Local derbies are hard enough.

Local derbies when you’re coming off the back of a heavy defeat, while your opponents have plundered 10 goals in their last two games are harder still.

Yet that was the challenge facing Newhaven last night as neighbours Seaford visited Fort Road in a cup competition for the second time this season.

In the last meeting between the two sides back in early September, Newhaven breezed past ‘The Harriers’ 2-0 in the Peter Bentley Cup. Since that meeting, though, Seaford’s form has improved and they came into the game with four wins from seven games in all competitions.

Indeed, this confidence was on show in the early stages last night as Seaford showed their willingness to go toe-to-toe with the Dockers.

While Newhaven were certainly producing the tidier, more eye-catching football, it was the visitors who created the better chances; the best of the early ones being blazed high and wide in the eighth minute.

The Dockers always looked like they carried a threat of their own, though, and it was the hosts who took the lead on the quarter-of-an-hour mark.

Seaford could only half-clear a corner, and Tom Howard-Bold floated a brilliant pass back into the area, where Gibson took an equally great first touch before dispatching the ball past the keeper.

It could have been two moments later, when Pacey Bean latched onto a threaded Teddy Wood pass, but slightly overran the ball allowing the Seaford custodian to make the save.

Newhaven were starting to look comfortable, having seemingly ridden the early wave of Seaford pressure quite well, and the defence dealing fairly well with the dangerous balls over the top.

However, in the 26^th minute Seaford were back on level terms. Wood was dispossessed in midfield, and the ball was quickly played through to Josh Wright who made no mistake.

Two minutes later, Seaford twice went close to taking the lead. First former Docker Callum Connor had the ball in the net only to be judged off-side, before seconds later Roman Chiosa had to be alert to make a good save with his feet.

The visitors were starting to find joy with the ball in behind again, and suddenly it was they who looked more threatening.

So, inevitably, it was Newhaven who struck next.

The second goal was almost a carbon copy of the first, with the ball once again being recycled to Howard-Bold from a half-cleared corner, and the midfielder producing another classy pass (this one even better than the first in my opinion) to find Lee Robinson in the area. Robbo’s first touch was perfect, and with his second the ball was in the back of the net.

With half-time approaching, both teams missed presentable opportunities to add to the scoreline.

First Robbo sliced wide after being found by a glorious touch from Ryan Blunt; then Seaford were once again denied one-on-one by Chiosa.

So it was the Dockers who went into the interval ahead, but on the balance of chances created it could just have easily been Seaford in front.

The second-half, though, belonged to only one team, as Newhaven moved up through the gears and ruthlessly put Seaford to sword.

That said, had the visitors finished a decent opportunity shortly after the restart, the game could have gone very differently. They didn’t, though, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Eight minutes into the second-half, Wood toyed with his marker on the edge of the area before brilliantly curling into the bottom corner to give the Dockers a two-goal advantage – much to the delight of the small but improving band of ‘ultras’ behind the goal.

Before Seaford had a chance to regroup, Newhaven put the game to bed.

A brilliant Harry Hammond through ball found Blunt, who was twice denied as he looked to finish, but the ball fell kindly for Wood who smashed home his second goal in the space of five minutes.

The goal ended the game as a contest, and really seemed to rock Seaford’s confidence whilst significantly boosting Newhaven’s, who completely dominated the remaining half-an-hour.

When a fifth goal arrived with just over 20-minutes remaining, it didn’t come as much of a surprise.

Ash Wadhams’ through pass took a kind nick off the feet of debutant Noah Hoffman and fell into the path of Robbo, who made no mistake when clean through.

Seaford then had a golden chance to pull one back, only for their player to sky the ball into the skate park from six-yards out with the goal gaping. It kind of summed up their night finishing-wise.

Newhaven continued to create chances for the time that remained, with the best falling to Bean late on, but he was denied by a decent save.

So, after a battling first-half, it was Newhaven who ultimately comfortably progressed into the Third Round of the Sussex Senior Cup.

Not for the first time this season, the young Dockers proved that they can respond well to disappointment, with the second 45-minutes being up there with the best football they’ve produced this season.

They’ll need to be at their best again on Saturday, as we face a tricky trip to high-flying Horsham YMCA.

We’re then back at Fort Road on 18^th October as Bexhill – another team with play-off aspirations – are our visitors.

A tough couple of games await, and we’ll need your vocal support to help the boys get through them with some points.

Come On You Dockers!

My man of the match (aka, the controversial part): Tom Howard-Bold. Tough decision, with a number of good performances all over the park, but for me Howard-Bold just narrowly pips Harry Hammond (who was superb) to the award. The midfielder dictated the pace of the game throughout, and produced two fine assists in the first-half to set us on the way to victory.