Newhaven v Forest Row

Sweat 16 Newhaven FC host Forest Row FC in the Southern Combined Premier League at Fort Road

Where are we and What's going on?

The Dockers ⚓ host the Frow 🫎 on a changeable Spring afternoon. We won away to Pagham last Saturday. Can we make it 2 in a row? Consistency has been a bit lacking this season and we sit in 8th, just short of the playoff places. But we have poor goal difference. The Frow are just below in 12th. We beat them 2-0 here in the Sussex Cup back here in September.

Roman is in goal with Elliot and new face Dan Allen. Right back is Harry Hammond and left wing is Rudy Jones who is new to us. Shay Tobin and youngster Harley King are in midfield. Blunty is in the 10 with Lee in the 9. Ezra is on the left wing with Teddy on the right. It’s Ezra’s 50th Dockers game 🎂.

The is an Andrade in the FROW team. Rings a bell. That day ended well 🏆.

We have donated our tins of soup and beans and sneaked in some wagon wheels and skinny whips 👀.   All donations go to the Haven Hub. It got us a discount on entry that we can spend on more chocolate 🍫.

The Seven Sisters is already docked. The Ultra’s have a drum and a siren. We have chocolate. Let’s get this Frow on the road. Come on you Dockers.

Off we go..

We’re 10 minutes in when we get our first chance. It's Blunty's free kick but Lee doesn’t get enough on it.

We ge lucky not to gift a goal to the Frow. Need to be careful here!

Robbo gets another chance on 14. He runs onto a through ball on the left, chips the keeper but it runs just wide of the right post. Groan.

A couple of minutes later and Harley King does what Lee couldn’t and his chip over the keeper is on target on 18 ⚽. 1-0.

Before the restart, the ref goes to talk to the lino. The Frow No. 11 is sent off to the sin bin . Don’t know what he said but it didn’t go down well. He’s got 10 minutes to mull it over now.

The Dockers are in charge. Blunty’s next next chance goes over too.

It’s half an hour gone and the Frow are back to 11 without the Dockers capitalising on the advantage.

Harley is in the action again when he plays in Robbo. It’s a great finish on 43 ⚽. 2-0.

We’re going to have to wait until the 2nd half for the important 3rd goal as it’s 2-0 at the break.

There is one change at the break with Richmond going on for Harry Hammond.

The next chance goes to the Dockers as Blunty forces a good save.

There is little good football but the Frow force Roman into a save from range.

We get more chances but Ezra hits wide and Robbo’s its straight at the keeper.

Ezra exits the action on 67 to be replaced by Dexter with Teddy moving to the left wing.

Dexter is lively but hits just wide on 72.

Lee, Ryan and Teddy combine but the end product is saved.

Harley has had a great game and is replaced by Charlie on 76. Then Teddy is replaced by Ash on 83.

Robbo is badly fouled in the box. After the treatment, he scores from the spot into the bottom left corner on 86 ⚽. 3-0.

The last change of the night is Robbo making way for Arthur Rawlins.

And the last action of the night is Roman making a big save to keep the clean sheet.

The whistle goes to signal the end and it’s 3-0 and 3 points to the Dockers. To celebrate Seven Sisters turns around and heads for France.

We think it’s all over..

The Dockers look like the Dockers again. A commanding performance. Lots of hard work, some great creativity and a few mistakes. Love it ❤. Great performances all over the pitch. Harvey with a goal and an assist on his debut. Lee got a brace and Teddy, Ezra and Dexter were all a threat. Blunty likes to chip in with his share and nearly did. They were never really threatened except for the odd half chance and a good chance too late for it to really matter. The squad is looking settled so hopefully a good run from here to the end of the season will see them sneak into the playoffs.

Next up for the Dockers is the PB Cup Semi-Final against Steyning. It’s at Shoreham and was previously postponed. Steyning are flying at the top of the league again (again) so that will be a tough one.

The Other Bits

POTM: It was a fantastic team performance but the stand out was 16 year old Harley King with a goal and an assist on his debut. Quite an entrance. Well done Harley 🏅. Hope this is the first of many in the years to come.

Officially Opinionated: Love a ref who’s pedantic about where freekicks and throw-ins are taken. Sometimes anyway. He did OK overall. The 5th official 😶 wasn’t present today so we didn’t get the official opinion on the ref’s performance.

The Scran’O’meter was very disappointed with the hot chocolate today. The staff are new so we will not pass judgement today and see how it goes.

Programme Perusal: Elliot is on the cover today and it’s the usual excellent quality. Needs to be £2 and not £1 though. Just saying.

See you soon.

