Saturday 8th October 2022 3pm – The FA Trophy – The Dripping Pan

Welcome to The Dripping Pan for this afternoon’s FA Trophy tie against Sevenoaks Town. Here is your complimentary e-programme.

JOIN THE TEAM & BECOME AN OWNER TODAY!

NOTES FROM THE CHAIR

Good afternoon and welcome back to the Dripping Pan for this afternoon’s FA Trophy tie against Sevenoaks Town. I’d like to welcome the fans, players, management and officials from the club and hope you enjoy our hospitality. It will be good to see former Rooks Freddie Parker, Matty Weaire and Reece Gillies this afternoon. Sevenoaks are in great form, competing on all fronts, none more so that in the FA Cup where they beat Bath City last Saturday and now face National League South leaders Ebbsfleet United next weekend. We wish them all the best for that game.

The fixture gods haven’t been too kind to us in recent weeks. After a blank weekend last week, we now face seven games in three weeks, four of which are here. It is a tough ask for the squad, especially when we have some players with niggling injuries that are on the verge of being fully fit. We’ve made some personnel changes in the squad in the last few weeks, and welcome Jamie Mascoll and Johnville Renee to the squad, with both available for today. Unfortunately, Michael Klass is suspended after his red card at Billericay Town.

I still can’t believe how we didn’t win at Billericay two weeks ago, let alone grab a point. We dominated the game, even when we went down to ten men. We had two perfectly good goals ruled out, one where JT was adjudged to have pushed the keeper and the other an offside call where a defender is playing Razz on by a couple of yards. We came away from Essex knowing that we performed well though and have taken that confidence into the training sessions since.

The league so far this season shows how competitive it will be. Whilst we sit in the lower third of the table, we can go top with our games in hand. There’s already been five teams top the table and nobody yet is showing their full hand. Personally, I feel Hornchurch offer the greatest threat – they have a settled squad, an excellent manager and some financial clout behind them. It will certainly be a good test when we face them here on the 25th October.

Just a reminder that there has to be a winner today and there will be no extra time, so if the scores are level at the end of ninety minutes, it is straight to penalties.

Get behind the team and Come on you Rooks!

Stuart

TONY’S THOUGHTS

Good afternoon everyone. It’s been a couple of weeks since we played at Billericay Town which has meant we’ve got to spend a lot of time with the squad on the training ground. Going into that game we were a little bit short with injuries and then on the morning of the game we lost Tom Carlse and Will Salmon due to illness, which wasn’t ideal, combined with no Tom Champion nor Kenny Yao. Barring the first fifteen minutes when we looked sorry for ourselves I thought we were outstanding and represented the club in the way, as a squad, we spoke about. We played football the way we want to play, driving the game forward and to try to score goals.

We looked at the stats at the end of the game and had 68% possession and had 18 shots. Obviously leaving there with nothing was bitterly disappointing, especially with the two disallowed goals which on review seem very harsh decisions against us. We all felt that if we got level we would go on and win that game. Ifs, buts and maybes I know but I was really proud of the effort of the team, right up until the final seconds when Ronan’s cross was millimetres away from being converted by Jack at the far post.

Onto today’s game. I know Harry (Hudson) really well and we helped him out last season with the loan signings of Freddie, Matty and Reece to get them out of trouble and they certainly did that in the most spectacular fashion. They’ve added to their squad and have huge ambition this season to go up. They are flying at the moment, coming off the back of that FA Cup win at Bath City last weekend.

We’ve added Johnville Renee, who played against us for Bishop’s Stortford, who can play in a few positions across the park, as well as Jamie Mascoll. I gave Jamie his first taste of senior football when he was a 17-year old at Cray Wanderers and went on to play for Charlton Athletic, Bolton Wanderers and Wycombe Wanderers before heading to Wealdstone. Jamie can play left-back and left-wing.

We will also have Tom Champion back today as well, which will be great, although we have to give late fitness tests to Bradley Pritchard and Razz, who have struggled in the past few weeks. Razz is booked in for an MRI next week to see if there is an underlying problem that is causing the discomfort.

Sevenoaks play a different formation to that of many teams we face and so we’ve tried a few different ideas in training this week to counter that, which should make for a really open game today which I hope you will all enjoy.

Keep the noise up and Come On You Rooks!

Tony

LEWES 2 THREE BRIDGES 2 – SAT 17th SEPTEMBER 2022

A last-gasp equaliser from Razz Coleman De-Graft kept Lewes in the FA Cup after a 1-1 draw against Three Bridges at the Pan, reports Tom Harper.

Tony Russell made two changes to the side that lost at Horsham in their previous game, with Kenneth Yao and Tom Phipp replacing Marcel Elva-Fountaine and Ayo Olukoga in the starting line-up.

There were few chances of note early on, although Leo Anderson in the Three Bridges goal had to be alert to help an over-hit Bradley Pritchard free-kick behind.

The visitors were happy to let Lewes enjoy plenty of possession whilst posing a threat on the break, and should arguably have gone ahead through Camron Lawson, who vollied wide from close range after good build-up play down the right.

The Rooks were finding it difficult to create clear-cut opportunities against their well-organised visitors, who saw Brannon O’Neill draw a smart save from Lewis Carey as they grew in confidence.

Bridges were continuing to look dangerous going forward as the half progressed, Alex Barbary shooting just wide at the end of an incisive counter-attack.

