Welcome to The Dripping Pan for today’s Buildbase FA Trophy game with Merthyr Town. Here is your complimentary e-programme.Â
CONTENTS
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A chip off the old block… the Lego Pan
“Lewis, Lewis” means something different in Merthyr
DARREN FROM THE DUGOUT
This season, we’ll be interviewing Darren ahead of every game. Click Play below to hear his thoughts ahead of today’s game.
TODAY’S MATCH MUSIC
Today’s stadium playlist has been specially curated by our resident DJ, John Peel (not that one). If you’re a Spotify user, you can follow the playlist and get a sneak preview of today’s music at the Pan.
CHAIRMAN’S NOTES
Good afternoon everyone and welcome to The Dripping Pan for this afternoon’s “international” FA Trophy tie against Merthyr Town. I’d like to welcome a fellow community-owned club and their fans, players, management and officials. We hope you enjoy the East Sussex hospitality and wish you a safe and speedy journey home. It is finally nice to get a home draw in what will be our ninth cup game of the season so far! And there were some who questioned our decision not to enter the Velocity League Cup!
Merthyr Town rose from the ashes of Merthyr Tydfil in 2010 and have since impressively risen from the Western Football League to play today in the Evostik Premier League South, the same level as the Rooks. However, the original Merthyr Town can trace their roots back to 1909 and had a stint as a Football League club. We know ourselves the huge amounts of work that goes into running a club at our level, let alone one that has to effectively start again so we applaud all of the volunteers who have made that happen.
It was hugely disappointing to see that our game on Wednesday against Brighton & Hove Albion in the Sussex Senior Cup fell foul of the weather. I saw some comments on social media about “light rain” but when I arrived at The Pan around 4.15pm the pitch was unplayable, and the rain didn’t relent until much later in the evening. At this stage of the season with midweek games already in the calendar from our FA Cup run another postponement was the last thing we needed and thank you once again to Roger who did all he could to get the pitch playable.
The great thing about our pitch is that with some sun and a bit of wind (and Roger’s hard work), the surface water clears quickly, and we were able to host our Under-18s League Youth Cup tie on Thursday night against Eastbourne Borough. The boys once again showed their class and progressed thanks to a Ross Barclay goal. Last Sunday they beat Newhaven 7-2 in the Sussex Your Cup too as they look for back to back double cup successes! Well done Dale and his squad.
For those who don’t know, ever-present Steve Brinkhurst missed last week’s game at Kingstonian as his wife had just given birth to a baby girl, Lois Elizabeth Alice. The last few games had seen Barry on standby to take “the call”. Based on his shaky defending in the first half at Ashford Town it was an option! (Only joking, Brinky).
It was also very pleasing to see that Darren had finally managed to sign Kieron Pamment in time for the Kingstonian game. We had tried to sign him in the summer before he chose Burgess Hill Town – he offers us a lot of options at the top of the pitch and has a fantastic goal-scoring record. Alas, he is cup-tied today but he will be raring to go next Saturday as we host Haringey Borough here.
Finally – sorry there’s no beer allowed outside the bar today. It’s not our rules but the FA’s.
Enjoy the game and Come On You Rooks!
Stuart
A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK…
Growing up, there was nothing I loved more than football and Lego. So much so that I often combined the two, building Lego stadiums to surround my Subbuteo pitch. But my Heath Robinson efforts of twenty (ahem) years ago pale into insignificance when compared to the work of master Lego builder, Chris Smith, and his Lego Stadium project, BrickStand.
Back in 2014 Chris had the brilliant notion of building every one of the then 92 league grounds in plastic bricks. Whilst he is still on that mission, he has taken a number of detours to commemorate such grounds as Highbury, Upton Park and now The Dripping Pan.
After contacting Chris, he agreed to build a scale model of The Pan in his workshop in Altrincham during the summer, and last month I made the journey up to collect the model. It is truly magnificent, with detail such as the Beach Huts and the Rook Inn. Alas, rumours of a scale model of Barry in his club shop were false!
We will find a home for it at The Pan over the coming weeks but for now reveal in the beauty of the pictures.
Check out Chris’s work at www.brickstand.com, or follow him on Twitter @Brickstand. Chris also runs the virtual fan-owned club, FC BrickStand (aka The Builders) whose progress can be followed at www.fcbrickstand.com.
RECENT MATCH REVIEW
Lewes 2 vs Harlow 1, 31st October 2018
The Rooks made it five wins on the trot with this win over Harlow. Video highlights from Your Instant Replay.
Kingstonian 2 vs Lewes 1, 3rd November 2018
Things didn’t go quite as well at Kingstonian, despite the home side being reduced to ten men in the first half. Here’s Darren’s verdict on the game.
