In an action-packed game at The Dripping Pan, goals from Christian Nanetti, Michael Malcolm and Alex Stavrinou helped Lewes to victory over eight-man Tooting and Mitcham.

Steve King made one change to the side which had won 2-1 at Carshalton Athletic in their previous game, with Christian Nanetti replacing Albert Jarrett in the starting line-up.

The Rooks started the game brightly and dominated the opening exchanges, with visiting goalkeeper Darren Behcet forced to tip over a looping effort from Michael Malcolm after a cross from Ian Draycott hit his chest.

Alex Stavrinou then saw a goal-bound shot blocked by the head of Matt Drage, before Nanetti saw a curling shot well-held by Behcet and Harry Harding sent a left-foot volley from inside the penalty area just wide.

The game was turned on its head just after the half-hour mark, when Tooting midfielder Charlie Dove was shown what looked like a harsh straight red card for a foul on Nanetti.

Lewes made their numerical advantage count in the second minute of injury-time at the end of the first half, when Nanetti saw his attempted cross-shot from the right wing loop over the head of Behcet and into the top corner to give the Rooks a deserved lead.

The Rooks started the second half by far the better side, with Michael Malcolm seeing a shot hit the crossbar after a good run from the edge of the penalty area, and Stavrinou having a low effort blocked on the line by Drage.

The game swung well and truly in Lewes’ favour ten minutes after the break, when Drage was shown a second yellow card for a late challenge on Ciardini.

Despite this, Tooting equalised after 58 minutes. The goal was scored by Charlie Stimson, who sent a close-range header from a Reece Hall cross past Rikki Banks.

Thankfully for the Rooks, they took the lead again just six minutes later. Malcolm was the scorer, as he scrambled the ball over the line from close range after the visitors defence were unable to clear a low cross from the right from the outstanding Nanetti.

Nanetti’s trickery had caused Tooting problems all afternoon, with his ability to swap wings with Draycott and continue to be effective making him a real handful for the visiting defence.

The visitors continued to push forward in numbers though, and saw both substitute Connor French and Stimson denied by Banks from point-blank range after the goalkeeper on loan from Eastbourne Borough had been unable to hold a routine cross from Hall.

After 68 minutes, the Rooks doubled their lead through Stavrinou. The goal was once again created by Nanetti, who latched onto a perfectly-weighted through-ball from Ciardini to pull the ball back to the near post for Stavrinou to finish,

Tooting unbelievably had a third player sent off soon after, when Terry Fennessy was shown a second yellow card for a dangerous challenge on Nanetti just outside the penalty area.

During the final ten minutes, the Rooks got forward at every opportunity and had several chances to extend their lead further.

Visiting goalkeeper Behcet kept the score down, as he denied Malcolm from close range and then made two impressive saves from substitute Paul Booth.

The introduction of Bayan Fenwick in place of Man of the Match Nanetti did not lead to a let-up in the pressure Lewes were applying on Tooting, with the youth-team player sending a shot just wide after an impressive run and causing the tiring defence problems with his pace.

This was a very impressive performance from Lewes, who could have scored more goals than the three they did score against a hard-working Tooting side, who ultimately struggled to cope with the numerical advantage the Rooks had on them since before half-time.

Impressive Lewes performances came from Nic Ciardini, Alex Stavrinou and Christian Nanetti.

Lewes:

Banks, Hamilton, Ciardini, Somner (Jarrett 81), Robinson, Hustwick, Harding, Stavrinou, Malcolm, Draycott (Booth 75), Nanetti (Fenwick 87).
Unused Subs: Kamara.
Booked: None.

Tooting & Mitcham United:

Behcet, Drage, Fennessy, Wilson, Fletcher, Obamwonyi, Ferguson, Dove, Stimson (Grant 70), Brayley (French 61), Hall.
Unused Subs: Wanadio, Daley, McCann.
Booked: Drage, Fennessy, Wilson, Ferguson,.
Sent off: Dove, Drage, Fennessy.
 
Referee: Mr L Venamore

Tom Harper