Newhaven headed to Haywards Heath this afternoon with the injury crisis at Fort Road showing no sign of abating. Tom Vickers became the latest to succumb to the treatment table after failing a fitness test prior to kick-off.

With Heath having enjoyed a fine start to the season, dropping just two points from their opening five games – conceding just one goal in the process – it’s highly likely that a fully-fit Dockers squad would have had their work cut out for them.

A squad that reached bare bones status some three or four injuries ago was always going to find things tough going.

And so it proved. Haywards Heath were dominant from start to finish, and look clearly a cut above any of the other teams we’ve played this season to date.

With the Dockers prepared to let the hosts have the ball and sit in to at least try and make life difficult for Heath, the pattern of the game was set from the outset.

The hosts went close to opening the scoring after just four minutes when they hit the foot of the post from a long-range strike. It was to be the first of three times they would hit the woodwork during the game.

Moments later, Jake Buss had to be alert to beat away a close-range header as Heath went in search of an early goal.

That said, the Dockers did have their moments in the early stages, with both Robinson brothers – Lee and Jake – having half chances with lobbed shots, while Harry Reed fired wide after good work from Cal Edwards.

There was always a sense, though, that opportunities – especially clear ones – for Newhaven would be at a premium, with the hosts for the most part looking solid at the back.

The game’s pivotal moment occurred with just 20-minutes on the clock, when Bailie Rogers was sin-binned.

With Newhaven down to ten temporarily, Haywards Heath took full advantage, and by the time Rogers returned to bring Newhaven back to a full 11, the hosts were 2-0 up.

The first goal came just three-minutes after Newhaven had gone down to ten men. Disappointingly from our point of view, in spite of all Heath’s enterprising play, it was a set-piece that was to prove our undoing. Tom Gilbert heading home a corner that proved just too powerful for Buss to handle.

Then, with Rogers just seconds away from being allowed to return to action, Heath added a second.  A fine run by Callum Chesworth culminated with a cross that Josh Tuck could only half deal with, and Finn Daniel-Yeomans was in the right place to smash the hosts into a two-goal lead.

Even back up to their full complement of players, Newhaven struggled to find any forward momentum, and while Haywards Heath didn’t look particularly like grabbing another goal before half-time, they certainly continued to carry the greater attacking threat.

Haywards Heath continued to control matters into the second-half. Within seven minutes of the restart, they probably should have had a third when Lewis Finney pulled a shot well wide.

Bailie Rogers then became the latest Docker to succumb to an injury (he would be joined by Josh Tuck before the final whistle), leaving the Newhaven changing room starting to more closely resemble an A&E ward.

With an hour on the clock, Heath hit the bar when Finney controlled a fine crossfield pass before cutting inside and shooting slightly too high.

With little over a quarter of an hour remaining, Haywards Heath hit the post again, this time through Byron Napper.

Somehow the Dockers had reached the final 15 minutes still in the game, knowing that a goal could give the final few minutes a very different complexion.

Again, however, despite Newhaven finally starting to see slightly more of the ball, they were still finding chances hard to come by.

On 78 minutes, Lee Robinson had a shot from the edge of the area deflected just wide, before Jack Shonk’s dangerous-looking corner was cleared, but that was about as close as Newhaven got to mounting an unlikely comeback.

The hosts were prepared to protect what they had, and the game petered out to leave Haywards Heath comfortable winners.

That said, there will undoubtedly be a sense of disappointment and frustration that both goals came when the hosts had the numerical advantage. Yes, Heath could – and should – have scored more. But they didn’t. We were punished at a time we were at our most vulnerable and after that never really looked like recovering.

With the season now in full-swing the games continue to come thick and fast (just what’s needed in the midst of an injury crisis!) with two more away trips to come in the next seven days.

We head to Billingshurst in midweek in the Sussex Senior Cup, before facing our longest league trip of the season next Saturday as we visit SCFL newcomers Petersfield.

Quite what team we’ll be able to put out in either of those games is anyone’s guess. Suffice to say that if you are coming to watch, it may well be worth bringing your boots with you!

Keep the faith, though. Surely our luck has to turn soon, right?

Come On You Dockers!

My man of the match (aka, the controversial part): There was no stand-out performer in a red shirt this afternoon.