The Dockers made the lengthy trip to, erm, Fort Road yesterday afternoon to take on Lingfield in what was classed as a home match for the Lingers.
The nomadic visitors – or should that be hosts? This could get confusing – are without a ground of their own at present, as maintenance work is carried out at their ground, meaning this fixture was counted as a home fixture for them, despite being played in Newhaven. Got it? Good.
With Lingfield hovering just outside the relegation zone, and boasting just two wins from their opening 15 games, in seasons gone by this would probably have been viewed as a home – away? – banker for the Dockers.
However, this season is quite unlike recent ones, with injuries, transfer upheavals and various other factors meaning that you never quite know what type of performance to expect from the lads. Or even who the players in the team will be.
Yesterday, new-signing Johnson Adesanya became the 45th different player to pull-on a first team jersey this season. Quite what the odds are of that number reaching 50 before Christmas I have no idea. I probably wouldn’t bet against it given how this season has gone so far, though.
The first-half of this encounter can probably best be described as uneventful (actually, that’s putting it mildly).
Unfortunately, the only really noteworthy action of the half came via another injury, with the recently returned Alfie Rogers the latest Docker to potentially be facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines. Hopefully, the injury won’t be as bad as first feared and he’ll be back sooner that later. Fingers crossed.
In terms of the game itself, Lingfield probably just about edged the opening 45-minutes, albeit without ever really threatening young stand-in ‘keeper Johnny Barnes-Galloway (regular Josh James is out injured) too much.
The second-half was a much-improved spectacle, especially from a Newhaven perspective.
Within two-minutes of the restart we created the game’s first real opening when Cai Pritchard was slipped through on goal. Unfortunately, the midfielder lost his footing at the vital moment and the chance was gone.
A number of chances followed over the next 15-minutes, as the Dockers hit the bar, forced Lingfield’s goalkeeper Jack Webb-Olley into two outstanding saves, and saw Lee Robinson inadvertently clear a goal-bound effort off the line.
Pressure was building, however. Surely it was only a matter of time before we scored. This was a thought I decided to share on Twitter. I really should know better by now. I’ll learn one day, I promise (I won’t).
No sooner had I sent the Tweet, did Lingfield hit the bar with a well-struck shot from outside the area. There was a chance that Barnes-Galloway may have got his fingertips to the ball (I thought he had; having spoken to him after the game, I’m not so sure – but I’m prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt on this occasion.
Having survived, with just under 20 minutes remaining, another decent chance fell Newhaven’s way, but Lee Robinson could only screw his effort wide on the turn.
With the clock continuing to tick-down, it was starting to look like being another ‘one of those afternoons’ – there’s been a few of those already this season.
Thankfully, though, it wasn’t.
With 14-minutes left, Adesanya got in down the right flank and pulled the ball back to renowned goal-scorer Ryan Blunt, who brilliantly clipped the ball first-time past Webb-Olley for what was to prove to be the winning goal. A superb way for Blunty to grab his annual goal.
Lingfield tried to respond by launching a procession of balls into the area. The young Barnes-Galloway, however, responded superbly to the barrage, controlling his area and bravely claiming every ball that came his way.
There was only one particularly nervy moment, when a Lingfield player could only steer an effort wide from close-range when he probably should have done better.
That aside, though, the hosts – visitors? I’m too confused to know by this point – never really looked like equalising and after an injury-time that seemed like it was never going to end, the Dockers held on to secure an important three-points on the road.
We’re back at Fort Road again next Saturday (for an actual home match this time) as we play host to Loxwood in the league.
We then finish the month on our travels, as we head to Wick. Two wins from those games could just give us the platform we need to really get our season going.
As ever, your presence at any game is always appreciated.
Come On You Dockers!
My man of the match (aka, the controversial part): Ryan Blunt. Winning goal aside, Blunt was the stand-out player on the pitch, keeping things ticking over in the heart of midfield, and regaining possession for the Dockers at important moments. Special mention to Johnny Barnes-Galloway, who performed admirably and with a maturity beyond his years to keep a deserved clean sheet.
