Brian The Badge was already on the bus into town when I boarded, writes Mike Wallis. He spent most of the journey defending his decision last week to award player of the match to Marcus Sablier over 4-goal Shae Hutchinson. “I’ll take a draw today”, he added. I agreed. Also, another bus passenger asked me if Brian was Patrick Moore. He isn’t, not least because Patrick Moore died more than 10 years ago.
One issue with trying to write the match report and do the turnstile is that something always happens between the match starting and the turnstile being closed. This week, I did at least see Danny Bassett hammer his penalty down the middle for 1-0 and I’m reliably informed the penalty was awarded after Sablier was fouled in the box.
Lewes controlled the first half, with the Billericay manager getting more and more irate as the half went on. Billericay goalkeeper Donkin managed to stop a Lewes breakaway from the halfway line, just beating Danny Bassett to the ball after they’d pushed everyone up for a corner. Sablier fouled. Sablier fouled again, McKenzie booked. Bassett went close a couple of times. Toby Bull made a good save, tipping a header over the bar, from Billericay’s only attack of note in the first half. Sablier fouled again. Billericay manager looks like he’s about to combust.
1-0up at half time. Lewes had controlled the half. I couldn’t help feeling we should’ve been further ahead.
It didn’t take long. Sablier, inevitably, was fouled again. Lewes penalty, Johnson into the book. Bassett hits it low to the keeper’s left. 2-0. It felt like that should be game over, but at this point last week, Lewes went from a side that was 5-0 up and cruising into the 1st Round of the FA Trophy to one that could quite easily have lost 6-5 having been 5-0 up and ending up on the news.
The rain is bucketing down now, the ball zipping off the pitch and players from both sides are struggling to keep control. Bassett gets booked after a tired looking challenge and gets subbed off shortly after.
Lewes are obviously tiring, Billericay bring some quality players off the bench and are all over us. De-Carrey Sherriff on the right wing causes the otherwise excellent Jack Enkh problems for the 20 minutes after he comes on. We’re clinging on. Bull saves from Merrifield, Sheriff’s shot is deflected wide, Merrifield is one of those players that always seems to score against us but his overhead kick is headed off the line by Enkh. It’s all Billericay now, but going into injury time it just feels like we’re going to hold on somehow.
Until we don’t. Neither of Billericay’s goals will win goal of the season. Well into injury time, Sheriff’s latest shot hits the post, skids away awkwardly and is followed in by Tom Bender for 2-1. Big centre-half Johnson is a makeshift centre forward/battering ram for injury time and he wins a corner. The keeper, Donkin comes forward for it, gets the flick on, Bull slips over, the ball pings around until the inevitable equaliser goes in.
2-2 is a good result, even though it feels like a defeat. It’s a good job there’s no game in mid-week because everyone looked knackered by the end. Peter Ojemen, Lewes’s latest new signing played well for 85 minutes but was having to stand awkwardly in the centre circle by the end as he could barely walk. We missed Puemo today and he’ll be missing next Saturday at Horsham too.
Rewind to Bognor away in August, we’re all expecting a difficult season. Budgets cut, almost the whole of last season’s squad gone, lots of step 4 and 5 players being brought in. The consensus is that we should wait for 10 games before making a judgement on this team. Well today was that tenth game and Lewes are top with 21 points and 1 defeat. Cray Wanderers, Chatham, Horsham, Hashtag, all teams fancied to do well, are in the bottom half right now.
I’ll take a draw today, I suppose.
Lewes: Bull; Warren, Kaiser, Ojemen, Enkh; Allsopp (Ghannam), Allen (Maliq Morris), Muirhead, Bassett (Ladapo); Sablier (Mundele), Hutchinson (Williams).
Goals: Bassett (7 pen, 56 pen)
Booked: Bassett
Player of the match: I agree with Brian this week, Matt Warren had an excellent game at right back. Honourable mentions to Marcus Sablier, who kept going despite being kicked all over the place for most of the game, Jack Enkh for a superb goalline clearance and Peter Ojemen for a very solid debut, until his legs went!