Wednesday 15th December – 19:30 KO – FA WSL CUP Group Stage
Welcome to The Dripping Pan for today’s FA WSL CUP Group Stage game with Reading. Here is your complimentary e-programme.
Manager’s Thoughts
Obviously we are extremely disappointed with the result [against Bristol City] but all of our thoughts at this time are with Kallie Balfour following her injury.
We performed below the standards we set for ourselves and travelled with a very reduced squad due to player care and ensuring we did right by all concerned around Covid matters, denying us of 9 players.
However, it was a useful exercise in that we were able to utilise other players who haven’t had as much game time recently and were able to give first team debuts to Development Squad players Hannah Plumb and Ava Hutson.
We strive to consistently learn and develop ourselves and move positively together into this week with added determination to prepare for and play against Reading at home in Wednesday night’s Continental Cup match before our last league match of the year away at Crystal Palace on Sunday.
COME ON YOU ROOKS
Notes from the Big Chair…
Good evening everyone and welcome to our final game here at The Pan in 2021. I’d like to welcome our guests from Reading this tonight and hope they have a smooth journey home.
Firstly, I’d like to send my personal best wishes out to Kallie who sustained a serious injury on Sunday having only been on the pitch for a matter of minutes.
Despite all of the pressures on our NHS system at the moment, she received fast and comprehensive treatment, undergoing surgery on her knee yesterday and will be able to recover at home over Christmas and naturally we all wish her a speedy recovery. I’d also like to thank Freda who stayed with Kallie down in Bristol until she was able to safely travel back to Lewes.
Unfortunately, we had to travel to Bristol City on Sunday with a very weakened squad – due to precautions over potential COVID cases we had to isolate a number of players from our squad. We sought guidance from the FA who made it clear that we had fulfil the fixture, even with a severely depleted squad but they deemed we had to play the fixture. In the circumstances the final score became irrelevant. The annoyance of this is we know of matches (outside of the Women’s game) where clubs have been able to postpone their games where they have had more than 14 players available. One rule for one and all that.
The situation was an annoyance as we have built some momentum on the pitch, after excellent wins against Coventry United and at Sheffield United. It was also fantastic to see Lucy Ashworth-Clifford gain the accolades she deserved in winning November’s Player of the Month after some brilliant performances in recent weeks. The only shame again has been the interruptions again in the fixture calendar which disrupts some of the positive work on the training ground that Craig and his team have put in.
Enjoy the game this evening and the Christmas treats on offer. Our club shop in the bar is open from 6.30pm tonight, a final chance to grab your Rooks birthday presents and from 7:15pm the Rock Choir will be performing on the Philcox Terrace. A big welcome also to Baxter & Bailey, who played a huge part in the design and launch of our new website who will be enjoying the game from our beach huts.
Finally, I’d like to wish you all a Happy Christmas and a Fantastic New Year.
Come On You Rooks!
Stuart
THE ROCK CHOIR
Tonight on the Philcox from 7:15pm you can here the fantastic Rock Choir as they belt out some seasonal favourites.
Lewes vs Coventry United, 4-1. Images by James Boyes.
Ashworth-Clifford named FAWC November Player of the Month
Written by: Joe
Lucy Ashworth-Clifford has been named November Player of the Month in the Women’s Championship – the first Lewes FC player to earn the award.
Ashworth-Clifford scored three goals across her four appearances for the Rooks in November, including a double against Coventry United.
And she rounded off the month with a strike in the 3-1 victory at Sheffield United.
“After being out for a few months with injury, just being able to get on the pitch was good enough for me,” said Ashworth-Clifford.
“Winning this award makes all the work in rehab worth it!”
The fact the award was fan-led was even more of an achievement for Ashworth-Clifford, who believes she soon won’t be the only Rook to receive this recognition.
“It goes to show that anyone in our team has a chance and are more than capable of winning it,” she added. “We’ve got a very talented group of girls and I definitely won’t be the last player from Lewes to receive it.”
