Men's football news
Written by: Joe
New Lewes goalkeeper Toby Bull says the background research done by the Rooks’ analysis team gave him the edge in his crucial penalty save during Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Chatham.
Lewes were a goal up with just seven minutes remaining when Chatham’s Jamie Yila stepped up for what could have been a decisive penalty.
But Bull got his prediction right and dived low to his left to deny the visitors an equaliser.
It would mark the end of a spell of Chatham pressure that Lewes did well to sustain in the second half, and moments later Danny Bassett doubled the Rooks’ lead to secure all three points.
“To begin with I was furious because we gave away penalties in pre-season too,” said Bull after the game.
“Initially I was thinking ‘oh not another one’ but then you get in the zone and start working on how to save it.
“It’s all down to our analysis team – they sent me loads of background research this morning. I looked through it all and obviously wasn’t totally sure who was going to take it until it happened, but I knew what to do.
“His head was up, looking at me and his body shape was right – and the work paid off! I was confident going into the penalty because I knew in my head that if I just stuck to doing the right thing I’d save it. The relief when it stayed in my hands was incredible too!”
Supporters who hang around for a post-match pint in the Rook Inn could hear the Lewes players celebrating their win in the dressing room above.
But Bull insists the focus is already turning to Tuesday’s trip to Bognor.
“We’ll enjoy the game now, it’s our first win as a group and we’ll enjoy tonight,” he said. “But then the focus is straight on Tuesday.
“Hopefully we can pick up another three points but it is going to be difficult. Bognor away for a lot of these boys is quite a long journey but it should be a good contest. They have a nice pitch as well, which will allow us to play how we like.
“I’m looking forward to Tuesday because we can build on this result. In pre-season we played well but didn’t win enough games or score enough goals. Beating this Chatham side showed that we have inside ourselves what we need to dig deep, push through and get wins.”