Sunday 13th March 2022 – 14:00 – FA Women’s Championship
Welcome to The Dripping Pan for today’s FA Women’s Championship game with Crystal Palace. Here is your complimentary e-programme.
Manager’s Thoughts
In training the players have been fantastic. They’ve typically brought lots of energy and quality to the sessions.
We’ve played Palace a couple of times already this season. The first half against Palace in the league a few weeks ago was extremely positive – we were on the front foot, created lots of chances and took one through Amelia. But we weren’t able to replicate that in the second half, which was disappointing for us.
The performance was a decent one but the three goals we conceded were extremely disappointing. We’ve addressed that and we’ve realised there were some individual errors within them – but we move on with positivity.
We’re looking forward to Sunday’s game and playing once again in front of our great supporters at the Dripping Pan, with the band there as well! And that goes not only for the Palace game but the others we’ve got here remaining in the league.
COME ON YOU ROOKS!
Notes from the Big Chair…
Good afternoon and welcome back to the Dripping Pan for our second of three consecutive home games. We’ve had plenty of great games against our opponents Crystal Palace over the last few years and we are always pleased to welcome them here.
Last Sunday’s defeat to Bristol City was disappointing and the 3-0 scoreline flattered the visitors. The really strong wind certainly played its part in a couple of the goals but you need to play the opponents as well as the conditions.
I was delighted to see a crowd in excess of 500 last week – the amount of work that goes into growing our attendances, both on the Men’s and Women’s side is unbelievable and I’d like to thank Shrey in particular for the excellent work he does in this area. I thought our actions in remembering what is going on in Ukraine was also first class.
This week has seen the news that the UK Government has placed sanctions on a number of individuals, including Roman Abramovich, Chelsea’s owner. All of the media has been focused on the Men’s side but the action also impacts Emma Hayes’ side too who are still chasing the double. There will be a huge uncertainty within the club and it will be interesting to see how this will play out. Of course it is also a timely reminder of a major benefit of being community owned!
Enjoy the game and Come on you Rooks!
Stuart
Lewes 0-3 Bristol City. Images by James Boyes.
Last Match Highlights
BWC Collection at today’s game!
At today’s match we will be supporting one of our ‘SisterShips’ – Brighton Women’s Centre.
BWC Fundraiser Dierdre Bruce-Band visited us last week and said,
‘At the Lewes v Crystal Palace match Rooks fans can make a significant impact for women across Sussex who are struggling with suicidal thoughts as a result of the impact of trauma on their lives.
We’re raising vital funds to ensure our low-cost Women’s Counselling and Psychotherapy Service can continue to provide subsidised therapy so that women who are at the most risk – and often on low incomes – can access it.
One donation will have twice the impact.
Every donation up to £10,000 will be matched by the DCMS’ Tampon Tax Fund meaning BWC can provide specialist support to more women when they need it.
Our appeal will be live until midday on Tuesday 15th March. All donations must be made during this time in order to be matched.’
Lisa Dando, the Director of BWC said,
“94% of the women referred to therapy are at high risk of suicide, self-harming behaviours and severe isolation. They need support and they need it now…”
Thanks for putting something in the BWC buckets at the turnstiles today to help.
Congratulations to our two Players of the Month winners, chosen by our wonderful owners!
Voting is done via our Owner App – if you want to get access to the app and so many more benefits, sign up here: https://lewesfc.com/become-an-owner/
We need a 90-minute performance against Palace – Gill
Written by: Joe
Lewes FC interim boss Craig Gill says the squad is working on delivering complete performances across 90 minutes after falling short in the second half of recent games.
The Rooks sit eighth in the FA Women’s Championship and have claimed just one win in four. Defeats to Crystal Palace, Blackburn and Bristol City have all been inflicted by second-half goals.
Sunday sees Lewes host Palace at the Dripping Pan in a fixture that could lift the team into seventh place with a positive result.
And Gill reckons the hard work done in training will pay off this weekend.
