Men's football news
Written by: DanielL
A stoppage-time equaliser prevented Lewes men from taking their third consecutive win at The Dripping Pan as Cray Wanderers snatched a 2-2 draw.
It was a game of two halves as strikes from Arezki Hamouchene and Finlay Chadwick put the hosts in a commanding position at the interval.
However, the visitors from southeast London fought back, producing two second-half goals with a numerical advantage after Kaan Bennett was sent off on 62 minutes.
After losing to Flackwell Heath in the first qualifying round of the FA Cup the previous weekend, Lewes manager Bradley Pritchard was keen to see a response from his side in their return to Isthmian League Premier Division action.
That response was delivered as the Rooks showed greater attacking impetus in the opening minutes of the first half.
Hamouchene twisted and turned in the Cray Wanderers box to find space and reel off the first shot on target, which Harry Seaden caught.
That effort after five minutes was merely a sighter for the same player, who in the 11th minute received a pass from Bennett and struck right-footed into the bottom-left corner.
The best Cray Wanderers chances came in the form of free kicks from the flanks, all of which were ably caught or cleared by Rooks goalkeeper Louis Rogers.
Lewes then doubled their lead with a moment of excellence from Finlay Chadwick, the midfielder taking control of the ball from a corner clearance and firing his shot into the top-left corner from range.
Chadwick capped off his strike with an acrobatic celebration.
Cray Wanderers manager Tim O’Shea, who coached Lewes in 2010-11, made three changes at half-time in a bid to stem the Rooks’ momentum.
This included the introduction of Chris Dickson, a former Championship and League One striker, as well as Quade Taylor and a few minutes later Ashley Nzala; all three went on to have a significant impact.
Pritchard, in turn, made an attacking substitution at the break with Devonte West replacing Walter Figuiera.
On 53 minutes, West almost increased Lewes’ lead, cutting inside from the left and unloading a curled shot that was destined for the top corner. Cray Wanderers keeper Harry Seaden matched it with a terrific fingertip save.
The defining moment of the second half occurred a few minutes either side of the hour mark as Bennett received two yellow cards in quick succession for separate incidents.
Sensing an opportunity to get back into the game, Cray Wanderers started testing Lewes’ back line more frequently.
Wanderers’ first goal came on 78 minutes when Dickson’s give-and-go put through Nzala, whose low shot found the bottom-right corner despite Rogers getting a piece of it.
The visitors continued to push for an equaliser and found it midway through a long period of additional time, which ran to 10 minutes based on several stoppages including a scuffle between the two dugouts.
A blocked shot ricocheted deep into the penalty box, where Taylor was able to poke the ball in.
Despite missing out on a win, Lewes continued their strong start to the campaign and are now unbeaten in five league fixtures.
Pritchard’s side make a swift return to action at The Dripping Pan on Tuesday, 9th September when they host Chichester City at 7:45pm. Click here for tickets.
Lewes: Rogers, Asiedu, Bernal (Erskine 90+9′), Gayle ©, Burchell, Morgan, Chadwick, Hamouchene (Maguire-Drew 64′), Christmas (Swainston 64′), Bennett, Figueira (West 46′)
Booked: Asiedu, Bernal, Bennett (x2)
Cray Wanderers: Seaden, Keto (Nzala 49′), Adaja, Sutton (Watson 74′), Bonner ©, Hernandez, Bobomuradov (Dickson 46′), Williams, Wells (Raymond 46′), Brooke (Taylor 46′), O-Gyamera
Booked: Bonner
Player of the match: Finlay Chadwick
Referee: Scott Crowhurst
Assistants: Chris Finlay-Greer, Pete Andrews
Attendance: 878