Men's football news
Lewes FC are pleased to announce the signing of goalkeeper Lewis Carey, who will be replacing Chris Winterton as the Rooks’ number one for the 2018/19 season.
Winnie hung up his gloves at the end of the season, as he looks to pursue business opportunities to support his young family. Chris and his wife Rachael had triplets last summer. Jude, Lily-Rose and Esme were mascots for Winnie’s final appearance between the sticks in our last game of the season, and Winnie will be sorely missed by everyone at the club.
“Obviously, we’re gutted to lose Winnie,” said Ross Standen, assistant manager and goalkeeper coach at the club. “He’s been a great servant, not just for Lewes, but for me and Daz. We’ve been very lucky to have a top-class goalkeeper and a top-class person. He’s one of those players you don’t have to worry about. He’s an eight out of ten every week, but we think we’ve managed to replace him with a goalkeeper who possesses the mindset and qualities to replace a goalkeeper of Winnie’s ability.”
Chris will be replaced in goal by 24-year-old Lewis Carey. Carey came through the youth ranks at Bristol City, and is an experienced non-league keeper having appeared for Bromley, Tonbridge Angels and Eastbourne Borough. He faced the Rooks three times last season playing for Thamesmead, a side we never managed to get the better of.
“Lewis was our first choice,” said Ross. “He wanted to join a big football club that’s looking to try and progress. He wanted to play at a higher standard, not in the Bostik South anymore. He’s played for Eastbourne Borough at the level above so, so we feel we’ve replaced one Conference South standard goalkeeper with another in Lewis.”
“He’s a very similar goalkeeper to Winnie, so that will make it easier for him to integrate into our squad,” added Ross. “He’s got great attributes in terms of distribution and shot-stopping. We saw that last year in our three games with Thamesmead. Even when they beat us 3-0, he made some great saves in that game. We’re delighted to have him.”
Lewis becomes the summer’s third new signing, following the arrivals of Nassim Dukali and Luke Blewden.