“In training the players have been fantastic. They’ve typically brought lots of energy and quality to the sessions, and we’ve been working on our game model to take into the Crystal Palace game,” says Gill.
“We’ve played Palace a couple of times already this season. The first half against Palace in the league a few weeks ago was extremely positive – we were on the front foot, created lots of chances and took one through Amelia. But we weren’t able to replicate that in the second half, which was disappointing for us.
“But we’ve come up with strategies to cope with that and to ensure that we perform for the full duration of the game, and stay on that front foot throughout.”
Lewes were undone by three second-half goals in last weekend’s loss to Bristol City – a game Gill described afterwards as the cliched one of “two halves”.
And he hopes the players can produce more of the first-half display against the Robins, which was dominated by the midfield.
“We’ve analysed the Bristol City game in detail with the players, and reviewed the performances in both the first and second half,” says Gill.
“As I said after the match, it was one of two halves where I thought we dominated the first – other than one save Laura (Hartley) made from a corner, which was exceptional. Other than that I don’t think they troubled us at all in that half.
“The performance was a decent one but the three goals we conceded were extremely disappointing. We’ve addressed that and we’ve realised there were some individual errors within them – but we move on with positivity.”
What happened last time
Palace come into this clash having also lost three of their last four games – including Sunday’s 1-0 defeat at Coventry United. The other two defeats were against Bristol City and London City.
But that sole victory in this period was the tie against Lewes. The rooks had taken the lead that day during another impressive first-half performance, where Amelia Hazard’s strike at Hayes Lane was well deserved.
Goals from Bianca Baptise, Siobhan Marie Wilson and Coral-Jade Maines after the hour mark swung the game in Palace’s favour, before Tatiana Saunders was sent off in injury time.
Gill had said before that game that he wanted more energy from the team, which he got. But now it’s about stitching that together with a 90-minute performance. One issue Gill identified was Palace’s switch to 4-3-3 in the second half.
“We’re used to playing against that and it wasn’t really an issue for us, but we weren’t able to capture that intensity and quality with the ball in the second half,” the boss said a few days after the defeat.
“We could have gone 2-0 up but instead found ourselves 2-1 down, and we fought really hard to equalise but the goal didn’t come.”
Four home games remaining
Sunday’s clash will be the fourth last at the Dripping Pan before the Women’s Championship season ends. The Rooks also host Durham, Sheffield United and Liverpool before the campaign is out.
And Gill is hoping to put on a show for the fans.
“We’re looking forward to Sunday’s game and playing once again in front of our great supporters at the Dripping Pan,” says Gill.
“With the band there as well! And that goes not only for the Palace game but the others we’ve got here remaining in the league.”
Fixture Update
Our postponed home match against Durham FC will now be played on Sunday 20th March 2022. We look forward to welcoming the Wildcats to the Dripping Pan next week and tickets are on sale now!
Lewes Squad List
| 1 | Tatiana Saunders (GK) |
| 2 | Ellie Mason |
| 3 | Rhian Cleverly |
| 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 |
| 14 | Paula Howells |
| 15 | Ini Umotong |
| 16 | Izzy Collins |
| 17 | Lea Cordier |
| 18 | Rebecca McKenna |
| 19 | Kallie Balfour |
| 20 | Sophie O’Rourke |
| 22 | Josie Longhurst |
| 23 | Izzy Dalton |
| 24 | Lucy Porter |
| 27 | Zoe Cross |
| 31 | Laura Hartley (GK) |
| 32 | Shanell Salgado (GK) |
Crystal Palace Squad List
1. Chloe Morgan (GK)
2. Annabel Johnson (C)
3. Leanne Cowan
4. Leigh Nicol
5. Grace Coombs
6. Aimee Everett
7. Charley Clifford
8. Molly Sharpe
9. Millie Farrow
10. Kate Natkiel
11. Bianca Baptiste
12. Lizzie Waldie
13. Emily Orman (GK)
14. Siobhan Wilson
15. Sophie McLean
16. Gracie Pearse
17. Issy Sibley
18. Kirsty Barton
20. Hope Smith (GK)
23. Coral Haines
24. Alex Hennessy
25. Hannah Churchill
Manager: Dean Davenport
Head Coach: James Marrs
Other games this weekend around the club!