The Rooks should arguably have gone in ahead at half-time though, as Ronan Silva shot just wide from the edge of the area, before a teasing Razz Coleman De-Graft cross from the right was turned behind by Anderson with Taylor waiting for a tap-in.

The visitors started the second half brightly, with Carey called into action to save a powerful effort from former Lewes player Keiron Pamment.

He wasn’t to be denied for long though, as he gave Bridges the lead on 54 minutes. The goal was well-worked, with another former Rook, Curtis Gayler, teeing up Pamment to finish past Carey at the second attempt.

Lewes pushed for an immediate equaliser, with both Silva and Taylor drawing comfortable saves from Anderson as they looked for a quick response.

The visitor’s goalkeeper was soon called into more meaningful action, pushing a Kenneth Yao effort round the post at the end of an excellent passing move.

Anderson then made a smart save at his near post to keep out a Rhys Murrell-Williamson free-kick at his near post, but Bridges were otherwise managing the game well heading into the closing stages.

Lewes continued to push players forward in search of an equaliser, with Tom Phipp, who had been moved into defence following the earlier substituion of Mitchell Nelson, sent up front to play as an emergency striker heading into the final few minutes.

Despite this, the closest the Rooks came to equalising heading into injury-time saw Silva volley wide from just inside area after an attempted clearance dropped at his feet.

Lewes remained on the front foot though, and equalised deep into stoppage time through De-Graft, who found space on the edge of the area before unleashing an unstoppable shot past Anderson and into the corner to keep the Rooks in the FA Cup.

INTRODUCING OUR VISITORS – SEVENOAKS TOWN

THE HISTORY

Sevenoaks F.C. was originally formed in 1883 and was amongst the founder members of the original Kent League, although they left the league after just one season. It is known that on 26 April 1893 they played Royal Arsenal, who were at the time the only professional team in the South of England, with over 1,000 spectators watching the game.

In 1906 the club, became one of the founder members of the Sevenoaks League and except for two seasons in the Tonbridge League remained members until folding in 1938. The club reformed in 1946 but in 1951 they amalgamated with another local club, St. John’s United, to form Sevenoaks United, taking the place of St. John’s United in the Kent Amateur League (Western Region), which they won on two occasions. They changed their name to Sevenoaks Town in 1965 and amalgamated with Sevenoaks Social in 1975 to form Sevenoaks Town Social. However, after just one season the club reverted to Sevenoaks. In 1984 the Kent Amateur League was re-organised as the Kent County League, and Sevenoaks were the first Premier Division champions, a feat they repeated in seasons 1995–96 and 2002–03. The suffix Town was added in 1991. In 2003 the club stepped up to the Kent League, where, despite the step up to a significantly higher standard of football, they finished a commendable 11th in their first two seasons.

In season 2013–14 the Kent League renamed itself the Southern Counties East Football League and Sevenoaks Town transferred to the Premier Division. In 2017–18 the club were SCEFL champions and were promoted to the Isthmian League South East Division.

A 10th place finish in their first season in Isthmian League South East proved an impressive start. Two Covid interrupted campaigns followed – last season proved a difficult one – a poor run of results ending with the departure of Collins following a 4-0 defeat at Ashford United in mid-February, after seven and a half seasons in charge.

Harry Hudson was appointed two weeks later – with 10 games left – a host of new players
featuring in his first match in charge, earning a 1-1 draw at Corinthian. A point was a good enough start with an almost completely new side, but nobody could have predicted the dramatic transformation in the team’s fortunes – from relegation candidates to mid-table finishers – in the remaining two months of the season, completed with a 2-1 final day win at
champions Hastings United. A seventh successive victory clinched 13th place, winning 26 points out of a possible 30, putting them top of the form table, with Hudson named Manager of the Month for April 2022.

THE SQUAD

Yahya Bamba	Daniel Hector	Danny Lear	Ryan Palmer
Kyle De Silva	Omari Hibbert	Tyler McCarthy	Freddie Parker
Lesley Duru	Corey Holder	Emmanuel Mensah	Reginald Rose
Reece Gillies	Samuel Johnson	Karn Miller-Neave	Leo Vowles
Ryan Gondoh	Tolulope Jonah	Jorsy Ndozid	Matthew Weaire
Bentley Graham	Omari Lawson	Dami Olorunnisomo	Bradley Wilson

THE FORM

HEAD TO HEAD RESULTS

Date	Competition	Home	Score	Away	Score
7th Sept 2016	FA Cup Replay	Sevenoaks Town	2	Lewes	1
3rd Sept 2016	FA Cup	Lewes	0	Sevenoaks Town	0

ISTHMIAN PREMIER LEAGUE ROUND-UP BY IAN TOWNSEND

Aveley were the first side of the week to hit the top of the table with victory over Margate, despite playing most of the match with ten men. The Millers were a goal up after just nine minutes, Kenny Aileru with the opener, but on nineteen minutes saw Blaise Riley-Snow see red. They weren’t downhearted, however, and George Sykes quickly doubled their advantage, before Brendon Shabani made it three-nil ten minutes before the break. Cameron Brodie got a goal back for Gate just before the break, but that was that- the Millers back on the summit, the visitors in sixteenth with their third defeat in a row.

Bishop’s Stortford could have gone top with victory over Wingate & Finchley in a story of the Blues, but our travelling draw specialists from North London had other ideas, and held Stortford to a goalless draw. Stortford drop to fifth, and that’s six draws from nine for Wingate.

