Men's football news
Written by: Stuart
Lewes produced a resilient performance to leave Cheshunt with a hard-fought 2-2 draw, despite playing with ten men for the majority of the second half, reports Tom Harper.
Tony Russell made one change to the side that lost 3-2 at home to Wingate & Finchley in their previous game, with the fit-again Tom Carlse replacing Juevan Spencer in the starting line-up.Lewes made a bright start to the game and could have taken an early lead through Michael Klass, who got in behind the home defence before being denied by Preston Edwards.The resulting corner was taken quickly, with Bradley Pritchard crossing for Casey Pettit to volley over the bar.Pettit came even closer to opening the scoring minutes later, volleying a Pritchard corner against the outside of the far post from a tight angle.Cheshunt gradually grew into the game and saw Adam Crowther head a free-kick from former Lewes midfielder Kayne Diedrick-Roberts over the bar.The hosts were given an excellent chance to take the lead on 24 minutes, as Tom Carlse was adjudged to have fouled Mo Camara in the area as he looked to help on a long-throw from the right.Reece Beckles-Richards took the penalty and sent Lewis Carey the wrong way from the spot to put Cheshunt 1-0 up.Lewes continued to create the better chances though, with Razz Coleman De-Graft seeing a goalbound effort blocked after a long throw from Mitchell Nelson had caused panic in the home defence, before volleying over from 12 yards after a Pritchard corner had been headed into his path by Will Salmon.The Rooks deservedly levelled the scores three minutes before the break, as Joe Taylor ran onto a De-Graft flick-on and finished well across Edwards and into the bottom corner.Lewes then took the lead their first-half performance had arguably warranted right on the stroke of half-time, Taylor emphatically converting a penalty after Deshane Dalling had been tripped in the box by Crowther.The hosts started the second half on the front foot and should have levelled the scores within minutes of the restart, as Joe Re charged down an attempted clearance from Carlse and sent in a cross from the right that Diedrick-Roberts could only slice wide at the far post.A tough assignment became even trickier for Lewes on 57 minutes, with Kenneth Yao shown a second yellow card for a rash challenge as he attempted to stop a Cheshunt counter-attack.Unsurprisingly, the hosts began to see more of the ball at this stage and started to put the Lewes defence under extended periods of pressure.Despite this, they were being limited to half-chances, a Jamie Reynolds effort well over the bar being the closest they came to an immediate equaliser.Lewes could even have doubled their lead on the break, Taylor shooting over the bar after the ball dropped to him just inside the area at the end of an incisive passing move.Cheshunt punished this missed opportunity by levelling the scores on 72 minutes, Camara finishing past Carey from the edge of the area after good play down the left.The hosts spent large parts of the remainder of the game camped in the Lewes half but continued to find clear-cut opportunities hard to come by, with substitute Rowan Liburd shooting over after latching onto a long ball from Edwards and Re sending a long-range strike straight at Carey as they looked to press home their numerical advantage.Lewes saw out the final few minutes to secure a hard-earned point heading into the final three games of the season.Next up for the Rooks is the visit of Kingstonian to the Pan next Saturday, kick-off at 3pm.Cheshunt: Edwards, Ekongo, McLean, Kassarate (Dib 58), Crowther, McKenzie, Beckles-Richards, Re, Camara, Diedrick-Roberts (Liburd 66), Reynolds.Unused Subs: Puemo, Ojo, Marsh.Booked: Ekongo, Kassarate, Crowther.Lewes: Carey, Yao, Carlse (Phipp 68), Salmon, Nelson, Pettit, Klass (Maloney 89), Pritchard, Dalling (Spencer 59), De-Graft, Taylor.Unused Subs: Addy, Tanner.Booked: Yao, Pettit.Sent off: Yao.Referee: Thomas HoldenAttendance: 325