Rooks fall short against Robins
Lewes lost to serial opponents Bristol City 3-0 at the Dripping Pan on Sunday, with three goals in the second half seeing the points depart for the South West.
The match was summed up perfectly by manager Craig Gill when he said: “I thought it was a proverbial game of two halves if I’m honest.”
Proverbial it was.
“We were by far the better team in the first half, caused them some problems, certainly the ball was primarily in there in their half the pitch territorially for the first 45 minutes,” Gill added.
The Rooks had two fantastic opportunities in the first half to see the net ripple, both manufactured from brilliant team moves.
The first fell to Paula Howells who – after controlling the ball beautifully on the right before cutting inside her opponent – unleashed a dipping, swerving bullet that cannoned off the crossbar with the Bristol goalkeeper failing to get anywhere near the effort.
The second was a well-worked corner routine, where a flick-on at the near post was agonisingly put wide by Georgia Timms at the back.
As the whistle for half time went, the players were able to walk into the dressing room proud of the dominant performance they gave against the team second in the league. As Gill had said, the ball was predominantly played in the City half and the only chance that Bristol did have, a strong header from six yards out, was dynamically saved by Laura Hartley as she leapt across the goal mouth to swat away the goal-bound effort.
Difficult second half
Alas, we return to the proverb of the game of two halves.
After a strong first ten minutes after the break, City started to dominate and Ffion Morgan scored a brace before Abi Harrison got the third.
“Of course you look at the goals that we conceded, extremely disappointing really, individual errors and also not closing players down quick enough, particularly for the shots obviously,” said Gill.
“And it’s those lessons that we need to learn and I keep saying it, but we need to learn those lessons very, very, quickly individually and collectively, because otherwise we’ll end up with the same results which nobody wants, certainly not me.
“We spoke before the game about believing in our processes, believing in our playing philosophy and our game model, and I think at times today – especially in the second half – we went away from that.”
Positive planning for Palace clash
Despite the result, Gill believes the Rooks can build on that first-half performance and says he will take away positives ahead of the next clash, at home to Crystal Palace on Sunday.
“I think we need to probably play to those principles more because we know they can be successful and we can be really be effective playing to that game model and that game plan,” Craig added.
“So I think at times we need to be a little bit more disciplined, we need to be a little bit more constructive in the final third, and then when the opportunity presents obviously take our chances.”
One big positive from the game was the performance of Rebecca McKenna, who Lewes Supporters club named their player of the match, and Gill agreed her performance was one of the best.
“Rebecca McKenna’s been superb since I arrived at the football club. She has always played at that sort of level of seven or eight out of ten on a weekly basis,” Gill noted.
“She never lets anybody down, is very neat in possession, combative without the ball and is someone you can rely on, week in, week out and obviously that was evident again today.”
It may be a loss this week, but the club now looks to the next. We hope to see you at the Dripping Pan again on Sunday as we take on Crystal Palace at 2pm.
Report by Tai Kolade
Photos by James Boyes
Kelly Lindsey on the Game Changers Podcast
Massive thanks to Draper Tools for supporting our community garden work at Lewes by donating these much needed tools.
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 Coaches Jesus Cordon
PP Coach Christos Andreou
GK Coach John Macrae
Nutritionist Stefano Montanari
Physio Katrina Martin
Physiotherapist Paul Paredes
Team Psychologist Chelsea Orme
Data Analyst Adam Chilcott
General Manager Lynne Burrell
Women’s DS Head Coach Andy Corrigan
DS Assistant Coaches Rhian Cleverly and Nicola Cousins
U16 Girls Head Coach Carl Pennifold
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…
14:00 SUNDAY MARCH 20TH 2022
