Men's football news
Written by: Joe
Gianluca Botti’s brace was cancelled out by two late goals for Dulwich in an evenly matched, action packed Isthmian Premier League tie at the Dripping Pan on Tuesday, where Lewes FC Men had to settle for a 2-2 draw, reports Lily Perrill.
A last-minute penalty after a handball by Jerry Puemo meant that it was only one point for Lewes in this midweek fixture.
Botti gave Lewes the lead in the 21st minute after a fantastic cross from Matt Warren gave the No 9 no choice other than to tap it into the back of the net since Dulwich keeper Dillion Barnes had come out of his goal.
>> Watch Lewes 2-2 Dulwich highlights
Some brilliant counter-attacking play led to the Rooks’ second goal. A brace for Botti and the team seemed in control of the game.
But substitute Danny Mills pulled one back for Dulwich in the 76th minute, before Luke Wanadio’s late penalty meant the spoils were shared.
Botti opens the scoring
After a difficult weekend for the Rooks, where the game against Cray PM was abandoned following the injury to Marcel McIntosh, it was important to push forward and get more points on the board.
After a quiet opening to the game, Botti delivered another poacher’s goal to continue his excellent start to his Lewes career. Warren exchanged a lovely pass with Danny Bassett to break free on the left and centred to the striker, who slid home.
There was a short break in play just before the half-time whistle after Ben Mundele went down injured and had to be replaced by Alfie Allen, hopefully he won’t be out of action for long.
Meanwhile, a strong shout for a red card for Dulwich’s Jordan Wynter came early in the second half, when he jumped into a very strong challenge on Marcus Sablier. He got away with just a yellow, much to the disappointment of the home fans who were almost certain it should have been a red.
Puemo tackle sets up second goal
The incident was proof of a testy opening few minutes in the second half, and Lewes came out from the break on the back foot. Yet a well-crafted counter attack earned the Rooks – and Botti – a second for the night on 65 minutes.
It began with a brilliant tackle from Puemo to stop a Dulwich chance. Captain Bassett took the ball down the left flank and crossed it into Botti, and in a similar fashion to his first goal, he put it away emphatically.
>> Watch Lewes 2-2 Dulwich highlights
Dulwich, who had been seeking an equaliser before the second goal, looked again for a response. It came this time on 76 minutes as substitute Danny Mills got there first with a near-post header from a corner to halve the deficit.
Mills’ goal brought Dulwich’s players back to life and suddenly they were pushing for an equaliser. A tough spell of defending for the Rooks ensued, where they really had to dig deep in a phase of play where they saw little of the ball.
Late leveller
It looked as though Craig Nelson’s men would hold on until a final chance for Dulwich with a corner in the 91st minute saw Hudson lift a looping cross into the box and a shot smash into the top of Puemo’s arm.
The referee pointed to the spot and Wanadio converted – the ball hitting the crossbar before bouncing over the line to level the scores for the away side.
Notwithstanding the handball at the end of the game, Puemo had enjoyed a stellar performance and had made the vital challenge that directly contributed to the second Lewes goal.
Meanwhile Botti, who not only was in the right place at the right time twice, was a constant threat to Barnes’ goal throughout the match and created several other big chances.
The point gained puts Lewes up to fifth in the Isthmian Premier League and back in the play-off places, while Dulwich drop to 13th.
Next up for the Rooks is one last home tie before Christmas, against Chichester City on Saturday (3pm). Make sure you’re dressed in your best Christmas jumpers for the game!
Lewes XI: Bull, Puemo, Warren, Spinks, Sablier, Bassett, Botti, Allsopp (Ghannam), Ekpiteta (Hutchinson), Muirhead, Mundele (Allen)
>> Watch Lewes 2-2 Dulwich highlights
Words: Lily Perrill