Horsham have slipped out of the top five and travelled to face Bowers & Pitsea on the back of a poor run which had seen them take one point from twelve. It’s now two points from fifteen after a goalless draw, a result which keeps the Hornets in sixth and leaves their hosts seventeenth.

Canvey Island welcomed Bognor Regis Town for a seaside struggle, and came from behind to win a five goal thriller. Tom Chalaye took only four minutes to score for the visitors, but Evans Kouassi continued his fine scoring run with an equaliser on fifteen minutes- his eighth of the season. Tom Bragg restored the Rocks lead six minutes after the restart, but then Bradley Sach got into the action, equalising just after the hour, giving his side the winner a few minutes later, and then seeing red four minutes before the end. His side hung on, and are up to seventh.

On Friday night Enfield Town climbed the table with a two-nil win over Corinthian-Casuals. Wranel Hercules got his second goal in three games to give his side the lead six minutes before half time, and Andre Coker made sure of the points from the spot just after the hour. The Towners are third, Casuals twenty first.

Potters Bar Town went two points clear at the top of the Pitching In Isthmian Premier on Sunday afternoon, with victory at Kingstonian. The K’s went ahead just before the half hour, Finlay Titchmarsh with the opener, but on the stroke of half time Tyrese Owen brought the K’s level, converting a cross from former Scholar Ben Ward Cochrane.

The Scholars regained the lead when Dejon Noel-Williams scored his sixth goal in three matches ten minutes after the restart, and with fifteen minutes to go the hosts chances came to an end as Quentin Monville made it four for the campaign. The K’s misery was complete when Tobi Ogundega picked up a late red card.

The last time Bishop’s Stortford met Folkestone Invicta they won three-nil, so there must have been an element of deja vu on Tuesday night as they repeated the trick at the R&D Advisors UK Stadium- and went to the top of the Pitching In Isthmian Premier table.

Ollie Peters got the Blues underway, his shot from just outside the box ending up in the bottom corner on sixteen minutes, and eight minutes after the break a back post volley from Jonny Giles made it two, Ryan Charles with the assist. a few minutes later and the contest was over, Tosin Olufemi finishing calmly to make it three, and ensure that Invicta had no way back. The Blues remove Potters Bar Town from the summit on goal difference.

Margate played host to Haringey Borough, and the two sides delivered a six goal thriller. Rakim Richards gave the visitor an early lead which Ben Greenhalgh quickly cancelled out, but with only twenty two minutes to go a fabulous volley from Matthew Young put the visitors in the driving seat. Almost immediately Borough added another, Scott Durojaiye surely sealing victory- but the hosts had other ideas. With seventeen minutes remaining Korrey Henry reduced the arrears, heading home a corner, and then deep in added time the Blues grabbed a point, Cameron Brodie heading home.

Finally, on Wednesday night Corinthian-Casuals, still unable to play at their own King George’s Field due to the tree that crashed down on their clubhouse from the railway embankment, welcomed Cray Wanderers to Imber Court, home of Met Police.

Casuals, without a win of any kind since the opening day, went into the break ahead courtesy of a goal from Mo Diallo six minutes prior to half time. Sadly for those watching on in pink and brown they could only hold onto their lead until the sixty sixth minute, Dan Bassett equalising with his sixth of the season- and it soon got worse for the hosts, Ben Krauhaus making it two ten minutes later. Tom Derry quickly got into the act, adding a third almost immediately, and that was that. Wands are up to eighth, Casuals prop up the rest.

THREE BRIDGES 4 LEWES 0 – TUESDAY 20th SEPTEMBER

A lacklustre display saw Lewes deservedly knocked out of the FA Cup after a 4-0 defeat at Three Bridges, reports Tom Harper.

Tony Russell made four changes to the side that had drawn the first game 1-1 three days earlier, with Ayo Olukoga, Alfie Young, Jack Skinner and Rhys Murrell-Williamson replacing Kenneth Yao, Tom Phipp, Bradley Pritchard and Razz Coleman De-Graft in the starting line-up.

Three Bridges started brightly and saw Kieron Pamment go close twice early on, just missing the target from the edge of the area after the ball had been won high up the pitch, and then sending a close-range shot on the turn wide with only Lewis Carey to beat.

It took Lewes until midway through the half to fashion a chance of note, with Joe Taylor just failing to connect with a Deon Moore cut-back in front of goal and Rhys Murrell-Williamson then seeing his powerful effort on the rebound superbly blocked by Callum Donaghey.

Despite this, the hosts were looking more threatening as the half progessed, with Carey having to be alert to deny Kevin Rivera.

Bridges were getting a lot of joy from their high press, and saw Pamment just fail to get on the end of a cross from the left at the far post after they had won possession back deep inside the Lewes half.

The hosts finally took the lead their first-half performance had deserved eight minutes before the break through Camron Lawson, who was left unmarked at the far post to convert a Rivera cross from the right.

The second half started in the same way the first had finished, with Bridges on top and looking like adding to their lead.

They should have done so within minutes of the restart, Brannon O’Neill missing the target with a free header from a Curtis Gayler free-kick.

The hosts weren’t to be denied for long though, doubling their lead on 53 minutes through Lawson, who ran onto a ball in behind the Lewes defence before squeezing the ball past Carey at his near post.