“LEWIS, LEWIS” MEANS SOMETHING QUITE DIFFERENT IN MERTHYR
Paul Sheppard traces the rich history of our visitors
When Merthyr found out they were drawn against us, Welsh thoughts were immediately cast back to all the things besides football held in common between the two illustrious towns. Such as the historic iron industry, or revolting heroes (Lewis Lewis/Tom Paine). In fact the names Lewis Lewis, and his cohort, Richard Lewis, with his better known pseudonym, Dic Penderyn, are still spoken about daily by people of culture wherever they meet, be that Merthyr Town’s Penydarren Park ground, the Merthyr working men’s club, pubs or Jobcentre.
Iron transformed Merthyr Tydfil from a small rural hamlet to the largest town in Wales and the centre of the world’s iron making industry. Henry Cort’s revolutionary “puddling” method for making wrought iron was championed in the town and gained international acclaim as the “Welsh method”. Iron from Merthyr was exported throughout the British Empire and beyond.
In 1829 depression hit the iron industry in Merthyr. As a result Merthyr Ironmasters made many workers redundant and cut the wages of those in work. Against a background of rising prices this caused severe hardship for the wealth creating working people of the area. In May 1831 bailiffs attempted to seize goods from the home of Lewis Lewis, who would not be druv. He refused to let them take his property and, supported by neighbours, prevented them from entering his home.
The next day a crowd led by Lewis Lewis marched through Merthyr seizing back goods the bailiffs had previously ripped off from the good people of the town, and returned them to their original owners. They ransacked the house of one of the bailiffs… amidst chants of “Lewes – Lewes” [sic]. Throughout May 1831, coal miners took to the streets of Merthyr, calling for reform, and protesting against the lowering of their wages and general unemployment.
Between 7,000 and 10,000 workers marched, and for four days magistrates and ironmasters were under siege in the Castle Hotel, with the protesters effectively controlling the whole town. Troops called in clashed with rioters, and numbers on both sides were killed. Several of the supposed leaders were arrested. Dic Penderyn was hanged for stabbing a soldier in the leg, thus recognised as the first local working-class martyr.
For readers still paying attention, Merthyr in modern Welsh means martyr. According to legend, the town is named after Tydfil a daughter of King Brychan of Brycheiniog. According to her legend, she was slain at Merthyr by pagans around 480; the place subsequently named Merthyr Tydfil in her honour.
Merthyr is in the South Wales Valleys just south of the Brecon Beacons National Park where football arguably comes third in popularity to rugby and boxing (real fight fans will know the names Eddie Thomas, Howard Winstone, and “the Merthyr Matchstick” Johnny Owen who died in the ring). With a population of over 6o,ooo, Merthyr lies 23 miles to the north of Cardiff… but, no disrespect, we don’t want to go there.
TODAY’S OPPONENTS: MERTHYR TOWN
Merthyr Town are the third incarnation of a football club in the town. The original Merthyr Town were founded in 1909 and played in the Southern League. In 1920 the Football League expanded to incorporate the top division of the Southern League, and Merthyr Town played in the Third Division (South) until 1930, before folding altogether in 1934.
A new club, Merthyr Tydfil, were formed in 1945, finishing runners-up in the Welsh League in their first season to step up to the Southern League, finishing champions of the latter in 1948, 1950, 1951, 1952 and 1954, but failed to gain election to the Football League. They won the Southern League again in 1989 to win promotion to the Football Conference, but were relegated in 1995. In 2010 the club went bankrupt and were re-formed as Merthyr Town.
Supporter-owned Merthyr Town started life in the Western Football League, winning promotion to the Premier Division in their first season, and winning the latter a year later to step up to the Southern League. In 2015 they won promotion to the Premier Division. League re-organisation placed them in the Premier South of the Southern League at the start of the season, where they currently lie eighth in the table.
MEET THE SQUAD
Gavin Williams – Player/Manager
Merthyr born Gavin joined Hereford as a youngster, before Yeovil paid ÂŁ75k for him. Gavin became a fans favourite at Yeovil before moving to West Ham United. He then played for Bristol City & Ipswich Town, before returning to Yeovil. From there he signed for Woking in summer of 2013, before joining the Martyrs in January 2014, as player/assistant manager.
Joe Perry – Goalkeeper
Caerphilly born keeper Joe returned to Merthyr in summer of 2018 for his second spell, having previously helped them win two successive promotions in the Western League.
