Late goals from Michael Malcolm and Nic Ciardini helped Lewes into the 4th round of the Ryman League Cup in a hard-fought match against Folkestone Invicta at The Dripping Pan. PHOTOS

Steve King made three changes to the side which had drawn 1-1 with Bury Town in their previous game, with Matt Somner, and youth-team players Max Howell and Bayan Fenwick effectively replacing George Nicholas, Michael Malcolm and Ian Draycott in the starting line-up.

The game started slowly, with neither goalkeeper being worked in the opening half an hour or so.It was therefore a surprise when Lewes took the lead out of the blue after 35 minutes. Paul Booth was the scorer, as he latched onto a through-ball from Christian Nanetti and sent a brilliant half-volley across Jack Delo in the visitors goal and into the bottom corner.

The Rooks began to play with a bit more confidence after this goal, with Max Howell seeing his shot comfortably saved by Delo after cutting inside from the left wing.

There was more goalmouth action during the first five minutes of the second half than there was throughout the entirety of the first half, with the impressive Bayan Fenwick seeing a goal-bound header from a Nanetti corner headed away from danger by Josh Burchell.

Folkestone began to come into the game though, and saw Ryan Moreby send a half-volley from the edge of the penalty area just wide of the far post and a low 30-yard shot just wide in the space of a couple of minutes.

As has been the case on a few occasions this season, the opposition were seeing more of the ball than Lewes and an equaliser was beginning to look inevitable.

Fabian Spiess had to be at his best to prevent this from being the case, as he acrobatically tipped a looping header from James Everitt over the crossbar.

The visitors were continuing to press, and the Rooks had Lewis Hamilton to thank for clearing a Simon Austin effort from a tight angle off the line after the striker had taken the ball round Spiess.

The equaliser which had looked to be on its way for much of the second half arrived with ten minutes remaining. The goal was scored by Folkestone left-back Burchell, who sent a 25-yard effort across Spiess and into the far corner to deservedly bring the visitors back on level terms.

With penalties looming, Lewes played their best football of the evening and looked the more likely side to score a winner in the closing stages

The Rooks took the lead again after 86 minutes, with Michael Malcolm finishing calmly from inside the penalty area after receiving a pass from fellow substitute Ian Draycott.

With Folkestone committing players forward to try and find another equaliser, Lewes made the game safe in injury-time. Nic Ciardini was the scorer, as he sent a curling effort from the right-hand side of the penalty area just inside the far post.

This match was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests, with the visitors causing Lewes a lot of problems in the second half and probably deserving to take the game to penalties.

Impressive Lewes performances came from Lewis Hamilton, Max Hustwick, Nic Ciardini, Christian Nanetti and Bayan Fenwick.

Lewes:

Spiess, Hamilton, Ciardini, Somner, Robinson, Hustwick, Nanetti, Cade, Fenwick (Malcolm 69), Booth (Draycott 77), Howell (Lohourigon 63).
Unused Subs: Nicholas.
Booked: None.

Folkestone Invicta:

Delo, Vincent, Burchell, Friend, Chappell, Moreby, Smith, Atkins, J. Everitt, Austin, M. Everitt (Mortimer 78).
Unused Subs: Edge, Dickson, Hayward.
Booked: M. Everitt.

Tom Harper