Bridges were first to every ball, biting into challenges all over the pitch and causing the Rooks all kinds of problems with their tireless running up front.

They scored a third goal on the hour, as Lewes lost the ball in their own penalty area and Pamment was teed up for an easy finish past Carey from close range.

A bad evening for the large contingent of travelling fans got even worse six minutes later as Rivera made it 4-0, running onto a perfectly-weighted through-ball before finishing across Carey and into the far corner.

The rest of the game passed by with very little incident, with the hosts continuing to show the same level of desire that had put them into such a commanding position.

Bridges goalkeeper Leo Anderson was forced into his first meaningful action of the tie late on, saving well to deny Ronan Silva after some rare uncertainty in the Bridges backline.

The final whistle was greeted with jubilant celebrations from the hosts, whose exceptional performance had deservedly set up a mouthwatering tie with National League North side Hereford in the next round.

Three Bridges: Anderson, Ashley, Villavicencio, Gayler, O’Neill, Pamment, Stone, Rivera, Donaghey, Lawson, Irving.
Unused Subs: M. Bromage, Wilson, T. Bromage, Barbary, Difika, Collcutt, Woollard.
Booked: None.

Lewes: Carey, Olukoga, Nelson (Phipp 46), Salmon, Carlse, Young, Skinner, Silva, Murrell-Williamson, Moore, Taylor (Middleton-Tozer 72).
Unused Subs: De-Graft, Pritchard, Yao, Jenkins.
Booked: Taylor.

Referee: Stephen Hawkes

Attendance: 374 (approx 100 Rooks fans)

TALES FROM THE FOOTBALL TOURIST – A PIECE OF (MADEIRA) CAKE

Madeira isn’t a hot-bed of football. Madeira can hardly be described a hot-bed of many things. Even the wine lodges, trying to sell their wares to passengers from the newly arrived cruise ships, do so in friendly rivalry. But the island boasts a top flight and a second tier Portuguese side, meaning that it is a perfect away trip for visiting fans and a logistical nightmare for the clubs.

Top flight CD Maritimo, or O Maior das Ilhas (The Greatest of the Islands), have a long history taking on the elite of Portuguese football, playing in the Primeira Liga for over 40 seasons although their trophy cabinet is almost as full as Tottenham Hotspur’s, with the one hundred year anniversary of their last honour, the 1926 Portuguese Cup.

Previously playing at the Campo do Almirante Reis until they moved out in 1935, Marítimo currently play their home games at the Estadio do Maritimo, the municipality stadium of Funchal. The stadium was originally built by rival club Nacional but came into the hands of the local Government after the club fell into a financial crisis. For fans wanting to combine a weekend city break with a bit of football, then a visit to Maritimo is ideal, although the stadium is a 20 minute hike up the hills. However, most places in the city centre require a hike up at some point.

But the walk up to Maritimo’s ground pales into insignificance compared to a visit to CD Nacional’s ground, the Estádio da Madeira, located high in the mountains of the Choupana district, overlooking Funchal. On beautiful sunny days (and there are plenty of them in Funchal), the stadium will often be shrouded in the clouds, hidden from view. Whilst as the crow flies it is just a few miles from the pavement cafes along the elegant seafront, unless you have a car, you are in for a long and arduous trek – around 1 hour 45 minutes to complete the sub 3-mile walk. Even the nearest bus stop is a 35 minute walk away.

Home games tend to start with some Poncha (very strong local spirit mixed with honey, cane sugar and lemon) then the journey up. On days when the mountains are clear, there is an unenviable view for the fans back down the valleys to the sea or up to the top of the mountains. However, there is always a risk of the cloud rolling down and stopping the game completely.

It was CD Nacional who gave Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro his first chance at the age of 10 before he headed off for the bright lights of Sporting Lisbon two years later. Today, the academy and youth facilities located next to the stadium are named after him – in fact it is hard to travel far on the island without being reminded that he is THE national treasure of Madeira – you fly into his airport, you can stay in his hotel, drink in his bar, visit his museum and so on.

With CD Nacional yo-yoing between the top two divisions, games between the two Funchal rivals aren’t as regular as football fans would hope for. They last met in the Primeira Liga in March 2021 with Maritimo taking all three points back down the mountain in a 2-1 win.

Funchal is a superb weekend break destination, with normally at least one of the two sides playing at home, making it even better for visitors.

PLAYER SPONSORSHIP

You can sponsor the player of your choice, subject to availability, for the 2022/23 season and get your name in lights, plus a home or away shirt signed by your player and presented to you at a home game. Contact Shrey for more details at Shrey@lewesfc.com.

PLAYER	SPONSOR	PLAYER	SPONSOR
Lewis Carey	Susie Arlett	Jack Skinner	
Tom Carlse	Michael McDowell	Ronan Silva	
Marcel Elva-Fountaine		Rhys Murrell-Williamson	Trevor Norwood
Kenny Yao		Deshane Dalling	
Tom Champion	Tom, Alice & Russ Mould	Razz Coleman De-Graft	The Ouse
Will Salmon		Deon Moore	
Mitchell Nelson	Billy Beauzile	Joe Taylor	Stuart Fuller
Ayo Olukoga		Fraser Middleton-Tozer	
Bradley Pritchard		Finley Jenkins	
Alfie Young		Jamie Mascoll	
Michael Klass		Johnville Renee	

ON THIS DAY IN FOOTBALL HISTORY

THE ISTHMIAN PREMIER LEAGUE 2022/23 SEASON

THE ISTHMIAN LEAGUE COMMERCIAL PARTNERS

DIDN’T WE USED TO PLAY THEM? THAMESMEAD TOWN

It is rare for a team to start the season then decide that they can’t continue but that is exactly what happened to Thamesmead Town back in October 2018.

