Welcome to The Dripping Pan for today’s Bostik Premier League game with Leatherhead. Here is your complimentary e-programme. 

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CONTENTS

Click on the link below to jump straight to that section

Darren from the Dugout

Today’s match music

Chairman’s Notes

Join the Lewes FC vets

Fill the food banks at Lewes FC

It’s the volunteers wot won it!

Recent match review

Order your Rooks Christmas jumpers!

Today’s opponents

Let’s talk about… goalkeeper Dick Roose

Get your badges online or at the back of the Philcox

Boyesy behind the lens

Sponsor a Lewes FC player

Stodgebusters on tour

Today’s teams

Upcoming fixtures

Credits and legal info


DARREN FROM THE DUGOUT

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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.


JOIN THE LEWES FC VETS!


CHAIRMAN’S NOTES

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Good afternoon and welcome back to the Dripping Pan for the fourth consecutive Saturday! I’d like to welcome our guests today from Leatherhead and hope they enjoy our hospitality off the pitch. The last time the two teams met here at The Pan it ended in a seven-goal thriller, six of which were scored before the break – let’s hope for something similar today, albeit a different result from that game which saw The Tanners take all the points.

Talking of thrillers I’d like to thank the 25 or so Rooks fans who made the trip to Hemel Hempstead Town on Tuesday night and saw us lose a close cup tie 3-2. That was our 11th cup game this season and apart from the thirty minutes at Bath City, I think we have competed in every single one of them. To only lose to teams playing at a higher level than us is a great achievement and for those in the ground on Tuesday it was gutting not to take the game to extra-time. I hate knocking the officials but I’d love to find anyone who was there on Tuesday who understood why the assistant referee called out James Hammond in the lead up to Hemel’s third goal.

The first game against Hemel certainly had a Hollywood ending with Lewis Carey almost scoring and then Jonte’s superb flick to level the scores in the third minute of injury time. We’ve had some great performances in the past couple of years but for me that final five minutes when we laid siege to their goal was up there with the best.

Now our cup campaigns are over we can concentrate on the league. We’ve lost a couple of our last Bostik League games to teams who, at the time, were below us but such is the nature of the league those sides, Kingstonian and Haringey Borough have been on superb runs and are now in and around the play-offs themselves. We have games in hand and with six games in the next 18 days, it will be a hectic run up to Christmas, but one that could see ourselves get back into contention in the top six of the table. We will also not have to worry about changing our side too much with players being cup-tied, and with some of our walking wounded returning to near fitness.

One interesting story that caught my eye this week was the sacking of Gary Alexander at Ashford United. They had been on a decent run and had just beaten Herne Bay 4-1 but, according to reports, Gary found out he had been relieved of his duties by text as he prepared to watch Match of the Day in bed. I’m not sure I totally believe the whole story here, that the club tried persistently to call him post-match to discuss his situation but his phone was off. Knowing Darren as I do, his phone is never off, win, lose or draw!

Tomorrow our Women’s side face their biggest ever league match, if not any match, when Manchester United come to The Dripping Pan. Pre-sales for the game have been impressive and we will see a record attendance for a Women’s game without a doubt so, if you are thinking of attending, then remember to either buy your ticket online or get to the ground early. Good luck to the team and thank you to everyone who is volunteering their time to make sure the whole day passes without a hitch.

Come on you Rooks!

Stuart


FILL THE FOOD BANKS AT LEWES FC

Food bank

Lewes Football Club is asking fans to bring along food items to donate to local food banks to the games on the weekend of 1st and 2nd December.

It’s estimated approximately 14 million people in the UK currently live in poverty and Food Banks are critical service for people simply to survive. Food Banks use is wide-ranging and includes those on low income, victims of domestic abuse, lone parents and those unable to work because o fphysical or mental disability.

The Club would be extremely grateful for any donations our fans are able to support its local community.

