AFC Wimbledon 1 vs Lewes 1: New beginnings

Dropping down a division normally means visits to less salubrious surroundings, but the fixture computer has played a blinder for Lewes, softening the fall with a visit to AFC Wimbledon’s reborn Plough Lane – the best ground we’ll visit all season.

There’s not a bad seat in the house, the spacious Phoenix bar sells a very decent range of beers from a local brewery (including a delicious stout) and the food’s not bad either. It’s a shame there weren’t a few more Rooks fans there to sample it all: something for the Supporters Club and the club itself to mull over.

Of course, this is a season of new beginnings, with a new team very much feeling its way into existence. Like the men’s team, there are few survivors from last year’s exploits, meaning we’re constantly nudging one another, asking “what’s their name again?”

In fact, the more familiar names were in the opposition ranks, with Leeta Rutherford and Emily Donovan starting for the Dons, and Skye Bacon emerging off the bench.

The Dons won promotion to the National League South last season, and so this was both sides sampling football at a different level, and certainly the first half was a cagey affair. Lewes looked at their most dangerous when breaking down the flanks, especially with the lively Adekite Fatuga-Dada, but the team was still operating on different wavelengths. Hopefully that will come with time.

It was a break down AFC Wimbledon’s left that edged them into the lead. A fiercely struck shot was well parried by Emily Moore, but it trickled into the path of Leanne Bell with the goal gaping. A slug of stout eased the pain.

Fatuga-Dada came close to a spectacular equaliser shortly before the break. She tried a cheeky lob from the right-hand edge of the box, but the keeper Rose Kite did brilliantly to get back and just about palm it away from danger. Sound on for the “ooh” in the video embedded below.

The second half was largely uneventful, passing by in a sunny stout-soaked haze until right at the death. Only a couple of great saves from Emily Moore, including a fine stop when left one-on-one, gave us anything to cling to.

Curiously, we went down to ten players with five minutes left to play, as right (wing) back Becca Teale failed to recover from what looked like a whack on the ankle. We’d only used two subs at this point, so why she wasn’t replaced by one of the two other unused subs (one keeper) on the bench is one for the X-Files. Whatever the reason, it seemed to invigorate the Rooks, who had their best spell of the half.

A corner was won on the left and swung into the mixer, where the ball ended up in the net amidst a melee of players. We couldn’t see who got the final touch, but the home side chalked it up as an own goal.

Lucky to take the point? Yes. But given how many times we were robbed during the closing stages last season, we were owed one.

Lewes: Moore, Teale, Brant, Schreimaier, Glass-Oliver, Godfrey (Curran), Thomas, Proctor, Eze (Adaway), Carpenter, Fatuga-Dada

Unused subs: Hunkin, Roche

Supporters Club player of the match: Fatuga-Dada was our biggest threat all afternoon, but we don’t get the point without a couple of class saves from Emily Moore, who gets her hands on our award too