Men's football news
Written by: DanielL
Aidan Elve reporting from The Dripping Pan
Lewes men convincingly beat local rivals Whitehawk 3-0 in the South Downs Derby to go seven points* clear of the Isthmian Premier Division relegation zone with three games remaining.
The Rooks were solid in the first half, creating chances well and restricting Whitehawk’s threat to mostly set-pieces.
Lewes’ first goal was scored in the sixth minute of the game by Devonte West, after a cross from Beaux Booth that was cleared into the path of West – who calmly placed the ball into the bottom corner for his tenth goal of the season.
The majority of the Rooks’ first-half chances fell to Charlie Walker, who battled well and was unfortunate not to see any of his strikes end up in the back of the net.
Whitehawk’s captain Andrew Briggs was providing the most threat for the visitors through his set-piece delivery; the opposition’s best chance of the half was a free kick taken by their captain which met the head of Nathan Cooper, whose header went just wide of the post.
Ultimately, Lewes went into the break 1-0 up and were deservedly in front.
In the second half, Booth continued to impress, popping up in dangerous positions, and was unfortunate not to score on two occasions.
Lewes’ second goal of the game came in the 64th minute, when Walker crossed the ball low from the right corner of the pitch, finding an unmarked Alfie Allen who comfortably finished into the net.
In the 67th minute, substitute Bobby Unwin had a good shot saved by the Hawks’ keeper Dion Henry, but the Lewes number 11 was appearing lively.
The Rooks forward continued with energy, when, in the 84th minute, he scored into the bottom right corner from the left side, after being played in beautifully by Booth.
Whitehawk, following the third goal, had a few chances but were met by a strong Lewes defence that was determined not to be denied a clean sheet.
The game ended 3-0 and was a well-earned three points for the Rooks, who avenged their 3-1 defeat at Whitehawk in February.
Speaking after the game, Lewes men’s first team manager Craig Nelson said: “I thought [we] were excellent in transition, which is how we scored, and they executed the game-plan of what we asked really well – so I’m really pleased for them. It’s been a long time coming.
“They stuck to the task. We asked them to make sure today was gritty for everyone else because, before you step onto the pitch against Whitehawk, they’re gonna battle.
“If you allow them to have a foothold in the game, they’ll take it, but I thought the boys managed the waves of what they threw at us really well, so we’re really happy all round.”
Assistant manager Bryan Nzinga spoke on the team’s clinical finishing on the day, saying: “The discussion before the game was on improving our goalscoring habits.
“I did a little bit of homework last night seeing what type of goals [Whitehawk] have conceded and I gave the boys a clear outcome in terms of what positions we can be to score and how we can be clinical; all three goals came from that zone that we highlighted.”
The result marked a seventh clean sheet of the season for the Rooks and goalkeeper Louis Rogers.
“I thought [the defending] was excellent,” assessed Nelson.
“This one will go down as a team clean sheet. A lot of the time, the centre-backs or the back four and the keeper get praised but I think the boys did really well as a unit to not concede today.”
With local pride as well as points at stake, Nelson asked a popular fan figure to give a team talk in the dressing room before the game.
“Today was a big deal for everybody a part of the club and we wanted to make sure [the players] heard that before they stepped out onto the pitch,” he said.
Nzinga added: “I’ve mentioned being connected with the city that you’re from, people sacrifice their time to come and watch us, so let’s make it have value.
“It’s important to connect with people that are from here, and we did them proud in possession, out of possession… everyone was solid, so hats off to everyone.”
Lewes: Rogers, Enkh, Paye, Watson, Bernal (King 86′), Christian-Law, Allen (Muirhead 73′), Bassett (Unwin 65′), West (Kpakpé 81′), Booth (Roberts 79′), Walker
Subs not used: none
Whitehawk: Henry, Gitau, Briggs, Cooper, Hall (Harris 76′), Skandari (Eze 89′), Hogan (Kotey 90′), Lodovica, Daly, Lambert (Godziemski 52′), Odogwu-Atkinson
Subs not used: Minteh
Attendance: 1580
Referee: Adrian Harris
Photography by James Boyes
*Hashtag United are the first team in the relegation zone, seven points behind Lewes, but have requested to be relegated from the Premier Division regardless of where they finish. The team below Hashtag is Cray Valley PM, who are eight points behind Lewes