Discussing the award, Lewes FC interim manager Craig Gill said: “During that break Lucy was awarded the Player of the Month for the Women’s Championship for November.
“I think that’s a first for the club!
“Hopefully there are many more of those to follow in the future.”
THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES CHARLEY
Fan’s favourite Charley Boswell will be at the Pan tonight, saying a fond farewell to the fans after her decision to retire last month. Bos has been an absolute star for the club and we wish her well in her future career.
Last Match Highlights
LEWES SQUAD LIST
| 1 | Tatiana Saunders (GK) |
| 32 | Shanell Salgado (GK) |
| 2 | Ellie Mason |
| 3 | Rhian Cleverly (C) |
| 4 | Amelia Hazard |
| 5 | Nicola Cousins |
| 6 | Ellie Hack |
| 7 | Lucy Ashworth-Clifford |
| 8 | Ellie Noble |
| 9 | Georgia Timms |
| 10 | Freda Ayisi |
| 11 | Heidi Logan |
| 12 | Charley Boswell |
| 14 | Paula Hotwells |
| 15 | Ini Umotong |
| 18 | Rebecca McKenna |
| 19 | Kallie Balfour |
| 20 | Sophie O’Rourke |
| 23 | Izzy Dalton |
| 27 | Zoe Cross |
| 34 | Lara Miller |
READING SQUAD LIST
1. Grace Moloney
2. Faye Bryson
3. Emma Mitchell
4. Chloe Peplow
5. Gemma Evans
6. Deanne Rose
7. Jeon Ga-Eul
9. Amalie Eikeland
10. Natasha Dowie
11. Natasha Harding
12. Emma Harries
14. Deanna Cooper
19. Brooke Chaplen
21. Rhiannon Stewart
23. Rachel Rowe
27. Justine Vanhaevermaet
28. Lily Woodham
31. Bethan Roberts
Lewes win The Culture Pioneer of Inclusion Award
Lewes Football Club is a fantastic model of inclusion for their peers to follow. They have helped tackle the gender pay gap, and have introduced a number of new ideas and schemes to help achieve their goal of making women’s match-days inclusive for everyone. Their tireless efforts really impressed our judges, and saw them crowned the winner of the 2021 Culture Pioneer of Inclusion.
After becoming community-owned, Lewes Football Club (LFC) was the first football club in the world to assign equal playing budgets, raising the women’s budget to match the men’s.
Elected co-director Karen Dobres shared how LFC worked hard against the sexism that pervades sport today by welcoming unwelcome women to the game and attracting sponsors who align their message.
LFC drew attention to the gender-based prize gap in the FA Cup when the men’s team won £3.6m and the women’s team £25K. They questioned why women don’t play on the main pitch or get as much training kit, good quality coaches or decent hotels for away games. Lewes FC equal budget ensures that the women’s teams are equal to the men’s in all of these areas.
LFC’s board achieved a mandate to resource men and women players equally. Its ‘Equality FC’ campaign featured footage of girls playing hard on the pitch and a male fan asking: ‘How do you tell your daughter she’s worth less than your son?’, explaining that Lewes was doing this so that no parent in the future would have to tell their daughters they were worth less than their brothers.
It is not only funding and exposure, LFC has also taken steps to create a far more inclusive and welcoming environment for the matches themselves.
These changes have ranged from offering more diverse and vegan-friendly dining options at the stadium, to football chanting practice.
The above steps have helped to modernise the football-going experience at LFC and distance the club from the historic male-dominated, lad culture associated with football fans.
The work that LFC have put in has more than paid dividends – with attendance for the women’s matches having increased by 388% to the point that they are only marginally lower than the men’s team, who have also seen a 36% increase.
What our judges thought
“Lewes Football Club is a worthy winner of the 2021 Culture Pioneer of Inclusion Award. The board of directors tackled inclusion head-on, making it a real game-changer not just for the players but for the whole industry, by role modelling what is possible when willing to challenge the established order and mindsets.”