In particular, the food banks would welcome donations by supporters of the following items (more urgently needed in bold):

– Rice/pasta/noodles/couscous

– Tinned veg – potatoes, carrots, peas, green beans, etc

– Baked beans, tinned spaghetti

– Tinned meat – meatballs, curry, chilli con carne, corned beef etc

– Tinned fish – tuna, salmon, mackerel etc

– Tinned soup

– Pasta sauces

– Cereal

– Long life milk

– Cereal bars/fruit bars

– Tinned fruit, custard, rice pudding

LewesFC has been supporting Emily Clarke’s #241forFoodBanks campaign since it launched here at The Dripping Pan in December 2016. The incredible Rooks fans, as well as visiting fans from other clubs, have donated more than 1,600 items at Christmas collections since then, which all go directly to the three food banks in Lewes, supporting families in crisis.

Emily started the appeal for two reasons, to raise awareness of the hidden food poverty in what is perceived to be an affluent area in the south east and to boost donations to local food banks. #241forFoodBanks encourages shoppers to donate the free item from their supermarket 2 for 1 deal to their local food bank. Since the launch, Emily has given talks at the local primary school and they now have a 241 collection day every term. Local businesses have had in-store collections and Lewes Labour has a hugely successful regular collection at its public events.

Since2016, there has been a notable rise in the use of food banks in our town. There are now over 240 people relying on 3 food banks to nourish themselves and their families across our town. Nationally, there has been a worrying increase in food bank use and rent arrears in areas where Universal Credit has been introduced. Shockingly, nearby Hastings has reported a 75% increase in food bank use since Universal Credit rolled out there.

Emily, who works for a charity in Brighton supporting young people at risk of homelessness, has this year trained 15 volunteers to offer support to people with their Universal Credit claims. The volunteers are from a variety of backgrounds including food bank managers, councillors, tenants’ and residents’ associations. They are able to offer a confidential space, a secure laptop and internet connection and some guidance on filling out the daunting online application form.

While the causes of food poverty can be put down to a variety of reasons, including the disparity between wages and living costs, long term illness and disability, unemployment or unstable employment and welfare reform, the support and intervention in the community to help our neighbours who are struggling is ever more important.

On Sunday, Lewes FC will be playing Manchester United in an historic game. Not only is this a huge match for our women’s team and the Equality FC campaign, it’s a fantastic opportunity for a community football club to spread the word and offer our support once again to an urgent community response to poverty in our town. On behalf of the Club and Emily, thank you for your support.


IT’S THE VOLUNTEERS WOT WON IT

Director John Peel on a great night for the club’s volunteers

As you may have read in the Brighton & Hove Albion programme, the club was nominated as a finalist in the BBC Sussex and BBC Surrey Community Heroes Awards 2018 in the Sport Category.

The Awards were held on 26 November in one of the many non-descript hotels that populate Crawley and the Club were represented by Barry Haffenden, kitted out in a resplendent flamingo shirt, Ash Head (better known as Rookmeister), Rosy Matheson and myself.

We were honoured to be chosen as winners of the Award, not least as it provides something tangible to recognise the scale of effort put in by our 80+ volunteers across the Club. To give an indication of the wide variety of people involved on a volunteer and sometimes daily basis, the roles fulfilled include: turnstiles operation, raffle ticket sellers, bar staff, programme editors, club shop, repairs and maintenance, photographers, hospitality, club secretaries, pitch maintenance, coaches across the youth set-up, physios, fundraisers, press officers and many more. On behalf of the Club, we are indebted to you all and cannot thank you enough for the time you give.

There will be a short presentation of the BBC Award on the pitch a half-time and I hope you will be there to help recognise their achievement.


ROOKS CHRISTMAS JUMPERS… IN STOCK NOW!

Are you looking for a Christmas jumper for the office Christmas party? Look no further than the Club Shop, where we now have Rooks Christmas jumpers in stockings, sorry, in stock.

Stocks are limited so make sure you visit the Club Shop online and place your order or visit the club shop at the back of the Philcox stand. The jumpers are £30 each.


RECENT MATCH REVIEW

Lewes 2 vs Hemel Hempstead Town 2, FA Trophy, Sat 24th November

A delicious last-minute comeback secured a replay for the Rooks, although we couldn’t quite pull it off again on Tuesday night, suffering a narrow 3-2 defeat. Here are last Saturday’s match highlights and Darren Freeman’s reaction.


Bostik League sponsors


TODAY’S OPPONENTS: LEATHERHEAD

The modern Leatherhead Football Club was formed by the merger of Leatherhead Rose and Leatherhead United in 1946, moving into United’s Fetcham Grove ground – their current home – and joining the Surrey Senior League.

