensed the Wealdstone players and their travelling supporters behind the goal, with this moment of controversy leading to a spell of pressure from the visitors.

They were handed a life-line with four minutes of time remaining, when Dominic Sterling was adjudged to have pushed a Wealdstone player in the penalty area whilst defending a free-kick.

Fortunately for the Rooks, Mitchell went the right way and was able to keep out Jolly’s penalty with his legs to keep Lewes in front.

There was very little action in the closing stages, with Lewes able to keep possession and see the game out relatively comfortably.

This was a fiery encounter between two sides who would probably expect to be near the top of the table come the end of the season, with their respective performances suggesting that this may well be the case.

The main difference between the two sides was the fact that the Rooks took their best chance of the game, whereas Wealdstone missed the best chance to fall to them in the closing stages.

Lewes:

Mitchell, Hustwick, Robinson, Sterling, Ciardini, Nicholas, Somner, Noble, Nanetti, Malcolm, Draycott.
Unused Subs: Cade, Watson, March.
Booked: Ciardini, Sterling.

Wealdstone:

North, McCubbins, Cronin, Massey, Chappell, Parsons (Dean 43), Dyer (Hicks 64), O’Leary, Brooks, Jolly, Knight (Miller 46).
Unused Subs: Hammond, Adjei.
Booked: McCubbins, Brooks.

Referee: Mr A Neil

Tom Harper