Adam Davies – Defender (captain)
Merthyr born Adam came through Cardiff City’s academy. After his release he went on to play for Llanelli, and Monmouth Town before joining the Martyrs in summer 2014. Adam won major player of the year awards in 2015/16 season. He left the club briefly this season to join Hereford, but returned in December.
Connor Young – Defender
Connor is a centre-half who impressed in pre-season matches and joined the Martyrs in the summer of 2018 following his release by Cardiff City.
Craig McDonnell – Defender
Craig played for Grimsby Town as a youth player. He was released to play for Aberbargoed Buds, then Taffs Well from where he signed for Merthyr in the summer of 2018.
Joe Hunt – Defender
Joe began his career at Swansea City academy, and played for Cinderford Town on loan in 17/18 season. He joined Merthyr in the Summer of 2018 after being released by Newport County.
Jarrad Wright – Defender/Midfielder
Jarrad joined the Martyrs from AFC Porth in February 2014. He scored 12 goals and won the Merthyr Town Player’s Player of the Year in the 2014/15 Championship winning season. He is described as a versatile player who can play in defence or midfield.
Kyle Patten – Defender/Midfielder
Cardiff born Kyle was with Cardiff City and Newport County before joining Merthyr in 2015, initially on loan, and can play in defence or midfield.
Corey Jenkins – Midfielder
Corey is described as a winger with pace who joined Merthyr in summer of 2014 from Welsh League Monmouth Town. He has also played for Carmarthen in Welsh Premier League.
Owain Jones – Midfielder
Owain began his career at Swansea City before moving to Yeovil Town. He joined Merthyr in 2018 and played 12 games in the 17-18 season before moving to Nuneaton Borough in the summer of 2018. Owain re-joined the club on loan in September 2018. No surprises if he turns out in defence or even up front or even not at all.
Lee Lucas – Midfielder
A boy born in the valleys, Lee came through Swansea’s academy and played for the first team. He also played for Cheltenham Town, and Motherwell, before a knee injury which kept him out of the game for a year. He joined Merthyr in Summer of 2018.
Kieran Lewis – Midfielder
Kieran is another signing for the Martyrs from the Summer of 2018. He joined from Carmarthen Town, and has also played for Port Talbot Town.
Matthew Harris – Midfielder
Matthew played for the Merthyr’s Welsh Cup winning Youth team before progressing into the club’s first team. Injuries have restricted his appearances in the last two seasons but he has returned to fitness following a brief spell at Britton Ferry in 2017/18 season.
Tom Meechan – Forward
Tom joined Merthyr in Summer 2018. He gained a reputation as a prolific scorer with St Neots Town which earned him a move to Newport County in League 2. He has also played for Weston-Super-Mare and Hungerford Town.
Ian Traylor – Forward
Ian joined the club from Welsh League side Cwmaman in 2011. He was top scorer in 2013/14 season with 30 goals, and repeated the feat in the 2014/15 season. Ian scored his 100th goal for Merthyr in 2016/17 season against Biggleswade Town.
Ryan Prosser – Forward
Ryan joined the Martyrs from Welsh League Division 2 side Ton Pentre in October 2010. He has scored over 150 goals for the club, better than a goal every other game in his 7 years representing Merthyr Town.
HARLOWEEN IN PICTURES
Harlow Town were the visitors on Halloween, making for a very special night at the Pan. Pictures by James Boyes
STODGEBUSTERS ON TOUR
Our burger brigade recount our last away trip in the FA Trophy to Ashford Town
So, it was FA Trophy day. Of course that means Lewes being away again. All these away games are causing havoc with our pensions. PJ reckons his holiday in the Seychelles might have to be trimmed to three weeks instead of a month.
With there being the horrendous rail replacement bus service from Lewes to Three Bridges operating again we decided to give that a swerve and take the scenic route by catching the 9.33 from Uckfield to London Bridge with PJ picking up everyone at 9am in Lewes in his Rookmobile.
The first problem of the day was buying tickets. What a shambles. The ticket office was closed and there was a queue a mile long for the single ticket machine with the train departure imminent. Â To hell with that. We got on board and would find the guard.
We settled down at a table and out came the sweets. This week we had a selection of Strawberry Bonbons, boiled fruit drops or the classic Swizzells Double Lollies.
The poor train guard. He was inundated with people trying to buy tickets. Worse still, the phone signal on that line is very sketchy so his card machine didn’t work very well which added to everyone’s frustration. A full hour out of Uckfield, Malcolm strolled along the train to find him to buy our tickets with a fistful of dollars tenners.
The next step was to get down to London Bridge underground station, a short walk past The Shard which entailed avoiding something quite gross that some guy was doing up against the wall. Nice. Welcome to London.