Tranmerekat 🐾

The Dockers are warming up

Seven Sisters

Team news

Newhaven v Forest Row

Don't FROW It All Away Newhaven FC host Forest Row FC in the Sussex Senior Challenge Cup 1st Round at Fort Road

Where are we and What's going on?

The Dockers host the FROW in the 1st round of the Sussex Senior Challenge Cup 🏆. Hopefully we’ll get some good cup runs going this season. The Dockers are still in the PB and Vase but out of the FA Cup. The more that this team play, the better they will get. 

There is no Robbo today as he is on holiday. He started the season on fire so hope he’s having a great break. That 500th goal will come soon enough. It’s Captain Bailie in charge tonight. He is joined in defence by Dash, Tristan and Osei. Elliot and Charlie are in the middle. Up front are Teddy and Billy.. Out on the wings are Pacey and Ezra. There is a late change to the advertised keeper as Roman replaces Jonny. Hope Jonny is ok and that Roman gets a nice quiet shift between the posts. 

The FROW were promoted last season and have started this season very well. It’ll be a tough game for both sides.

It's nearly a great start for the Dockers and it takes a good save to stop Billy from scoring in the first minute. FROW get a couple of chances but Roman does very well to keep the ball out of the net. Billy gets another go on 7. He gets past the keeper but puts it wide. Both teams are playing good football and getting chances. Pacey makes a late tackle on the No.7. He goes down screaming like he’s broken his leg when the tackle was boot to boot. His team mates are trying to get Pacey sent off but the ref gives a yellow which is even a little harsh as it was just a bit late and clumsy. No.7 soon recovers from his broken leg and it up and playing again. Teddy and Pacey are both playing well on the wings and covering a lot of ground. Teddy is being man marked by the No.6 who has him round the neck at one point. Sticking to the task or a bit excessive? The Dockers are joining up well and playing a good passing game. It could be a bit quicker and there are a few dodgy decisions but it’s a very young side. The last chance of the half goes to Forest Row and somehow it’s goalless at the break.

Into the second half and Captain Bailie is booked on 48 for standing still while the opponent runs into him. The ref struggling to get much right since the break. Ezra is clearly fouled in the box but the ref can’t have been watching. The first change comes on 58 as Pacey is replaced by Tommy Jupp. A good shift from Pacey, he covered a few miles. A good move down the left followed by 3 passes in the box sees Tommy come in at the far post to tap home ⚽. Newhaven are in charge now. Need to get a second sharpish. Ezra finally gets his penalty on 74. It’s softer than the one that wasn’t given earlier 🤷. It takes ages to be taken while Ezra is waiting. Ref doesn’t seem bothered about the keeper being off his line trying to intimidate Ezra until the last second. One of the FROW is booked for moaning. He isn’t moaning after Ezra doubles the lead from the spot ⚽. There is some confusion straight after the restart. The lino flags for something and the FROW get a freekick from the centre circle. No-one seems to know what has gone on there. Some more changes up front with Teddy replaced by Harry. The FROW No.18 goes down after challenging for a header. He doesn’t get the ball so tries to stop the game by rubbing his head. He makes a miraculous recovery but the crowd keep checking in with him just to make sure he doesn’t have a concussion. It’s the responsible thing to do. The Dockers are now running the ball into the corners to run the clock down. A new one for Fort Road that. Billy is replaced by Christian on 90+3. It’s all over in a couple more minutes. Second round here we come.

What a game that was. Some good football on display from both sides. The Dockers quality told in the end. The young team didn’t always make the right decisions but effort and skill can’t be faulted. The FROW had some big players and dominated in the air against the front 3 but with the ball on the floor, Teddy, Pacey, Ezra and Billy were great. Another penalty awarded to Ezra, same as last week. It wasn’t the one it should have been. The earlier one was a better shout but the soft one that was given will do nicely. They march into the 2nd round of the Sussex Cup. Will we see Robbo back for his 500th goal. Probably not as it is our international break now so we won’t see the Dockers until October. They have the weekend off but play Faversham Strike Force ,(Wow, what a name), in the Vase a week today. Good luck boys.

POTM: Roman kept the Dockers in the game with a couple of good early saves. Some other great performances out there too but it goes to the man that guards the net 🏅🧤.

The officials did OK mostly but the ref had a short spell in the 2nd half where he got everything wrong like booking Bailie. It came right in the end though. And what was that freekick after the restart about. The lino pointed something out but it’s a mystery to us.

Ferry Watch: The Ferry appeared about 8:50 so docked in good time. 👍

See you in a couple of weeks

Love Tranmerekat 🐾

Behind the goal

No Robbo