Thamesmead F.C. was formed in 1969 as a community team for local youngsters. The club merged with Southlake FC in 1973, and by 1979 were fielding a Saturday team, playing on park pitches at Crossways. In 1980 the club entered the London Spartan League at the Intermediate Division Three level. They dominated the intermediate divisions in the early 1980s, but were unable to gain promotion to the Senior Division until they gained senior status. At around this time, they played matches at the Meridian Sports Ground in Charlton.

In 1985, the club changed its name to Thamesmead Town FC, and later that year they relocated to Bayliss Avenue, a new ground built for the local community. The club finally gained senior status during the summer of 1987 and were accepted into the London Spartan League Premier Division for the 1987–88 season. The club joined the Kent League in June 1990, where they remained until 2008, generally finishing amongst the top half dozen in the table.

In 2007–08, Thamesmead Town were champions of the Kent League, winning the title on the last day of the season. The title ensured promotion to the Isthmian League, where they were played in Division One North in 2008–09. In 2012–13, Thamesmead finished 3rd in this division, beating Witham Town 3–2 in the play-off semi-final and Maldon & Tiptree on penalties in the final to gain promotion to the Isthmian League Premier Division for the first time. The following season, however, Thamesmead Town were relegated back to Division One North. At the end of January 2015 manager Keith McMahon quit the club after 11 years at the helm. Due to the club owner’s inability to find a new buyer, along with low match attendance and little income revenue, partly due to the lack of a home stadium after moving from Thamesmead to ground share with Dartford F.C. in 2017, the club announced its closure in October 2018.

Our record against Thamesmead in the limited time we played them was really poor. We met them five times during their spell in the Isthmian League, with one of those games being in the FA Cup, and didn’t win any of them, with three draws and two defeats. The last of those games came in February 2018 at Dartford FC where the two sided failed to score in a 0-0 draw.

The whereabouts of Tommy The Thamesmead Toad, a 6-foot-tall (1.8 m) green toad, dressed in the Thamesmead Town kit, is yet to be determined.

BILLERICAY TOWN 2 LEWES 1 – SATURDAY 24th SEPTEMBER

 depleted Lewes side produced an impressive display but were unable to return to winning ways, falling to a narrow 2-1 defeat at Billericay Town, reports Tom Harper.

With both Will Salmon and Tom Carlse sidelined through illness, Tony Russell was forced into a number of changes to the side, but was also able to hand a start to Michael Klass following his return from Aldershot Town on a one-month loan.

There was little action early on until the hosts took the lead on 11 minutes, a swift passing move ending with John Ufuah making space on the right-hand side of the penalty area before firing across Lewis Carey and into the bottom corner.

Billericay looked a threat every time they got into the final third, with Chris Dickson teeing up Alfie Cerulli, who saw his goal-bound effort blocked as they looked to double their lead.

Lewes came into the game more as the half progressed, moving the ball quickly in midfield and beginning to stretch the Billericay defence.

Michael Klass came close to equalising for the Rooks, seeing his powerful strike from the edge of the area pushed round the post by Harry Seaden.

Despite this, Cerulli came close to making it 2-0 minutes later, seeing his acrobatic volley from a Henry Burnett cross drop just wide.

Lewes ended the half strongly, Ayo Olukoga just missing the target with a long-range strike, before Rhys Murrell-Williamson cut inside from the right and saw his powerful shot blocked by Marvin Ekpiteta.

The Rooks continued to enjoy plenty of possession during the early stages of the second half, but were grateful to Carey for keeping them only one goal behind as he reacted well to keep out a close-range attempt from Dickson.

There was nothing Carey could do to prevent Dickson doubling the host’s lead on 52 minutes though, as the powerful striker ran onto a long ball down the right and unleashed an unstoppable half-volley that flew past Carey and into the roof of the net.

Lewes were handed a route back into the game just six minutes later, as Michael Chambers was adjudged to have fouled Joe Taylor in the penalty area.

Taylor took the penalty himself and sent Seaden the wrong way from the spot to bring the Rooks back into the game.

The Rooks thought they had levelled the scores within minutes when Taylor headed a Bradley Pritchard corner past Seaden from inside the six-yard box, only for the referee to disallow it for a foul in the crowded penalty area.

Lewes had another equaliser ruled out by the officials soon after, as Razz Coleman De-Graft saw his cross from the left deflected past Seaden by the covering Ekpiteta, only to be ruled offside by the linesman after the ball had hit the back of the net.

The Rooks remained on the front foot, with Taylor being played in behind by Pritchard but just being unable to squeeze the ball past the onrushing Seaden.

The hosts were handed a great chance to make the most of these let-offs heading into the final 20 minutes after being awarded a penalty following a foul by Alfie Young.

Dickson took the penalty and blazed it high over the bar, giving the Rooks the lifeline their second-half performance had arguably deserved.

Lewes were dealt a blow within a minute of the penalty miss though, as the returning Klass was shown a second yellow card and sent off for a high challenge on Eze Ebuzoeme.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, Lewes continued to dominate possession and pushed for a deserved equaliser.