Shakil Butt, Culture Pioneers Judge and Founder of HR Hero for Hire
“At Lewes Football Club it’s not just talk, it’s action. One thing that stood out about Karen’s entry was that it’s a big business commitment to say the club is going to split its resources equitably amongst men and women’s football and, as a result, the gate numbers were quadrupled.”
Laura Overton, Culture Pioneers Judge, award winning industry analyst and CoFounder of Emerging Stronger
In the Beach Huts / Christmas Chalets for today’s game…
Lewes Director Karen Dobres – Many Happy Returns!
Baxter & Bailey – Designers of our amazing new website… LewesFC.com
The Lewes Rock Choir
Rooks bow out of Women’s FA Cup – Match Report
Bristol City 5-0 Lewes FC | by Tai Kolade
The Rooks were under no illusion about the difficult predicament they found themselves in as a squad of only 14 made the trip to the Robins High Performance Centre to face Bristol City in the Women’s FA Cup, due to precautionary measures related to COVID-19.
Despite the depleted squad, The Rooks put up a valiant effort to restrict Bristol City, stifling their creativity in midfield, defending bravely and making key interceptions when needed.
Up top, Ini Umotong and Freda Ayisi kept the City defence fearful at all times but it was the hosts who eventually ran out 5-0 winners.
Neither team could get on top in the opening stages. Lewes had the first chance of the game when a dangerous in-swinging corner from Lara Miller had to be clawed out from under the bar by City Keeper Fran Bentley.
Later in the half, Ayisi played a lovely one-two with Miller before she spun the defender and fired a shot from 25 yards that had Bentley worried but skewed past the post.
Goalkeeper Shanell Salgado made a number of good saves before she was eventually beaten by Abi Harrison, who had cut in on the right of the box and put the ball in the top corner, in the 29th minute.
City substitute Aggie Beever-Jones managed to lob Salgado from an acute angle early in the second half, before Harrison got her second of the game, which Salgado sadly couldn’t get a strong enough hand on to keep out. Chloe Bull bundled in their fourth before Ffion Morgan scored directly from a corner.
As we should expect though, Lewes never gave up.
Zoë Cross created a great opportunity for herself when she ran at goal, dipping a shoulder one way, then the other, causing her opposition defender all types of confusion before hitting a curled shot with her left that tried to sneak into the near post, only for Bentley to save.
Ayisi had a similar chance to Cross, feinting either way before firing a shot which Bentley could only watch bounce past her before it cannoned back off the post. Umotong then drew a fantastic save from the keeper too when she beat a defender before unleashing an arrowed effort across goal that went for a corner after the save.
A hard day at the office for the Rooks in difficult circumstances. The match finished with Laura Hartley playing outfield after Kallie Balfour sustained injury late in the game. Thoughts go out to her and we wish her a speedy recovery.
Lewes vs Reading on Wednesday
Next up for Lewes is Wednesday’s Conti Cup clash with Reading at the Dripping Pan. The game kicks off at 7:30pm on 15 December, and will be a festive special!
Mulled wine and mince pies will be the order of the day, while the fabulous Rock Choir will provide the festive vocals! Charley Boswell will also be popping back from retirement to say farewell to fans.
You can buy tickets on the door or get money off when you buy Lewes FC tickets online today!
Lewes XI: Salgado, Cousins, Hack, McKenna, Plumb, Miller, Cross, Ayisi, Logan, Howells, Umotong,
Subs: Hutson (Plumb 85’) Balfour (Howells 88’) Hartley (90’+)
FANS OF CHANGE… IT’S ABOUT BLOODY TIME!
Last week saw the start of an ongoing advertising campaign designed to push Lewes FC towards its goal of being the UK’s most-owned football club (and then the world’s). Really.
