Rooks too serious for Casuals in top of the table clash – Lewes Community Football Club

Rooks too serious for Casuals in top of the table clash


Rooks too serious for Casuals in top of the table clash

Men's football news

An
impressive team performance and early goals from Frankie Chappell and Lloyd
Cotton helped Lewes to a comfortable 3-1 victory at Corinthian Casuals, a
result which moved the Rooks nine points clear of third-place Greenwich
Borough, reports Tom Harper.

Darren
Freeman made four changes to the side that lost 2-0 at Hythe Town in their
previous game, with Max Huxter, Lloyd Cotton, Leon Redwood and Omarr Lawson
replacing the unavailable Chris Winterton, James Hammond, Matthew George and
Billy Medlock in the starting line-up.

Lewes
started the game brightly and could have gone ahead inside the first few
minutes, as Jonte Smith drew a comfortable save from Gareth Williams in the
Casuals goal with a close-range effort.

The Rooks
continued to push for the opening goal and scored it after nine minutes through
Frankie Chappell, who met an in-swinging Gus Sow corner from the left with a
thumping header that flew past Williams and into the top corner.

Lewes nearly
doubled their lead two minutes later, as Williams had to be alert to push an
over-hit Leon Redwood cross over the bar.

From the
resulting corner taken by Redwood, Lloyd Cotton was left unmarked at the far
post to send an acrobatic volley past Williams to put Lewes 2-0 up after just
12 minutes.

Starting the
game so positively enabled the Rooks to control the remainder of the half,
without creating too many chances to add to their lead.

The hosts
were being restricted to long-range efforts, with Huxter making comfortable
saves to deny Callum McAllister and Mu Maan.

The best
chance Casuals created during the first half came down their left, as Max
Oldham saw his low cross-shot cleared from almost on the line by Cotton.

Lewes came
close to scoring a third goal that would have almost secured the three points
just before the break but saw Jonte Smith denied by Williams after
dispossessing a defender on the edge of the area.

The Rooks
started the second half in the same way they started the first, with Bouwe
Bosma hitting the post with a clever lob over Williams after latching onto a
Smith flick-on within a minute of the restart.

Smith was
having an impressive game up front, and saw a close-range volley from a Jamie
Brotherton cross well saved by Williams before seeing a header from the
resulting corner bounce just over the bar as he looked to score the goal his
performance deserved.

It was
therefore against the run of play when the hosts were handed a route back into
the game after 68 minutes, as Josh Uzun sent Huxter the wrong way from the
penalty spot after being fouled in the area by Sow.

This goal
galvanised Casuals, who were beginning to enjoy more possession without getting
in behind the well-organised Lewes back four.

The Rooks
regained their two-goal advantage in slightly fortunate circumstances after 73
minutes, with a dangerous Redwood cross from the right being headed over
Williams and into his own net by the unfortunate Frazer Walker after the hosts
had been unable to clear a corner.

Lewes saw
out the closing stages of the game comfortably and were able to celebrate an
impressive victory with the travelling fans at full-time.

Post-match a pleased Ross Standen spoke to Stuart Fuller.

Lewes will
hope to build on this result when they host Horsham at the Pan on Wednesday,
kick-off at 7.45pm.

Corinthian Casuals: Williams, Walker, Morgan, Murray,
Strange, McAllister, Oldham, Maan (Byatt 70), Uzun, Antonio, Cheklit (Clarke
21) (Brown 79).

Unused Subs: Smith, Serbony.

Booked: Morgan, McAllister, Oldham.

Lewes: Huxter, Brinkhurst, Redwood, Lawson,
Chappell, Cotton, Bosma, Sow, Smith, Conlon, Coppola (Brotherton 16) (Elliott
70).

Unused Subs: Medlock, George, Hurley.

Booked: Smith, Chappell

Referee: Tom Bishop

Attendance: 316