If ever there were a clunking great metaphor for the seventh consecutive day in September when the temperatures tipped over 30 degrees, it was the sight of a massive Ferrari parked in an electric vehicle bay at The Dripping Pan, rightly adorned with a parking ticket. “Dickhead,” said a passing Lewes fan, as we lumbered disconsolately from the stadium. No argument here.
There’s been no shortage of disagreements in the Rooks camp this week, however. The Mercury 13 investment/takeover/clunking great fist of capitalism strangling our once community-owned club* (*delete as applicable) has kept the Facebook fires burning. And then there was the club’s baffling decision to let Ascot move next week’s FA Cup game to the Friday night, making it precisely 86% harder for Rooks fans to attend. That went down like a fart in a lift.
Still, at least there was the football to put our troubles behind us, eh? Yeah, about that…
I’m blaming Ferrari-driving-dickhead and his like for this defeat, because if it wasn’t hot enough to fry an egg on the Terry Parris Terrace then there would be no mid-half drinks break, which is precisely when things started to go wrong for the Rooks.
We started really well. Gondoh was creating havoc down the right-hand side and might well have had a penalty when his run into the box was blocked off by the raised forearm of a Folkestone defender.
We should have been in front moments later when Tamplin got to the byline and cut the ball back for Tommy Wood, who ticked the nominative determinism box by striking the shot against the post from close range. KLK and Gondoh had other presentable chances to put us in front.
Then came the drinks break. Maybe someone accidentally filled our Lucozade bottles with Vodka and turps, because all the fizzing energy of the opening quarter suddenly evaporated and the visitors took control.
Smith rattled our crossbar with a shot a couple of the minutes after the restart, but he refined his targeting moments later to put Folkestone in front. Gondoh’s wayward header landed at his feet, and he shrugged off a half-hearted challenge from Murtagh before firing low past Harvey.
Their second arrived in short order. Our defence were little more than casual observers as Smith, Ababio and Olutade neatly interchanged passes before cutting the ball across the six-yard box for Olutade to tap it home.
Mounting a comeback in that heat was always going to be a tall order, and we barely laid a glove on them before they added a third midway through the second half. Again, our defence made life easy for them, with Smith given enough time and space to host a jazz festival, before he slipped the ball to the unmarked Jackson to make it three. That’s eight goals we’ve conceded in the three league games since Ronnie Vint hobbled off against Hornchurch, compared to only two goals in the previous three games.
That Folkestone third finally prodded the Rooks into action, and KLK added his sixth of the season with a neat run into the box before chopping a low shot in at the near post.
That prompted a mini-siege on the Folkestone goal for the final 20 minutes, but it was too little, too late, too hot.
Lewes: Harvey, Elliott, Hughes, Salmon, Penney, Tamplin, Murtagh, Wood, Gondoh, Whelpdale, Lumbombo-Kalala
Subs: Olukoga, Panyi, Pritchard, Dalling, Egan
Supporters club man of the match: Should be the Supporters Club’s own Richard Irving, for manning a tea urn in a boardroom that was warmer than a camel’s cod-piece. But on the pitch, we’ll give it to Ryan Gondoh, who looked like the player most likely to make something nice happen in the early part of the game.
Video highlights from Your Instant Replay:
Boyesy’s brilliant photos:
