Men's 1s outplayed by experienced Havant

Havant were relegated from the National League at the end of last season and it was anticipated that they would have an experienced team. It was also known that they had recruited the services of a player who had represented India in the last three Olympics - a short corner specialist!

From the whistle the play was end-to-end, fast and furious, with goals coming quickly. An early penalty corner to Lewes gave Alex Warner the chance to flick the ball into goal. The lead didn’t last long as a loose ball in the Lewes circle was picked up by a Havant player to equalise. Once again Lewes went on the attack and Dave Roberts picked the ball up in the Havant circle, beat a defender and shot past the keeper. With five minutes of the first half to go Havant equalised when Lewes gave away a penalty corner; the power of the flick that followed showed the problems they would face if they gave away such opportunities in the second half. James Fuller was unlucky not to score in the dying moments when the speed of the Havant keeper deprived him of what looked a certain goal.

The second half was nearly all about Havant. They started in a much more disciplined fashion and took control of the game to the extent that Lewes were unable to make many forays over the half-way line. A couple of opportunities came their way. The new Aussie recruit, Mark Gallo, appeared to score with a deflection but it was deemed not to have been off his stick. James Fuller made a solo run beating a defender on the edge of the circle to go head to head with the keeper but the support arrived too late. At the other end Havant used their control to good effect and scored five goals, three from open play and two from penalty corners.

New Lewes Coach Stuart Goodman commented after the match, ‘It was certainly a case of experience triumphing over youth but I feel that the Lewes players will have gained a lot from this encounter and look forward to the next game against Milton Keynes’ – Saturday 3.00pm at the Southdown.