Leatherhead won the Surrey Senior League four times in a row, joined the Metropolitan and District League in 1950, and were founder members of the Delphian League in 1951. After seven seasons they moved on to the Corinthian League, and were its last champions in 1963 before joining the the expanded Athenian League. They won Division One in their first season to gain promotion to the Premier Division and inaugurated their floodlights in a match against Fulham (who fielded a side that included George Cohen, Alan Mullery, Bobby Robson and Johnny Haynes). Leatherhead joined the Isthmian League in 1972.

In the 1974-5 season Leatherhead enjoyed a famous FA Cup run, dispatching Colchester United 1-0 in round two, while ‘Leatherhead Lip’ Chris Kelly’s goal defeated Peter Taylor’s Brighton and Hove Albion at the Goldstone Ground in round three. Leatherhead conceded home advantage to Leicester City in round four, and led 2-0 before bowing out 2-3. In subsequent years Leatherhead enjoyed further cup success against Football League opposition, beating Ron Atkinson’s Cambridge United and Northampton Town at the Grove. In 1978, Leatherhead reached the final of the FA Trophy, losing 1-3 to Altrincham at Wembley.

In the League Leatherhead suffered relegation in 1983 and 1990, climbing back to Division One in 1997 only to be relegated again in 2001. A year later league reorganisation placed them in Division One South. Mick Sullivan led them to a fifth-place finish in 2010, suffering play-off defeat but winning the Isthmian League Cup. A year later Leatherhead beat Dulwich Hamlet 4-3 in a play-off final that went to extra-time, gaining promotion to the Premier Division for the first time since 1983, but were relegated again the following season.

A third-place finish in 2014 and play-off success against Guernsey and Folkestone Invicta – the final decided on penalties – saw Leatherhead return to the Premier Division. Jimmy Bullard was briefly manager during the 2016-17 season, to be replaced last season by Sammy Moore who took Leatherhead to their highest placing in recent years, just missing out on a play-off spot on goal difference. He moved on to Concord Rangers in the summer and was succeeded by Nikki Bull. After an indifferent start to the season Leatherhead recently went on a run of four straight league wins to climb to twelfth in the table, all the more impressive as this included victories over high-flying Kingstonian, Enfield Town and Tonbridge Angels. However, their winning streak came to an end with a 1-2 defeat at home to Corinthian Casuals on Wednesday night.

MEET THE SQUAD

Nikki Bull – Player/manager
Former Wycombe, Aldershot, and Margate goalkeeper Nikki Bull was appointed in May 2018 in the player/manager role. Nikki made nearly 400 appearances in total for Aldershot, and then Wycombe Wanderers, before dropping into non league with Margate, where he also had a spell as manager during their stay in the National League South.

Zaki Oualah – Goalkeeper
Zali recently returned to the Tanners on dual registration from Aldershot Town after spells with Hayes & Yeading and Hendon.

Will Salmon – Defender
Will is a right-back who began his career with Aldershot before moving to AFC Wimbledon. He went on to Ebbsfleet United in the Conference Premier, and amongst others he has also represented AFC Telford, Bath City, Woking, and Met Police. Will signed for Tanners in May 2018.

Crossley Lema – Defender
Crossley came through the Sutton Utd youth ranks and made his debut for Sutton in the Surrey Senior Cup in 2016. The 19 year old full back signed on dual registration in the summer.

Charlie Wassmer – Defender
Charlie is on a one month loan from National League South neighbours Woking.

Jerry Nnamani – Defender
Jerry is described as solid at the back and great in the air. He has previously represented Bromley, Crystal Palace, and Sittingbourne, and at 26 years-old Jerry is already a Tanners legend having made over 300 appearances since 2011.

Will Seager – Midfielder
Will is a young midfielder out of theTanners Academy side who made his first start in a County Cup win over Kingstonian in February this year.

Dan Gallagher – Midfielder
Dan is a 21 year-old midfielder who made his Football League debut for Wimbledon in April 2015. He had been part of their Academy since the age of 10, and after a loan spell at Kingstonian he signed for Tanners in the summer of 2017.