Because the more Owners Lewes FC can sign up, the bigger its platform for using football as an engine for change, in football and in the wider world. And the bigger its revenue, so it can compete on the pitch against the big clubs.
Lewes Football Club is 100% owned by single-shareholding individuals and its board members are elected from and by that group. The club currently has just under 2,000 Owners in 34 counties around the world. ANYONE, ANYWHERE can join. Including you…
The club’s message is one of democratic fan-ownership, gender equality, good football governance and no to gambling advertising in football. This has seen it attract support from football fans of many clubs, but also people with no previous interest in football.
So now the club is asking all #FansOfChange to show their support by signing up as an Owner.
The advertising campaign, created by ad agency Horse’s Mouth, is designed to convey that, though change may be happening, it isn’t really happening fast enough. It features ten different people from Lewes, ranging from players to supporters to owners to community activists and shop owners. And every ad ends with the star of the show, Roger (the groundsman). What they all have in common is their belief that, when it comes to change, in football and in the wider world… It’s About Bloody Time.
The campaign runs from Wednesday 24 November through to Christmas, across social media, in (local) cinema, on SkySports TV, in podcasts and in print. Print work has been designed by Brighton agency Baxter & Bailey who recently completed the club’s new website.
And in a show of people power, the ads will also be individually posted and spread by the club’s players, staff, Owners and fans. When you can’t afford that much paid media… be your own media network!
The Paula Howells Goal of the Season Competition rolls on…
THE PERFECT LAST MINUTE CHRISTMAS PRESENT
OWNERSHIPS IN A BOX…NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE OR FROM THE BAR
FILMING AT TODAY’S GAME
Today there may be film crews in the ground, filming on behalf of Lewes Football Club and other media organisations. The filming is usually for Lewes FC marketing purposes, to show what a match day looks/sounds like and to generally promote what we do. Lewes Football Club respectfully asks for your permission to be filmed. If you do not want to be filmed, please let the crew know directly and they will oblige. Thanks for your cooperation in helping to build a successful club.
CREDITS AND LEGAL
“The FA Women’s Championship strongly supports 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. Lewes 2000 FC Limited is 100% owned by Lewes Community Football Club.
Honorary President Terry Parris
Chair Stuart Fuller
Directors Sue Anstiss MBE (co-opted), Ed Briggs, Scott Currie, Charlie Dobres, Karen Dobres, Stuart Fuller, Lucy Mills, John Peel, Ed Ramsden, Claire Rafferty (co-opted), Sally Taplin, Trevor Wells
Chief Executive Officer Maggie Murphy
Club Secretary John Peel
Fan Engagement Officer Shrey Nilvarna
Youth Secretary Kevin Brook
Operations Manager James Barker
Equality FC Campaign Manager Karen Dobres
Life Members
Mr and Mrs Brook, Vic Blunt, Pat Dartnell, Gary Elphick, Gordon Fowlie, Peter Hiscox RIP, 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 RIP
Manager Craig Gill (interim)
Assistant Coach Jesus Cordon
Assistant Coach Ady Penrose
PP Coach Christos Andreou
GK Coach John Macrae
Nutritionist Stefano Montanari
Asst PPC Kayleigh Bonwick
Physio Katrina Martin
Physiotherapist Paul Paredes
Team Psychologist Chelsea Orme
Data Analyst Adam Chilcott
Women’s DS Head Coach David Seymour
Women’s DS Assistant Coach Kavi Luchowa
U16 Girls Head Coach Carl Penfold
U16 Girls Assistant Coach Tim Heal
U14 Girls Head Coach Rob Palmer
U14 Girls Assistant Coach Tom Young
Pathway Co-ordinator Ryan Sullivan
Golden Rook Rob Read
Web Editor Stuart Fuller
Progcast Editors Stuart Fuller and Sam Simons
Club Photographer James Boyes
NEXT UP AT THE PAN…
12:00 SUNDAY JANUARY 9TH 2022