Club news
Written by: Stuart
Lewes had to settle for a point against Billericay Town, as for the second consecutive home game, they were pegged back in the second half to draw 1-1 at the Pan, reports Tom Harper.
Tony Russell handed a debut to Jaydn Mundle-Smith at left-back in place of Jamie Mascoll, who has left the club.
There was also a place in the side for Ayo Olukoga in place of Will Salmon, a change that saw Alfie Young move into defence alongside Tom Champion.
The visitors created the first chance of the game, Anthony Jeffrey drawing a smart save from Lewis Carey at the end of a purposeful run, before Bradley Stevenson put his effort on the rebound into the side-netting.
The early stages resembled a basketball match, both sides throwing plenty of players forward in search of the opening goal.
Ryan Gondoh called Harry Seaden into action to turn his cut-back behind and from the resulting corner, Billericay launched a quick counter-attack that ended with Stevenson forcing another good save from Carey from a difficult angle.
Lewes soon began to dominate possession, and saw Seaden push a strike from Gondoh onto the post before the ball was eventually cleared.
The Rooks were playing well, with Tyrique Hyde seeing a shot deflected just wide and Gondoh then shooting into the side-netting minutes later.
Despite finding themselves on the back-foot, the visitors missed a gilt-edged chance to take the lead, as Bradley Stevenson capitalised on a loose pass from Olukoga and ran through on goal before missing the target with only Carey to beat.
Lewes made the most of this by taking the lead on 36 minutes, good play down the left ending with Mundle-Smith crossing for Joe Taylor to volley past Seaden and into the back of the net, despite the best efforts of Michael Chambers on the line.
Billericay made a bright start to the second half and nearly equalised through Toby Stevenson, whose cross-shot from the left narrowly missed the target.
The visitors levelled the scores just after the hour-mark, a loose pass in midfield giving John Ufuah the chance to cross from the right, with Kareem Isiaka providing the clever finish at the near post, across Carey and into the bottom corner.
Large periods of the remainder of the game saw both sides pushing for a potentially decisive goal, but neither goalkeeper forced into any meaningful action.
Lewes came close to a late winner through Olukoga, who saw an effort deflected just past the near post and into the side-netting.
The visitors thought they had secured all three points deep into stoppage time when Chambers blasted a volley from a free-kick on the left into the back of the net, only for the linesman to cut short their celebrations by raising his flag after an offside in the build-up.
The final action of the game saw Razz Coleman De-Graft shoot straight at Seaden from the edge of the area, leaving both sides to reflect on a hard-fought point that, on another day, could easily have been all three.
The progcast for the game can be read here.
Highlights thanks to YIR can be watched here.
James Boyes’ photos from the game can be viewed here.
Next up for Lewes is a tough trip to Hornchurch next Saturday, kick-off at 3pm.
Lewes: Carey, Renee, Mundle-Smith, Young, Champion, Olukoga, Pritchard, Hyde, Moore, Gondoh (De-Graft 74), Taylor.
Unused Subs: Tamplin, Hall, Salmon, Murrell-Williamson.
Booked: Gondoh.
Billericay Town: Seaden, T. Stevenson, Ekpiteta, Chambers, B. Stevenson, Ufuah, Quick, Isiaka, Pinto, Jeffrey (Cerulli 80), Uche.
Unused Subs: Wind, Ebuzoeme, Stagg, Lukombo.
Booked: Isiaka, Pinto.
Attendance: 926