D’Sean Theobald – Midfielder
Originally signed midway through 2016/17 season by Jimmy Bullard, the young midfielder has recently returned for his third spell with the club after spells training with QPR. He has also played for Concord Rangers, Aylesbury Utd, Redbridge and Barkingside.

Jerry Amoo – Midfielder
Jerry is a 21 year-old winger, a former West Ham youngster who was Kings Langley’s player of the year in 2017. He has also had spells at Kingstonian and Hemel Hempstead. Signed for Chelmsford in the summer and has joined on a dual registration basis.

Travis Gregory – Midfielder
Travis started his career with Chelsea and Glasgow Rangers academies. He is a midfielder who gets goals, and has also played for Greenwich Borough, East Grinstead Town and Beckenham Town.

Alex Cooper – Midfielder
Alex is a young man who came through Tanners youth ranks and recently made his senior debut in the Velocity Trophy tie against Worthing.

John Ufuah – Midfielder
John is a young man who came through the Dartford Academy system and made his Tanners debut in August.

Robbie Mundow – Midfielder
Robbie is a young midfielder who started with Tanners Under 21’s before making over 50 appearances during a two-year spell with Guildford City. He rejoined the Tanners in September 2018.

Bobby Cullen – Midfielder/Forward
Bobby made his senior debut for Jubilo Iwata in May 2004 in the J League and went on to represent Japan U20’s. After 6 years in Japanese football Bobby spent three years playing for VVV-Venlo in the Eredivisie. He has since played professional football in Thailand, South Korea and more recently for North East Utd in the Indian Super League.

Shaun Okojie – Forward
The 22 year-old 6’3’” striker’s goal scoring exploits saw him move up the pyramid and sign for National League Aldershot Town. Shaun’s appearances at the Shots were mainly from the bench and, after loans with Wealdstone, and Eastbourne Borough, he signed for the Tanners in May 2018.

Elliot Benyon – Forward
Elliot is an experienced striker with a proven goal scoring record. His previous clubs include Torquay Utd, Southend Utd, Hayes and Yeading, Wealdstone and most recently Whitehawk. He joined the Tanners in the summer.

Antonio Dembele – Forward
Antonio made his senior debut at the end of last season. He is a young striker who graduated from Leatherhead’s Youth team.

Ibrahim Olutade – Forward
Young striker ‘Ibz’signed from Hanwell Town in October after impressing for his former club in the FA Cup against Tanners.

 


LET’S TALK ABOUT… GOALKEEPER DICK ROOSE

Programme editor Paul Sheppard on the keeper who met a tragic end 

Leigh Richmond Roose, or Dick as he was known by name and nature, seems to have had a rare ole time up to his tragic demise on the Somme in 1916*. He was feted first as a “goalie,” (goalie is an old-fashioned term for ‘keeper) then as a lover in the world of showbiz, and finally as a soldier.

Born in 1879, Dick was the son of a Presbyterian minister in Wrexham, North Wales, who developed his love of football in the school playground. Later on he found he excelled in goal, when goalkeeping was a vastly different ball game to nowadays. With his robust physique, six feet tall at 16, Dick used his strength to great effect at a time when damaging opposing players was within a goalie’s remit.

History records Dick as a born show-off, or showman in today’s parlance. He would take the field bowing to all four corners, swing from and even sit watching the game from atop the crossbar when play allowed, or prowl his area chanting to himself and swinging his arms.

Dick’s career evidently took off keeping goal for his university team at Aberystwyth where he was studying medicine. Crowds, including scores of female admirers, were attracted to watch the antics of the goalie who punched the ball as far as most players could kick it, and punched heads as well. The man began to relish his growing reputation.

Dick moved to London to pursue his medical career and intending to keep goal for London Welsh FC. However, his football plans were overtaken when he was nabbed by Stoke City, where his eccentric celebrity grew. Dick continued to live in London, remaining an amateur player, with the “expenses” he was awarded more than supplementing his medical studies, whilst also sustaining him as a “man-about-town”. Dick was seen in those places to be seen accompanied by beautiful women, and became the lover of Marie Lloyd, a star of the music hall and household name of those times.

Dick won his first Wales call-up in 1900. He was named, via a Daily Mail reader’s vote, in a football World X1, and was probably the first footballer to pen a sports column.

