Lewes 2s bruised by St Francis

It’s a sporting cliche that scorelines don't always accurately reflect a game. And, in some ways, that’s the case for Lewes’ 3-1 loss to St Francis. It doesn’t reflect how much Lewes dominated possession, the quality of hockey the team at times played and the great spirit the side has. It doesn’t reflect the 10 short corners Lewes won. It doesn’t reflect the number of times Lewes got into good attacking positions. It doesn’t reflect the fact that St Francis didn’t have a single shot on target in the first half.

But, in fairness to St Francis, 3-1 does reflect the fact that they stood firm in this game, took their few chances well, and didn’t make errors at critical moments, as Lewes did in conceding 2 of 3 goals. It also reflects the fact that Lewes’ attack missed a couple of sitters in the first half that would have settled nerves and provided a decent foundation to build on in the second.

Surprisingly the muggy weather didn’t hamper Lewes in the opening 35 minutes where they showcased the best of their defensive structure and attacking play. There was some properly good stuff all over the pitch. Lewes’ new central defensive partnership of Picken and Rideout were composed, easily mopping up the Frannies attack and deftly distributing upfield. Rae’s trademark left wing runs deserved better outcomes. Cooke was accurate and dependable on the right. Thomas, Blackwell and Daniels bossed the midfield - cutting out passes, moving the ball well between them, distributing dependably.

Lewes’ attack also had moments of menace. Wain, Devonport and Hancorn each had nice runs and harried the Frannies’ defence, forcing errors from them. Martin narrowly missed out on a couple of goals. Bentley was busy, and effective on the ball. Yeats offered a number of nice attacking runs down the left.

But for all their bustle Lewes were finding it hard to create clear-cut chances. Too often a promising passage of play fizzled out in and around the D. And of their 4 first half penalty corners, only 1 was on target, and that without enough pace or direction to trouble the keeper.

In this kind of game, small margins make a difference. St Francis fluffed their first penalty corner of the second half, only for the umpire to award a second, for something even he didn’t seem clear about. Lewes were aware that St Francis have a dangerous drag flicker. He gratefully seized the second opportunity the umpire generously gave him. A diving Bullmore wasn’t able to get enough of his stick on the shot to prevent the shot going in. It was to be the only time the Lewes keeper would touch the ball in the game. 1-0.

The goal, against the run of play, put some fire back into St Francis, who would have come into the second half feeling relieved to not be several goals behind. Lewes had another uphill struggle on their hands. The hill turned into a mountain when a moment of indecision between Lewes’ defenders gifted St Francis with a 1 on 1 which they clinically converted. 2-0.

Lewes finally took a chance midway through the second half, with Bentley’s hard work rewarded with a well-taken goal, after some decent interplay on the right. 2-1. But Lewes seemed to be flagging in the heat. Sloppiness started to creep into passing. And the side started losing shape, creating gaps at the back. St Francis exploited this when they picked off a pass, and with 10 minutes to go, used the open space to set-up a breakaway goal. 3-1.

The Lewes lads kept fighting but St Francis determinedly held on - staying solid defensively against repeated Lewes attacks. Credit should go to Lewes for staying in the fight. This was a game that with a bit more luck they would have won. But the team will rue the missed chances of the first half. And will need to focus on penalty corners in training this week if they want to get something out of the game against top of the table Brighton next week.

Match report by Simon Bullmore