Lewes 3's put 11 past Crawley in opening Cup game

CUP: Sussex 3s Cup
HOME TEAM: Crawley Men’s 3s 1
AWAY TEAM: Lewes Men’s 3s 11 (Amos,Drake 2, Fuller 2, Hancorn, Harvey 3, Soudain, Wood)

Lewes Men’s 3’s travelled to Crawley looking for a strong opening to the Cup campaign. But despite some fresh faces and new youngsters in the squad, the opening 10 minutes epitomised the start of a 3’s game from last season - average hockey with too many sloppy mistakes.

Some tactical substitutions and increasing pressure from the Crawley team triggered a response from Lewes which led to their first goal: Soudain capitalising on a move created by the forwards to tap in on the line.

Once the scoring started the goals tumbled in for Lewes, crafted from good play, distribution in the midfield (Steadman, Harvey, Casselden and Loader) and a firm focus on the game plan. Lewes Men’s 3’s went into half time with a 5-0 lead.

In the second half, Crawley continued to look menacing in attack with some strong breaks. However, the Lewes defence (Palmer (GK) Picken, Fewster, Hancorn, Fuller and Appleton) held their structure and kept the score down. Palmer, as ever, made some crucial saves at decisive moments. The final score, 11-1, was a great result for Lewes, but credit must go to Crawley for keeping the pressure on until the end of the game.

Man of the Match: Soudain for a great Men’s section debut.

Report by: Tom Casselden