It was Jubilee line and standing room only to Green Park and then Piccadilly line to Hounslow Central where the selected premises for our lunch was situated. One comical aspect of all this was that it was only PJ’s ticket that actually worked in all the automatic barriers. Roly, Malcolm and Gary caused chaos when their tickets were rejected almost everywhere and they had to find a human to let them through.
Gary the Badge had researched the refreshments this week. It was pretty thin pickings in that area but Cafe Venezia looked promising. It was slightly more upmarket than the greasy spoons we usually frequent but they did a Full English which looked quite good on the menu. Malcolm let the side down by plumping for salad. That could easily have been a yellow card offence but we let him off. In fact the breakfast was a little disappointing. The sausages and toast were excellent but the late arriving bacon wasn’t. That and warmish beans meant a 5 out of 10 from PJ.
After lunch it was back on the Piccadilly Line (after more ticket barrier chaos) and onwards to Hatton Cross where we would join our fourth different mode of transport for the day in the form of a 203 bus destined for Staines. It was then on foot for ten minutes down Long Lane, and then into Short Lane to the ground and the warmth of the bar.
We hadn’t been to Ashford for quite a few years but we didn’t think it had changed much. It’s not the most scenic of grounds with huge aircraft fuel tanks and barbed wire behind one goal but it gives a good view of the game. The pitch looked shocking. Very bobbly, with lots of bare patches. It would not help our slick polished passing game. It reminded us of Potters Bar a couple of weeks earlier and what happened there. Something we had been trying to forget.
The weather had changed. The Indian summer was over. This was the first game of the season which would be played in proper football weather. In other words, freezing cold. Gary the Post had obviously rushed off after his final delivery in the Cliffe as he hadn’t changed out of his postman’s uniform. He turned up still wearing his shorts! These postmen are made of stern stuff. PJ thought he had been smart and had looked out a pair of gloves from home. He should have looked harder as he had actually brought two left hands, much to everyone’s amusement.
It’s fair to say the game wasn’t a classic. Nothing much happened early on.  The hosts took the lead in the 25th minute when a free-kick somehow reached the far post and was turned into the net. This woke Lewes up a little but still went in at half time one down.
The introduction of Marcus Elliott and Sam Karl made Lewes more dangerous and helped turn the game around. One of the talking points would be Omarr’s equalising goal. Was it a cross or a shot? Frankly, we didn’t care. The ball sailed over the head of the keeper and dipped just under the bar into the corner of the net much to our delight.
With six minutes to go it looked like yet another replay, but the Rooks hadn’t finished. Jonte got a high boot in the face just outside the area. While he was waiting to come back on Declan Appau took the free kick and superbly curled it around the wall and into the net from 25 yards. Deep joy. And that was it. 2-1, into the hat on Monday and £3,000 richer.
After some warm applause it was time to get the cold legs working again and get back to the bus stop for the reverse journey home, and another battle with all the automatic barriers for some of us.
SPONSOR A LEWES FC PLAYER
It costs only ÂŁ50 to sponsor a player or manager for home or away Kit. ÂŁ25 for training kit and boots. All funds raised go to Lewes FC Supporters Club, helping to fund Lewes FC throughout the season.
Contact: david.arnold@me.com or see David or Barbara on match days.
DARREN FREEMAN
HOME: REG FREEMAN
AWAY: DAVE LAMB
ROSS STANDEN
HOME: DAVID & BARBARA ARNOLD
AWAY: CATHY FELTHAM
STEVE BRINKHURST
HOME: RON PIDGEON
AWAY:
TRAINING KIT & BOOTHS: ETHEL TREAGUS
FRANKIE CHAPPELL
HOME: ED BRIGGS
AWAY: ED BRIGGS
TRAINING KIT & BOOTS:Â ED BRIGGS
NICO COTTON
HOME: JAMES BRIGGS
AWAY: JAMES BRIGGS
TRAINING KIT & BOOTS: JAMES BRIGGS
JAMES HAMMOND
HOME: ROOK, CANNON AND HORSE ASSOCIATES LTD
AWAY:
LUKE BLEWDEN
HOME: SUSIE ARLETT
AWAY:
TRAINING KIT & BOOTS: SUSIE ARLETT
LLOYD COTTON:
HOME: STUART FULLER
AWAY: STUART FULLER
TRAINING KIT & BOOTS: STUART FULLER
BILLY MEDLOCK
HOME: DAVE LAMB
AWAY: DAVE LAMB
HARRY REED
HOME: ANDY ROSSITTER
AWAY:
TRAINING KIT & BOOTS:
LEWIS CAREY
HOME: DAVID & BARBARA ARNOLD
AWAY:
TRAINING KIT & BOOTS:
RONNIE CONLON
HOME: NEIL FINNEY
AWAY:
TRAINING KIT & BOOTS: SUSIE ARLETT
JONTE SMITH
HOME: BARRY HAFFENDEN
AWAY: JASON FOULKES
TRAINING KIT & BOOTS:
OMARR LAWSON
HOME: TONY HARMAN
AWAY: YEOVIL JOHN
MICHAEL DOME-BEMWIN
HOME: DAVE EVANS
LEON REDWOOD
HOME: WILL & COLIN KEMP
STILL AVAILABLE FOR SPONSORSHIP: Stacey Freeman, Alex Malins, Ronnie Conlon or any player of your choice.
