Men's football news
Written by: Joe
Lewes boss Tony Russell has promised there’s more to come from his team this season following Tuesday’s slick 2-0 victory over Carshalton at the Dripping Pan.
Goals either side of half time from Deon Moore were enough for the Rooks to cruise to three points and maintain the unbeaten start to the season.
Featuring a few new faces for the home fans to familiarise themselves with, Russell reckons the team fared well under the spotlight.
“I’m delighted with this win, coming off the back of Saturday when I thought we should have won too,” says the manager.
“The first half was a little bit cagey as we’ve got a few new boys, who are still finding out what we’re trying to do. But we had some great chances to score a few more.
‘We want to put a show on’
“In fact I was disappointed to come in at half time only one up. We feel there’s another level to go up here. The tempo is increasing and I felt in the second half we really upped it, and stuck it on them.
“I said to the boys in the dressing room that winning is winning, but we’re also here to entertain. We want to put a show on, in front of our fans, on this lovely, shiny pitch!”
Tuesday was the first chance for Russell to field his team on the newly-laid Dripping Pan pitch in a competitive game. Russell spoke last season about the need for a consistent surface to facilitate his passing style of football.
And he’s got just what he ordered.
“It was consistent all night, and it meant we could be consistent all night,” he adds. “We’ll be a problem for other teams on this pitch. The way we play, we ask people to be ready for this surface.
“The only real negative was that we could have scored a few more goals! We played good, attacking football and offered the fans plenty of “ohs” and “ahs”, and that’s what we want to do, entertain.”
‘Marcel was outstanding’
Pinpointing his stand-out performers, Russell was all praise for a number of new faces at the Pan.
“I think our right-back Marcel (Elva-Fountaine) was outstanding, and he has been ever since we got him in,” says Russell.
“Young Jack Skinner in midfield was electric too. And it’s also great to see Deon scoring, which for his confidence is brilliant.
“Plus Champs (Tom Champion) showed what Champs does, he was a lot more organised. He’s come in to help stop goals and he did well. But yeah, Marcel and Jack were excellent.”
Skinner: ‘This support is unreal’
Meanwhile, midfielder Skinner, playing his first game in front of the Rooks faithful, says the warm welcome the new players have received at the club has helped the squad gel quickly.
“That was unreal! A bit different to Saturday and the pitch is amazing. I thought we played really well. We kept the ball on the floor really well, and I think we successfully broke them down after half time, and we had them after that,” says Skinner.
“It’s been a great few weeks for me. I came in pretty early into preseason and had about four games to get up to speed. The boys have been great and it’s been smooth so far, which has made everything pretty easy.
“It’s amazing to have such strong support – I thought there was more actually! The roar when the goals went in was incredible. I’m already learning that this support is unreal.”
Next up for Lewes is a home clash with Bishop’s Stortford on Saturday at 3pm at the Dripping Pan. Tickets are available on the gate or you can buy Lewes FC tickets online today.
To view the highlights of Lewes 2-0 Carshalton, provided by Your Instant Replay, click here
To read the progcast, please click here