Billericay were sitting deep and looking to restrict Lewes to long-range attempts, with one of these from substitute Ronan Silva at the start of four minutes of injury time being comfortably saved by Seaden.

The Rooks had one final chance to equalise with the final meaningful action of the game, but saw a superb cross from the left by Silva somehow evade both Jack Skinner and Murrell-Williamson, leaving Lewes to reflect on an impressive display that didn’t bring them the result it warranted.

Despite this, the Rooks were deservedly applauded off the pitch by the impressive contingent of travelling fans. 

THE STODGEBUSTER GOES TO TOWN – BILLERICAY TOWN

Four days after that dreadful cup exit at Three Bridges it was another journey to Billericay. It was all too much for the majority of the Stodgebusters. They were still suffering the hangover of that defeat and decided to give the game a swerve. PJ is made of sterner stuff though and it takes a lot to keep him away from a Lewes game. If Lewes were playing on the moon he would probably find a way of getting there. One positive of travelling alone was that he had a whole bag of Opal Fruits to himself.

Train or car? With no Groupsave option the train fare would jump by a third. But it still wouldn’t be much more money than 170 miles worth of petrol. The more environmentally friendly train got the vote. What a mistake that would turn out to be.

The 11.27 from Lewes looked the best option. A little trick we have learned is to not buy a ticket to Billericay direct but buy a One Day Travelcard which gets one as far as Harold Wood and a further return ticket from there to Billericay. It saves getting on for a tenner. Follow us for more money saving travel tips.

It all went seamlessly even though the ticket office was closed and the dreaded machines were the only options. It’s a little off-putting when trying to get slightly more complicated tickets from the machines and there are people behind you huffing, puffing and checking their watches because they have left it until the last minute. Off at London Bridge and onto the tube. Northern line to Bank. Central line to Liverpool Street for another train to Billericay. Sorted.

13.45 at Billericay. Plenty of time for a delicious Stodgebuster lunch and to send a photo of it to the absent members.

The Cafe Deli 37 in the high street must be a newish business as we haven’t seen it before. In previous visits we have struggled to find anywhere for Stodge. We tried the Wetherspoons breakfast once. The rubber eggs and shattering bacon episode there put us off that place and Wetherspoons in general. We found a tucked away fish and chip restaurant on another visit. That was OK and was originally “Plan A” but the Cafe and Deli would get PJ’s custom as the menu was Stodgebuster heaven. All Day breakfasts, omelettes, burgers, roast dinners, grills, jacket potatoes and more. Calories galore! It is also renowned locally for doing pie and mash so that’s what it would have to be. Delicious pie and mash with a cuppa for £7. What’s not to like? It was excellent, with very good service and a very clean feel about the place, although PJ could have done without the lady at the next table loudly telling her table mates her life story, warts and all. The things you hear in these places sometimes! Anyway, the Cafe Deli 37 will go down as the go-to eatery if and when we visit Billericay again and hopefully she won’t be there.

It’s a pleasant walk to the ground if it’s dry and before long PJ was in. Billericay’s ground has changed a bit since our last visit. Mr Tamplin didn’t only spend money on players, he sure spent some money on the ground too while he was in charge. It all looks very smart now with cover on all four sides and a 3G pitch. No wonder there are rumours of him not being so well off these days. He spent it all here.

It was great to see that hardly anyone else had been put off by Tuesday’s disaster thereby making quite a gaggle of Rooks fans congregated behind the goal.

Michael Klass was back on loan. Brad, Alfie and Razz were back after missing the cup defeat. The bad news was that Tom and Will had succumbed to something and weren’t involved.

The game started where Tuesday left off with Lewes under pressure. The opening goal was a little fortuitous with the keeper slipping over as he took a goal kick. The ball went flat and nowhere near where it was supposed to but turned out to be an accidental brilliant pass. A quick lay off to our left and their player ran in on goal and finished well past Carey. Here we go again we thought. Lewes responded well though and started to take the initiative. One down at at half time but Lewes had been on top since the goal. We felt confident that we could turn it around second half.

Unfortunately we lost the ball while attacking and a long ball down our left was chased by an attacker. Nelson was shepherding him out wide and narrowing the angle well but the striker had the audacity to swing a boot at it. It sailed over Carey and into the far corner. What a goal. He could try that another hundred times and never do that again. They would probably be retrieving the majority of the balls from behind the stand. Now we were in trouble. We got a lifeline almost straight away when the referee awarded us a penalty hotly disputed by the home team. It did look a bit soft but Joe duly despatched it as Joe does. He then scored another with a header from a corner much to our delight. But enter the unconvincing referee to disallow it for something no one else in the ground saw. Even the home players weren’t protesting. We can only assume he saw a push, impeding or cattle rustling or something. Lewes were well on top and then Razz scored. Enter the lino this time to flag it offside. Again, it looked a very dubious decision to us as the lino wasn’t up with the play. We had a let off when another soft penalty was awarded to Billericay. The ball was blazed way over the bar and was last seen by the James Webb space telescope. The referee hadn’t finished though. He gave Klass a second yellow for what seemed an innocuous challenge to us but was milked by the home player. Undaunted, Lewes were still on top even with 10 men but the equaliser wouldn’t come.

