Men's football news
Written by: DanielL
Lewes men recorded back-to-back home wins under Craig Nelson after beating erstwhile Isthmian League Premier Division leaders Brentwood Town 4-2.
Goals from Devonte West, Charlie Walker, Parish Muirhead and Martell Taylor-Crossdale ensured the Rooks claimed all three points at The Dripping Pan in front of 963 spectators.
After going 3-0 down, Brentwood rallied with a quick pair of late goals which set up a grandstand finish. However, Nelson’s side soaked up the pressure in the final 10 minutes, adding another and staying ahead until the final whistle.
The Rooks started the match positively, enjoying decent spells of possession in the early stages of the first half.
West had the first major chance for the hosts in the 17th minute, when he skilfully brought the ball down from the air before settling and shooting, forcing a diving save from Melvin Minter.
Lewes then went ahead at the ensuing corner, the ball bouncing around the box before coming to West, who lashed home from close range.
Only five minutes later, Brentwood’s Benas Vaivada had the ball in the Lewes net, but the assistant’s offside flag had been raised.
The Blues were soon made to rue that decision as Lewes doubled their lead from another corner in the 29th minute.
Duelling with his marker on the ground, Walker managed to poke away his second goal in as many games, following his equaliser against Cray Valley PM the previous weekend.
Lewes fed off their encouraging first half post-interval and went 3-0 up in the 58th minute.
A foul on Billy Clark inside the D of the penalty area led to a free kick in a position that appeared too good to waste.
Central midfielder Muirhead duly stepped up and rifled a shot into the top-right corner, in front of a jubilant Philcox stand.
With their tails up, the Rooks continued to push for more goals rather than sit back. Their lead almost increased further when Taylor-Crossdale, on for Clark, had a shot cleared off the line by Brentwood captain Matthew Cripps.
Galvanised by almost going 4-0 down, the visitors rallied up the other end and scored twice in quick succession through substitutes Jesse Olukolu and Charlee Hughes, one from a shot inside the box, the other a header.
In the space of five minutes, what had been a dominant lead for Lewes now appeared to rest on shaky foundations.
But as Brentwood strived for an equaliser, the Rooks broke the other way. In stoppage time, substitute striker Lukas Franzen-Jones snatched the ball off the defence and was brought down for a penalty.
In a dramatic conclusion, Franzen-Jones had his leftward penalty saved by Minter, only for Taylor-Crossdale to seize control of the next passage of play, finding space on the left-hand side and curling a right-footed effort into the far corner.
That impressive strike from the Rooks’ latest signing put the result beyond doubt, earning Lewes their fourth home league win of the season at the expense of a Brentwood side that conceded their place at the top of the table.
Nelson and his squad will aim to keep the forward momentum going in the next home match against Carshalton Athletic on Tuesday, 11th November.
Lewes: Rogers, Asiedu (Burchell 68’), Bernal, Watson ©, Hamstead, Morgan (Bennett 90+4’), Muirhead, Walker (Franzen-Jones 68’), West (Hamouchene 81’), Clark (Taylor-Crossdale 62’), Christian-Law
Booked: Taylor-Crossdale
Subs not used: none
Brentwood Town: Minter, Nzengo, Royal, Cripps ©, Park (Hughes 59’), Ogunleye, Vaivada (Olukolu 59’), Freeman, Edwards, Thomas, Machado
Booked: Royal, Cripps, Edwards, Machado
Subs not used: Pollock, Hudson
Attendance: 963
Referee: Edward Smith