Men's football news
A goal from
Alex Malins just before half-time and an impressive team performance helped
Lewes make it two wins from two in the Bostik South with a 1-0 victory over
Guernsey at the Pan, despite playing with ten men for the last 25 minutes reports Tom Harper.
With Chris
Winterton unavailable after his wife gave birth to triplets earlier in the day,
Darren Freeman drafted in goalkeeper Jake Buss from Newhaven to replace him in
the starting line-up, and also handed a start to Shomari Barnwell, who replaced
the injured Jonte Smith in the side.
There were
few chances of note for either side early on, although both teams were keen to
play good football in midfield.
James
Hammond forced the first save from either goalkeeper as the half progressed, as
his powerful long-range effort was helped over the bar by Thomas Le Tissier in
the Guernsey goal.
The visitors
had plenty of place in the final third and should have taken the lead minutes
later, as Matt Loaring was unable to apply the finishing touch in front of an
open goal after good play down the right by Keanu Marsh.
Lewes took
control of the game in the final ten minutes of the first half, with Ronnie
Conlon forcing Le Tissier into two smart saves with efforts from the edge of
the area.
The second
of these was pushed over the bar and led to a succession of corners, with the
second set-piece seeing Malins draw a fine save from Le Tissier with a powerful
close-range header.
This
pressure finally told right on the stroke of half-time, as George Landais
retrieved a Gus Sow corner that was helped on by Matt Hurley, and sent over a
superb cross from the left for Malins to place an impressive header past Le
Tissier and into the top corner to give the Rooks the lead.
Lewes
continued to look dangerous going forward at the start of the second half, and
Le Tissier had to be alert to keep out a curling effort from the dangerous
Conlon.
The Rooks
were dealt a blow with 25 minutes remaining though, as Hammond was shown a
straight red card by referee Barrie Small for what was deemed to be a high foot
on Sebastian Skillen on the edge of the Guernsey penalty area.
Although the
ball was bouncing around knee height, both players challenged for it, and the
reaction of the Lewes players suggested Hammond was very unfortunate to be
dismissed.
Despite
this, Lewes continued to push for a second goal and saw the impressive Sow send
a header from a Matthew George cross straight at Le Tissier.
The visitors
were always likely to create more opportunities with a man advantage, with
Paris Pereira and Skillen forcing the previously untroubled Buss into two smart
saves in quick succession.
However,
their best chance fell to Jamie Dodd, who could only guide a close-range header
from an in-swinging free-kick wide after being left unmarked at the far post.
Buss had to
be alert again minutes later to save bravely at the feet of Loaring before the
winger put his effort on the rebound over the bar, but the Rooks were generally
looking solid defensively despite their numerical disadvantage.
They even
had the better chances to score in the closing stages, with both substitute
Jamie Brotherton and Matthew George going close with efforts at the end of impressive
counter-attacks.
The final
whistle was greeted with jubilation from the Lewes players and supporters, who
recognised the character the side had shown to hold on relatively comfortably
with ten men for over a quarter of the game.
Next up for
the Rooks is an FA Cup Preliminary Round tie against Newhaven at the Pan on
Saturday, kick-off at 3pm.
Lewes: Buss, Reed, George, Hammond, Hurley,
Malins, Williams-Bowers, Sow, Barnwell (Brotherton 58), Landais (Bosma 67),
Conlon (Brinkhurst 76).
Unused Subs: MacDevitt, Robinson.
Booked: Conlon.
Sent off: Hammond.
Guernsey: Le Tissier, Geall, Dodd, Cochrane,
Tobin, Dodds, Skillen, Marsh (Gauvain 46), Young, Allen (Pereira 48) (Steel
71), Loaring.
Unused Sub: Kelly.
Booked: Skillen, Pereira.
Referee: Barrie Small
Attendance: 416