The whole team had put in a shift and could consider themselves very unlucky to come away with nothing. A bad result but a very good performance which deserved the rich applause at the end. It has to be said, though, that we didn’t score from open play again. We do seem to be having trouble finding the net in the league. Although the two disallowed goals looked like very bad decisions from where we were.

A short stop-off on the journey home at a hostelry near Liverpool Street was entertaining but, sadly, there had been a rail fatality between Three Bridges and Haywards Heath meaning that all trains on the mainline were stopped.

We were stuck just south of Gatwick for a long time, and then diverted via Brighton, but an unusual thing happened: The almost lost art of pleasant conversation between several strangers on a train broke out.

PJ and other Rooks fans arrived back at Lewes at nearly 11pm, but the inconvenience pales into insignificance considering the circumstances. We were home safe. Someone wasn’t.

Thanks to our cup exit it would be two weeks until the next game which would be at home to Sevenoaks Town in the Trophy. So the dreaded blank Saturday looms again. What excuses can we use to get out of shopping with the WAGS this time? We are running out of ideas. We can’t use the Black Plague one again.

 The Stodgebusters will return, hopefully, at Herne Bay.

KITTED OUT

It’s just over 5 years ago since the FA Cup game between Horsham and Ashford United made the national headlines. Not for the score, any player or crowd antics or a dog running onto the field with a string of sausages in their mouth. No, it was about the kits.

Somehow, the referee deemed that there was no kit clash, despite both teams wearing yellow shirts.

These type of events happen rarely. Teams communicate before the game on what colours they will be wearing so that the kit man knows what to bring. If there is an issue, then most home sides will have plenty of spare kit in their kit room. However, with Horsham playing at home in that season at Lancing FC, their spare kit was some 30 miles away.

So what are the other famous kit issues? The Question of Sport podcast gave their top three last week.

1. France wear Atlético Kimberley’s kit in the 1978 World Cup

Before France played Hungary in the 1978 World Cup group stage in Argentina, FIFA wrote to both the French and Hungarian FAs with a request about their kits. At the time much of the world were still watching telly in black and white, so similar kits had to be avoided at all costs. FIFA asked Hungary to play in their traditional red shirts and France were to play in their change strip of white.

However a few months later FIFA changed their mind and again wrote to both FAs. This time they asked France to play in blue and Hungary to play in white, but the French FA never received the second letter.

Michel Platini wears the kit of Kimberley Atlético Club in a 1978 World Cup against Hungary (image: AFP)

Come the day of the game both teams travelled to the ground in Mar del Plata an only packed their white strips. Nobody noticed the clash until both teams were on out on the field warming up.

The with their alternative shirts back at base in Buenos Aires some 350 miles away, local officials were sent out on a mission to find some football shirts. They called upon a local club by the name of Kimberley Atlético Club. Their colours – green and white stripes – were lent to the French national team and worn by players including Michel Platini for the match.

The Kimberley shirts had no numbers so they were hastily ironed on to the shirts, and those used were 1 to 11, which didn’t match the . French squad numbers for the tournament. So Platini and co took to the field in their own French shorts with squad numbers and shirts with different numbers on the back. They still won the game 3-1, but neither team ended up qualifying from a strong group which also featured Italy and Argentina.

2. Chelsea wear Coventry’s away kit in 1997

When Chelsea travelled to Coventry for their Premier League tie on 9 April 1997, they somehow managed to forget to pack their away kit. As the home shirts of ‘the blues’ clashed that of that of ‘the sky blues’ an alternative had to be sought.

Chelsea’s Gianfranco Zola is tackled by Coventry’s Richard Shaw in 1997 (image: Getty)

After a bit of delay Chelsea came to the field wearing Coventry’s away kit, which then was red and black check. So, in a sense, it was was a case of Coventry versus Coventry in the Premier League. Like France however, Chelsea did wear their own shorts.

This was a Chelsea team that featured the likes of their future manager Roberto Di Matteo, 1998 World Cup winner Franck Leboeuf, late substitute Mark Hughes, and Gianfranco Zola, who went on to be voted Chelsea’s best ever player by the team’s fans in 2003.

All those Chelsea legends could did not come out victorious though, with the real Coventry winning the game 3-1 with Dion Dublin among their scorers.

3. Manchester United change their grey away shirts in 1996

When Sir Alex Ferguson’s all-conquering Manchester United team found themselves 3-0 down away to Southampton at The Dell on 13 April 1996 they could not believe it. This was the table-topping United of Roy Keane, Gary Neville, David Beckham and Eric Cantona.

Ferguson would not accept that they had been outplayed by a Southampton team that would end the season avoiding relegation on goal difference and instead blamed the score on something else entirely: their grey away shirts. Apparently the players were having trouble picking each other out.

At half time they duly changed completely into their other away kit, this one being blue and white. It did improve matters slightly, as they stopped the rot in the second half. But they still lost the game, once again by a scoreline of 3-1.

TODAY’S TEAMS

ON THE ROAD TO HERNE BAY FC – TUESDAY 11th OCTOBER

About Winch’s Field
Winch’s Field boasts different styled four stands, floodlights and a well-appointed clubhouse which is regularly hired out for functions. The ground sits on the site of the former Winch’s brick yard, a Herne Bay landmark since Victorian times.  The one stand that strikes you as unusual is the main stand.  It is a large blue building, next to the bar, and houses the dressing rooms and dugouts.  Behind both goals are covered terraces, with the east end being bigger in terms of height.  There is a small covered stand on the south side of the ground which offers decent views.  Whilst the ground has gone through significant modernisation in the last year, including the laying of a 3G pitch, it is a pleasantly rural setting, surrounded by trees.

