Men's football news
The Rooks make their final road trip of the season on Saturday as they head to Faversham Town in the penultimate game of the Bostik League South season. With just two games to go, the Rooks find themselves in an unusual position of not heading the table, after Carshalton Athletic finally took advantage of their game in hand by beating Ramsgate on Tuesday night.
That win has set up a grandstand finish to the season with both sides gunning for the title. Darren’s side will be hoping to continue their impressive form away from the Dripping Pan with all three points, and hope that The Robins drop points just down the road at Sittingbourne. So far this season Lewes have taken 46 points from their 22 league games, a record on better by, you’ve guessed it, Carshalton Athletic! We’ve won four, drawn one and lost one of our last six on the road this season. Our hosts haven’t enjoyed the best of seasons compared to recent years and come into this game in 20th place. Their home form has seen them win seven, draw four and lose eleven at Salter Lane this season. In their last match they recorded an impressive 3-0 win at Horsham thanks to goals from Luke Harvey (x 2) and Mobolaji Dawodu.
Darren will hope to welcome Charlie Coppola back into the squad as well as Matt Hurley who missed last week’s game due to the birth of his son. Other than that it will be a strong squad that heads into the Garden of England looking to take the title race to the final day of the season.
When did we last meet
Faversham Town?
We last met back in January at The Pan when goals from Gus Sow, Ronnie Conlon and a Billy Medlock penalty gave the Rooks a comfortable 3-0 win.
Our experience against Faversham Town last season weren’t the best. We suffered our most painful defeat of the
season in September at the Shepherd Neame Stadium, going down without a fight
5-0, hardly registering a shot on goal. In the return fixture at The Pan in
April, neither side really created a chance and we shared the spoils, in the
process meaning that Faversham Town were the only side we failed to score
against.
About The Shepherd Neame Stadium
Salter Lane is a work in progress.
Thanks to the patronage of the local brewers there are some exciting
plans in place to change the face of the ground. The old “main stand” is still in existence,
as too is the club bar at the far end of the ground which is a decent size. Food is served from a small hatch next to the
main stand. Most of the remainder of the
ground is hard-surface standing although you do get some elevation if you bag
one of the spaces on the ramp up to the bar. The quaint changing rooms, which
almost appear to be in a stable block will remain but it is in the area next to
them that the next phases of development will take place in the coming years.
How
to get to The Shepherd Neame Stadium
There are few grounds in the Ryman League South that are easier to
get to than the Shepherds Neame Stadium in Faversham if you are coming by
car. Point your vehicle east on the M2
and follow it until you reach Junction 6.
Take a left at the top of the slip road and follow this road for
half-a-mile until you reach the T-junction with London Road. Turn right and then right again after two
hundred yards for the ample car park. If
that is full then there is plenty of street parking off London Road. The 87-mile
trip from Lewes should take around 90 minutes.
If you are coming by train then you will almost certainly
come via London Victoria. On arriving in
Faversham exit the station and follow the road around to the left on Forbes
Road. This will become “The Mall” and
when this road reaches London Road, turn left and the ground is 300 yards on
your right-hand side. It will take around
2 ½ hours from Lewes by train and an Off-Peak day return is currently £44.70.
Admission at The
Shepherd Neame Stadium
Admission this season is £9 for adults, £5 for concessions (senior citizens
and students), 12 to 17 year olds are charged £2 and accompanied under 12s are
admitted free of charge.
Fancy a beer?
Unsurprisingly, as Faversham is the home of Shepherds Neame, there are
quite a few decent pubs to choose from. There is also the option to visit the
brewery for a guided tour (get a group together and they will offer an
exclusive one) that of course includes a tasting session, which may be a good
option pre-match if we play Faversham on a Saturday. The Visitor’s Centre is
located in the Town Centre in Court Street.
Other alternatives include the
highly-recommended Elephant which is in The Mall and has a range of guest ales
and the 14th century Sun Inn on West Street (which also offers
accommodation if you fancy making a night of it).