 

After 81 games for Stoke the reasons are unclear why, at 26, Dick announced his retirement from the game, but was most likely to do with his ambition to become a doctor. Retirement didn’t last. He must have missed the celebrity status. Dick soon rejoined football with Everton.

After just 18 games with Everton, Dick rejoined Stoke where he played another 66 games before moving on to Sunderland where he made 92 appearances between 1908-1910.

Dick took full advantage of the rules of the day that allowed goalkeepers to handle the ball anywhere in their own half; some claimed that the new laws of 1912, forbidding goalies to handle outside the penalty area, was directly due to the flamboyant Dick Roose who enjoyed taking part in attacks. We can read that in his first international, Dick sprinted from his area and shoulder-charged an Irish winger on the far touchline, bundling him out of play and knocking him unconscious. According to one biographer, the Welshman “enjoyed taunting experienced international forwards, some of whom felt the full force of his fist in goalmouth melees.”

Dick also played for Huddersfield Town, Aston Villa, and Woolwich Arsenal before his retirement in 1912. Other than his 22 caps with Wales there were no major honours won despite a few near misses. In his own words: “To a goalkeeper alone is the true delight of goalkeeping known. He must be an instinctive lover of the game, otherwise goalkeeping will take it out of a man if he is not devoted to it” (Association Football and the Men Who Made It, 1906).

*LR Roose met his death, aged 38, towards the end of the Battle of the Somme. His body was never recovered, and his name appears on the Thiepval memorial to the missing. He won the Military Medal for “bravery in battle on land”.


GET YOUR BADGES ONLINE OR AT THE BACK OF THE PHILCOX!

Lewes FC is blessed to have a pair of great badge sellers, and now you can buy online as well as in person at The Dripping Pan.

Badgeman Brian has a website selling rare Rooks badges and badges from other clubs. If you’re missing something from your collection, pay a visit to Skoorbadges.

If you’re more of a bricks-and-mortar badger, than Gary Blaber’s huge range of badges can be seen at the top of the main Philcox stand, just as you enter the ground. Brian and Gary both make generous donations to the 12th Man Fund from the profits they make, so you’re helping the club while building your collection.


BOYESY BEHIND THE LENS

James Boyes’ brilliant photos from our last league match versus Haringey Borough.

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Lewis – and the Philcox – see an early chance wide
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Blewden blows an early chance… and he knows it
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What has Brinky done to that lad?
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The captain takes charge
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The kids are alright
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Omarr tears up the pitch…
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…but misses his moment in the sun
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A very dubious penalty is awarded
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But there’s no such luck for Jonte at the other end
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Was the keeper pleased to win it? What do you think?

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It costs only £50 to sponsor a player or manager for home or away Kit. £25 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:  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: LUCAS WARNER
TRAINING KIT & BOOTS: LUCAS WARNER

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

STACEY FREEMAN
HOME: ROGER WARNER
AWAY: ROGER WARNER
TRAINING KIT & BOOTS: ROGER WARNER

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: LUCAS WARNER
TRAINING KIT & BOOTS: SUSIE ARLETT

JONTE SMITH
HOME: BARRY HAFFENDEN
AWAY: JASON FOULKES
TRAINING KIT & BOOTS: LUCAS WARNER

OMARR LAWSON
HOME: TONY HARMAN
AWAY: YEOVIL JOHN

MICHAEL DOME-BEMWIN
HOME: DAVE EVANS

LEON REDWOOD
HOME: WILL & COLIN KEMP

If you wish to sponsor a player, contact David Arnold at the Supporters Club.


STODGEBUSTERS ON TOUR

We were ecstatic immediately after Jonte’s dramatic last gasp equaliser at The Pan the previous Saturday. Those kind of moments are partly why we love watching our team. But it didn’t take long for the realisation to set in that it would mean another midweek cup replay, this time away at Hemel Hempstead and the horrors of midweek evening travel. None of us really knew exactly where it was except that it was north of London somewhere.

Only Gary had been there before and that had been a long, long time ago. Just after the war probably. A bit of Googling and a bit of Trainline’ing showed us that trains would not be a viable option. The station was a taxi ride away, and even if everything went smoothly we wouldn’t get back to Lewes until 01.20. Even worse, supposing it went to extra time and penalties? We could end up sleeping on a bench at Victoria. No thanks. Not even for the Rooks.