TODAY’S TEAMS
LEWES
| LEWIS CAREY | 1 |
| STEVEN BRINKHURST | 2 |
| HENRI WILDER | 3 |
| MICHAEL DOME-BEMWIN | 4 |
| FRANKIE CHAPPELL © | 5 |
| STACEY FREEMAN | 6 |
| LUKE BLEWDEN | 7 |
| JAMES HAMMOND
JONTE SMITH |
8
9 |
| RONNIE CONLON | 10 |
| OMARR LAWSON | 11 |
| Â | |
| THOMAS DAY | 12 |
| HARRY REED | 14 |
| DECLAN APPAU | 15 |
| DYLAN GIFFORD | 16 |
| MARCUS ELLIOTT | 17 |
MERTHYR TOWN
| 1 | JOE PERRY |
| 2 | ADAM DAVIES © |
| 3 | CONNOR YOUNG |
| 4 | MATT HARRIS |
| 5 | JARRAD WRIGHT |
| 6 | CRAIG MCDONNELL |
| 7 | OWAIN JONES |
| 8
9 |
LEE LUCAS
TOM MEECHAN |
| 10 | KIERAN LEWIS |
| 11 | IAN TRAYLOR |
| Â | |
| 12 | KYLE PATTEN |
| 17 | JOE HUNT |
| 15 | COREY JENKINS |
| 16 | GAVIN WILLIAMS |
| 14 | RYAN PROSSSER |
FORTHCOMING FIXTURES
| Opponents | H/A | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Haringey Borough | H | Sat 17th November, 3pm |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | H | Weds 21st November, 7:45pm |
| Merstham | A | Sat 24th November, 3pm |
| Leatherhead | H | Sat 1st December, 3pm |
Full season fixtures, results and stats embedded below
Credits and legal info
The Bostik League strongly support recent FA statements that there should be a zero tolerance approach against racism and all forms of discrimination. Accordingly, any form of discriminatory abuse, whether it be based on race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, faith, age, ability or any other form of abuse will be reported to The Football Association for action by that Association. (The FA 0800 085 0508/Kick It Out 020 7253 0162)
Lewes 2000 FC Limited. Registered in England and Wales with Company Registration Number 03790979.
Honorary President Terry Parris
Chairman Stuart Fuller
Directors
Charlie Dobres, Eddie Ramsden, Stuart Fuller, John Peel, Barry Collins, Jackie Gilligan, Ed Briggs, Jon Ruben, Roger Warner, Galia Orme
Club Secretary Barry Collins
Youth Secretary Kevin Brook
Operations Manager Duncan Thompson
Life Members
Mr and Mrs Brook, Vic Blunt, Pat Dartnell, Gary Elphick, Gordon Fowlie, Peter Hiscox, Billy Nixon, Derrick Parris, Terry Parris, Jimmy Quinn, P. Swaysland, Steve Ibbitson, Jason Hopkinson, Steve White, Martin Elliot, Kevin Fingerneissl, Kevin Powell, David and Barbara
Arnold, Roger and Cathy Feltham, Ethel Treagus, Roy Dartnell RIP, Ron Moore, Derek Southouse, Ray Smith, Ken Carter
Manager Darren Freeman
Assistant Manager Ross Standen
First Team Coach Tony Coade
Physiotherapists Paul Baskin & Debbie Adams
Performance Analyst Matthew Strong
Development Squad Manager Steve Eke
Development Squad coach Luke Carter
Development Squad/Under-18s sports therapist Chris Dumbrell
Under-18s Manager Dale Hurley
Under-18s Assistant Manager Craig Stevens
Under-18s coaches Jake Legrange and Johnny Buggy
Golden Rook Rob Read
Web Editor Stuart Fuller
Progcast Editors Paul Sheppard and Duncan Thompson
Progcast Designer Barry Collins
Club Photographer James Boyes