Men's football news
Written by: Joe
Lewes are ready to hit the reset button and go again for the last nine games of the Isthmian Premier League regular season, says first-team coach Nathan White.
The Rooks bounced back from last Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat to Worthing by beating Leatherhead 1-0 on Tuesday.
That result keeps Tony Russell’s men in the hunt for a playoff spot come the end of the season.
And White says the group is united behind that common goal between now and the end of April – and have eyes on three points from Saturday’s trip to Haringey.
“Tuesday night (against Leatherhead) was all about starting a new run for us,” says White.
“It’s important that we get some momentum going into the end of the season and qualify for the playoffs, and if we’re lucky enough to do that it gives us a real chance to go into the semi-finals and final with some momentum.
“Tuesday was a tricky game on a tricky pitch against a side that is fighting for their lives. Weren’t at our free-flowing best by any stretch of the imagination but at this time of year you’ve just got to find a way to win.
“To be fair to the boys the effort and the way they bounced back from the Saturday result was outstanding. Joe Taylor was amazing in terms of his hold-up play and he created the goal on his own.
“When we talked before the second half and he gave the other players some information about taking the ball down that side and to be fair to the boys they took it on. A couple of minutes into the second half and we’ve got a penalty from it! It shows really good leadership qualities there.”
3G pitch helps our style
Lewes head to Haringey on Saturday seeking a repeat of the 4-2 victory over the London side back in November.
Russell at the time said such a result “breeds confidence” and White is hoping for much of the same this weekend too.
“We had a good session – me and Vinesey – on Wednesday evening. It was a bit of a cool down session, a bit of fun and games,” says White.
“We did some work off the back of that game and in preparation for Haringey. We’re looking forward to playing on a 3G pitch which we know will suit our style of football.
“Hopefully we’re able to carry on that momentum that we spoke about off the back of Tuesday, and then that takes us into the last couple of months of the season. You don’t know where we’ll end up, it’s a strange game at times.”
Crowd doing their bit
White also took time to reflect on last Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Worthing, played out in front of a sell-out crowd at the Dripping Pan.
And the coach admits it is this sort of atmosphere generated by the fans that can give the team that final boost during the business end of the campaign.
“Being involved in those sort of games, with that size of crowd, at such an event… for us it was a strong point that attracted us to the football club in the first place,” he says.
“So I want to say a massive thank you for all the support. We’ve got a big run-in to finish off the season so we are going to need that support for the rest of the campaign – so please keep coming in your numbers.”
Lewes head into this clash having lost just one of the last five games, while 14th-placed Haringey have recently beaten Merstham and Cray.
Saturday’s fixture kicks off at 3pm at Coles Park Stadium N17.