How to get to Winch’s Field
Virtually all visitors will come via the A299 Thanet Way from the west.  Take the junction for Herne Bay, going straight on at first roundabout and then left at the second (s/p Seafront).  Follow this road until you pass under the railway bridge.  Take the next left into Spenser Road and then the first left after about 200 yards into Stanley Road.  The ground is on the left-hand side.  There is plenty of parking at the ground or in the surrounding streets free of charge.  It is just shy of a 100-mile trip from Lewes and should take around 1 hour 45minutes traffic permitting.

If you are coming by train then it is a ten-minute walk from Herne Bay Station (on the London Victoria to Ramsgate/Margate line).  Turn right out of the station and follow Spenser Road, then after 500yards take a right into Stanley Road for the ground.  Train journey time from Lewes is around 2hours 50 minutes via London Victoria and unless there are any specials, will cost around £50 return.

Admission at Winch’s Field
Admission this season is £12 for adults, £7 for concessions (senior citizens, students and Under18s), and accompanied under 12s are £2. Tickets can be bought in advance here.  

Fancy a beer?
The no.1 nightspot in Herne Bay is the Firkin Frog no less in Station Road which is one of the new breed of pop-up real ale pubs that from the outside look like shops.  Two other excellent micropubs can be found on The Broadway – Parkerville and the Bouncing Barrel Ale House.  Well worth a visit especially if you are coming by train.  If you fancy a walk along the seafront then head to the very blue (in colour not atmosphere) Divers Arms on Central Parade which is a Shepherds Neame house. 

THE FIFA RANKINGS UPSIDE DOWN – No.211 SAN MARINO

In a new series of articles, we will look at the world’s worst international sides, according to the FIFA World Rankings.

I once almost saw history. Back in November 2002 San Marino were 2 minutes of injury time away from gaining a draw against Latvia in a FIFA World Cup Qualifier at their tiny stadium in Serravalle. And I was there. Alas, a deep free-kick into the area was headed into his own net by San Marino’s Carlo Valentini, giving the visitors a 1-0 win. Had they held out for a 0-0 draw it would have been just the second time in their international history that they had drawn a game, the previous one being against Turkey nine years previously.

Since that night in the capital of the tiny land-locked republic (officially called The Most Serene Republic of San Marino), the team have played 130 internationals, losing 124, drawing 5 and winning just once – their only victory in their history, against Liechtenstein 1-0 in August 2003. That form has seen them drop to the bottom of FIFA’s World Rankings.

It is a little unfair on them. The UEFA qualifying groups for the major tournaments are structured differently to those in every other continent (bar South America), with the lower ranked countries taking part in a pre-qualification tournament rather than being pitched straight in against the big boys. San Marino’s record defeats include 10-0’s against England, Croatia, Poland and Norway, 11-0 against Netherlands and a 13-0 against Germany.

The introduction of the Nations League competition has at least pitted them against other low-ranked teams, including Malta, Gibraltar and Estonia. A friendly against Seychelles last month provided hope for their first win in almost 20 years, but the game ended scoreless.

Andy Selva scored the winning goal against Liechtenstein back in 2003, and still remains the country’s leading scorer with 8 goals from his 75 games. However, it is Davide Gualtieri who has scored the country’s most famous goal, coming just nine seconds into a World Cup Qualifier against England in Bologna back in 1993. England went onto win 7-1 but failed to qualify for the World Cup the following year in the United States of America.

LEGALS AND CREDITS

“The Isthmian Football League strongly supports the FA statement that there should be a zero tolerance approach against racism and all forms of discrimination. Accordingly any form of discriminatory abuse whether it by reason of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion and belief, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, sex and sexual orientation 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).The Isthmian League and all Member Clubs in the League are committed to promoting equality by treating people fairly and with respect, by recognising that inequalities may exist, by taking steps to address them and providing access and opportunities for all members of the community.”

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, Karen Dobres, Stuart Fuller, Lucy Mills, John Peel, Sally Taplin, Trevor Wells
Chief Executive Officer Maggie Murphy
Club Secretary John Peel
Fan Engagement Manager Shrey Nilvarna
Youth Secretary Ryan Sullivan
Operations Manager James Barker

Equality FC Campaign Manager Karen Dobres

Life Members
Peter Brook, Dorothy Brook RIP, Vic Blunt, Pat Dartnell, Gary Elphick, Gordon Fowlie, Peter Hiscox RIP, Billy Nixon, Derrick Parris RIP, 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 Tony Russell
Assistant manager Joe Vines
First team coach Nathan White
First team physio Toni Miller
Goalkeeping coach Grant Hall
Match logistics Clive Burgess & Vikram Dogra
First Team Performance Analyst Henderson Russell
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 Editor Stuart Fuller
Club Photographer James Boyes

NEXT UP

TUESDAY 18th OCTOBER 2022 – 7:45pm KICK OFF

THE ISTHMIAN PREMIER LEAGUE – AVELEY

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

TODAY’S QUIZ ANSWERS

1. Jurgen Klopp
2. Juninho
3. First England player to be sent off twice in his international career
4. A sandwich
5. Lucas Covolan