Brighton too good for Lewes men's 1s

Brighton started as favourites being in the National League, one league above Lewes, but Cup games are prone to upsets and after surviving relegation from Division One of the South Premier League the previous day, Lewes approached the game with enthusiasm.

The first half went to Brighton as they demonstrated greater levels of skill although Lewes were not overshadowed to any great extent. Both sides had chances but Brighton capitalised on their opportunities and scored twice to take them in to a comfortable half time lead.

Lewes had the better of the opening exchanges of the second half and interplay between Mike Newman and Michael Wood saw the latter push the ball home to take Lewes back into contention. A short while later Brighton were reduced to ten men when an incident involving Matt Clark saw the Brighton player receive a red card and a short while later another Brighton player was sent off with a yellow card. However, try as they might, Lewes could not take advantage and despite several near misses the score line was unchanged. The final minutes saw Lewes commit to all-out attack but a poor pass out of defence gave Brighton the chance to secure the win with a one on one challenge on the Lewes keeper.

It was a good game of hockey played in an excellent spirit in front of an enthusiastic crowd. The finals will be at the Southdown Sports Club on the weekend of 25th/26th April.