Stout defence turns the tide for Lewes men's 1s

This game was not made easy by the absence of three senior midfield players.

Throughout the game the Lewes defence played well although one or two silly errors put pressure on keeper Josh Pewter who did well to keep a clean sheet. Lewes had much of the possession in the first half but with several players having to play out of position there was little cohesion to the attacks that were mounted and many times the ball just seemed to run away from the forwards. Added to this was a tendency on the part of the Milton Keynes players to use brute force rather than hockey skill to break down the play and the umpires failed to respond. Even so Lewes did earn three penalty corners but were unable to convert any of them. The opposition mounted a few counter attacks but, with the exception of one penalty corner, these did not amount to much.

The second half was more even in terms of possession and at one stage it looked as though the opposition had been awarded a penalty stroke following an apparent infringement at a penalty corner. The umpires conferred and the decision was overturned. The introduction of ex-keeper Rory Jervis to the forward line seemed to add some bite and there were several promising attacks on goal with Matt Clark and James Fuller to the fore. One of these resulted in a penalty corner and the ball was deemed to have been stopped illegally. Once again the umpires conferred but this time a penalty stroke was awarded and Alex Warner made no mistake with the flick.

After the game, Captain Matt Needle commented “The opposition created several scoring opportunities but the Lewes defence held out and the win earned Lewes the three points. The tenacity displayed by Lewes bodes well for the season as it progresses.”