Frosty start causes Lewes to slip up

It was touch and go whether this game should be played because the pitch was rock hard with frost and icy at one end. However it was the same for both teams and Lewes looked as though they had mastered the conditions, at least in the first half.

With only three minutes on the clock James Fuller bewildered the opposition with his pace and ran through the defence to pass the ball to Matt Clark for him to slot the ball home. This was the first open play goal for Lewes in some time and it seemed to provide a shot in the arm as they gained both possession and territorial advantage from Cranleighans. They had several opportunities to shoot at goal but lacked the finishing skill. Then in one of Cranleighans rare spells with the ball they attacked the Lewes line and the defence allowed them what could only be called a soft goal. Lewes responded well earning two penalty corners in the space of a few minutes but were unable to convert them into goals. The best move of the game came in the dying minutes of the half when Jonny Rea took the ball down the left wing and beat the tackles of two defenders before passing the ball across for Fuller to crack it past the keeper.

As the second half started it did not take long for Lewes to discover the defence problem that Cranleighans had faced in the first period – the goal line was icy. Within five minutes of the start Cranleighans won the first of five penalty corners that went their way. The ice prevented the keeper and the corner defenders from getting a sure foothold and the ball was hit cleanly into the goal by the left upright. Two minutes later another penalty corner saw a goal scored on the rebound for Cranleighans to take the lead. Opportunities for scoring did come the way of Lewes but it was not until the final ten minutes that the pressure told and a penalty corner gave them the equaliser when Clark scored off the rebound. A draw seemed a fair result but Cranleighans upped their game whilst the Lewes defence went into meltdown and two penalty corner goals sealed the victory.

On Saturday Lewes are at home to Purley in a “must win” game to help move them out of the relegation zone – 1.30 at Southdown Sports Club.