We couldn’t get a lift for 4 of us so it came down to PJ having to get his old Galaxy dusted down again and prepared for a 190 mile round trip. The first time it ferried Rooks fans to a game was away at Gloucester City for a Trophy game way back in 2001. It’s fair to say that it’s done well.

Matchday. Whilst driving all that way in the dark would not be much fun (the M25 at rush hour never is) it was to be made much worse by rain. Malcolm wimped out in the morning. That is another yellow card and probably a disciplinary hearing with a view to a fine and possible suspension. Although we are always open to the idea of a plea bargain if he gets the drinks in next time. Yes, we are easily bribed. So Roly and Gary the Badge were picked up at Tescos by PJ at 4.15 for the adventure northwards. Three and a half hours to get there would be plenty of time. The sat-nav reckoned we would be there at ten past six. There would be plenty of time for a drink and to try out the food.

It all went swimmingly until approaching Heathrow. It’s always slow there but this time it was ridiculous. We crawled along for what seemed like forever. On our right we saw that Rooks minibus was caught up in it too. There was no way the players on board would be there for their expected time. Our arrival time on the satnav ticked on relentlessly, and by the time we got moving properly again it reckoned on a quarter past seven. We had lost over an hour of our lives on that damned motorway.

We quickly found a parking spot in a side road and moved very swiftly into the ground. We then moved extremely swiftly towards the Gentlemens facilities. Usain Bolt would have been left in our wake. Three hours in a car is a long time at our age.

It was time for the important stuff. Food. The catering wagon at Hemel was probably one of the best we have seen on our travels. It was easily twice the size of the one at the Pan and was well manned. The range of food available was most impressive. PJ went for just a tray of chips which were excellent. Roly had a jumbo sausage and chips and Gary the Badge plumped for burger and chips. All this was served up very quickly and was of very good quality. We gave it 8.5 on the Stodgebuster Scale.

It’s not a bad ground at Hemel. There’s plenty of cover each end and a decent view wherever one stands. They do have the dreaded seats behind one goal but no one seemed interested in making us sit down in them.

Kick off was delayed to 8pm due to the late arrival.  This would be a tough game. Lewes would have to emulate the heroics of Saturday and a bit more to get a win here. Unsurprisingly we were down to the hardcore supporters for this one. A couple of dozen Rooks supporters had made it in an attendance of a paltry 137. What a pathetic attendance for a National South team going well in their league.

We figured that Hemel would come out fast and that we needed to keep them out early. Sure enough they came out at breakneck speed. Even when they didn’t have the ball they pressed the man in possession very quickly and forced errors. There was only one team in it early on. Lewis Carey was very busy and made some great stops. The woodwork came to the rescue a couple of times but inevitably the pressure told. Two good strikes put the home team two up after about half an hour and things looked a bit grim. Not so long ago that would have been it. Game over. But this team is made of sterner stuff and we never lose hope. Sam Karl pulled a goal back against the run of play and the candle of hope suddenly flickered a lot brighter. Two-one down at half time. We were happy with that as it could easily have been five.

We really didn’t need Hemel to get the next goal. Unfortunately they did thanks to a rubbish decision to give Hemel a free kick for a foul-that-never-was wide on their right. In came the ball and found its way inside the near post thanks to a deflection. But soon a Harry Reed shot was turned into his own net by a home defender. It was game on again. Lewes were on top now and launched attack after attack but couldn’t force another equaliser, while the home side ran down the clock by wasting as much time as possible.

So that was it for cups again for another season. We weren’t too disappointed though. Hemel deserved it, but the lads had once again done us proud, put in 100%, played well and pushed a good higher league team all the way. We could ask no more and applauded them from the field. Then it was back home for a midnight cocoa.

Next up for the Stodgebusters: Bishops Stortford


TODAY’S TEAMS

Teams will be published here when announced…

 

 


FORTHCOMING FIXTURES

Opponents H/A Date
Corinthian Casuals H Weds 5th December, 7:45pm
Bishop’s Stortford A Sat 8th December, 3pm
Brightlingsea Regent H Weds 12th December, 7:45pm
Margate H Sat 15th 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