20/3/09

Lewes Ladies claimed the first title in their history this evening, beating Brighton & Hove Albion on penalties at Lancing FC.

Emma Millington gave the Rooks an early lead when her speculative 30 yard strike looped over Albion keeper Charlotte Sole before they had chance to settle.

Lewes looked well on top for much of the half and almost scored a second minutes later when a goalmouth scramble had defender Charley Boswell hastily clearing off the line.

The Rooks deserved to go into the interval with a bigger lead but it wasn't to be despite their well-organised performance, which was in stark contrast to their opponents who struggled to make their mark.

During the second half, Brighton became more frustrated as they found the going difficult although the arguing between teamates seemed to have a beneficial effect as they moved back into contention, drawing level in the 64th minute through Kelly McCullock.

The game went a little stale as ninety minutes drew closer, with Lewes being reduced to hopeful shots from distance although a fine move involving Katie Hodges and Kirstie Spice almost ended with a goal but Clare Trafford's shot was wide.

Brighton had some great chances in the last five minutes but profligate finishing from close range, saw the game move into extra time which was uneventful and just prolonged the inevitable penalty shootout.

This was the third shootout that Lewes have faced this season, winning one and losing one on their FA Cup run earlier in the season.

Penalties from Helen Whitton, Kirstie Spice, and Charlotte Bennett were all converted and with the Albion having one hit the bar and one go wide, it was left to Ria Rottner, who missed her kick in the FA Cup shoot-out against Derby to bravely step-up again and score the winning penalty.

After the match, manager Jacquie Agnew was rightly proud of her players. "They dug in really deep, they were up against it in the second half especially in extra time, but it had penalties written all over it."

"If we'd taken a couple of chances early and gone in two nil up it would have been a bit different but we had to do things the hard way, but we got the right result and I  think we edged it and deserved to win."

"We're all about team, that's the most imporant thing and no one is bigger than the club andd that come across both on and off the pitch."

"We were relaxed, we did head tennis last night instead of set pieces and luckily we got there. I'm really really pleased for the whole football club."

Unsurprisingly, winning captain Kelly Newton was also pleased with the result, and paid respect to everyone involved.

"It's a massive massive win for us, and we really believed tonight was going to be the night we would win the Sussex Cup. We've built up a lot of momentum and we've achieved our second objective for the season after reaching the fourth round of the Cup earlier, and now our main aim is to win the league. We're going to enjoy winning the cup now though."

"It's a whole team effort and everyone does their bit. I must pay credit to the backroom staff and with new coach Alan Kenworthy on board, it's a big step up and will help take the pressure off Jacquie a bit."

"The girls who took the penalties deserve a lot of credit for standing up to take them. That takes a lot of bottle and the girls are really buzzing in the changing room now.