Men's football news
Written by: Joe
Goals either side of half time and a stunning penalty save from Toby Bull earned Lewes FC Men a 2-0 opening-day win over Chatham Town in the Isthmian Premier League on Saturday.
Roared on by 776 fans and donning the new Who Gives A Crap home shirt, the Rooks took an early lead through captain Matt Warren’s quick thinking to capitalise on a goalkeeper error.
Bull maintained the one-goal advantage on 83 minutes when diving low to his left to deny Chatham’s Jamie Yila from the spot.
And moments later Danny Bassett rounded off a superb move from the hosts down the left to slam home Lewes’ second in front of the Philcox Stand.
Warren strikes early
Boss Craig Nelson was able to give competitive debuts to most of his side, while Ben Mundele made his return in a Rooks shirt after previously playing for the club three years ago.
Lewes started on the front foot, with Eddie Allsopp almost scoring direct from a corner.
It didn’t take long for the home fans to find their voice either, as Warren popped up with a stunning goal to open the season. The midfielder collected a loose clearance from Chatham goalkeeper Brad House and picked his spot beautifully to glide the ball into an empty net from distance.
The goal was no less than Lewes deserved and a second almost came moments later when Hutchinson found himself in front of goal at a tight angle on the left, only to fire wide.
Chatham regrouped and sought a leveller, only to be denied through a combination of Bull, Hamilton Antonio and Jack Enkh, who thwarted a string of attacks.
The visitors thought they had levelled just before the break from a corner – only for the assistant to indicate that the ball hadn’t crossed the line.
Into the second half and the Chatham pressure gradually increased but so did frustrations across the field. A flurry of yellow cards for both sides provided little entertainment for supporters at the Pan but Lewes were starting to dig in.
Jack Evans and Freddie Sears missed the target for Chatham, while Marcus Sablier was a blocked shot away from doubling the hosts’ lead at the other end.
Bull’s heroics
Then came the moment of the game as Chatham won a deserved penalty following a scramble in the box. Substitute Yila stepped up to take it and fired low, only for Bull to read it beautifully and keep the ball in his hands.
Chatham’s dominance that had lasted the best part of 20 minutes evaporated and, on 85 minutes, Lewes dealt the decisive blow. It started with Antonio, who threaded Hutchinson down the left. He saw his low shot parried and Bassett was there to slam home the rebound.
Ten minutes of stoppage time came and went, as the Rooks secured three points on a glorious afternoon in East Sussex.
Next up Pitts and co. head to Bognor Regis Town on Tuesday for a summer evening showdown at Nyewood Lane (7:45pm kick off).
Be sure to catch our interview with goalkeeper Bull on Sunday!
Lewes XI: Bull, Enkh, Warren (c), Kaiser, Sablier, Bassett, Anotnio, Allsopp, Hutchinson, Puemo, Mundele
Subs: Morris, Allen (77′), Ghannam, Muirhead (90+2′), Jeffrey (89′)