Men's football news
An
impressive first-half performance saw Lewes progress to the FA Trophy second
qualifying round with a comfortable 4-1 victory at Evo-Stik Premier Division
side Dunstable Town.
Darren
Freeman made four changes to the side that beat Herne Bay 8-1 last weekend,
with Alex Malins, Matt Hurley, Wilf Grimaud and Jamie Brotherton replacing
Frankie Chappell, Gus Sow, Ronnie Conlon and the suspended Billy Medlock in the
starting line-up.
The
Rooks got off to a bright start, with Charlie Coppola forcing a fine save from
the Dunstable goalkeeper and Jamie Brotherton missing the target from just
inside the area early on.
Dunstable
looked dangerous in the final third themselves, with Chris Winterton only able
to parry a long-range effort and Alex Malins clearing the ball from almost on
the goal-line.
Lewes
continued to push for a breakthrough though, and took the lead after just 12
minutes, as captain Lloyd Cotton converted a Coppola corner at the near
post.
The
Rooks continued to pass the ball well in midfield and always looked capable of
adding to their lead, with Brotherton sending a close-range effort over the
bar.
Lewes
deservedly doubled their lead after 25 minutes through Coppola, who finished
just inside the near post after good work down the left by Wilf Grimaud.
The
Rooks were playing against a strong wind throughout the first half, but always
looked comfortable against their higher level opponents. They
increased their lead further after half an hour, as Coppola collected the ball
just inside the area and sent a low shot on the turn into the bottom corner.
Lewes
continued to push for more goals and scored a fourth on the stroke of half-time
through Brotherton, who ran through and finished confidently from close range
after a James Hammond free-kick had initially been dealt with by the hosts.
It
was always going to be difficult for the Rooks to replicate such a high level
of performance after the break, and they rarely looked like adding to their
lead during the early stages of the second half.
The
hosts looked more comfortable on the ball after a tough first half, and pulled
a goal back after 53 minutes, as Saul Williams finished from close range after
good build-up play down the right.
The
game wasn’t allowed to flow for much of the second half, with a number of
Dunstable players fortunate to avoid bookings for late challenges in midfield.
Winterton
was forced into a smart save to keep out a long-range effort as the hosts
looked to find a route back into the game, but their task was made more
difficult by them losing two players to injury after making all of their
substitutions at half-time.
Lewes
were still creating chances without playing their best, with both substitute
Jonte Smith and Grimaud being denied by the host’s goalkeeper, who had been
unable to take goal-kicks for much of the game after picking up an injury early
on.
There
were no chances of note during the closing stages, and Lewes were able to
celebrate a comfortable victory and progression into the next round at
full-time.
Next
up for the Rooks is a trip to East Grinstead in the Bostik South on Friday,
kick-off at 7.45pm.
Lewes:
Winterton, Brinkhurst (Reed 46), George, Hammond, Hurley, Malins (Chappell 65),
Bosma, Cotton (Smith 46), Brotherton, Grimaud, Coppola.
Unused
Subs: Conlon, Sow.
Booked:
None
Referee:
Sukhvir Gill
Attendance:
102