CAPT HARDEN BANISHES THE BLUES WITH FIVE OF THE BEST

Match Report: Tom Mayfield.

Lewes will always be an interesting away fixture for some (me), mainly for the confusion on how you say the place name. Fortunately for us we had an inflatable tennis court dome to warm up in and distract us from such linguistic matters.

This Lewes team ran Winchester close last week with only 12 players so we expected guile and spirit from the East Sussex outfit. But with a great away fan turn out in the form of club stalwart Tom Archer the lads were suitably lifted and were ready to progress to the game. In previous weeks we have struggled to keep a hold on our self control - mostly with the umpires. With this delicate matter discussed and in hand we started with immense pressure and commitment. Lewes had nothing and capitulated early so we positively set about dismantling their defence within the first 20 minutes of the game putting the league’s top scorer and our talismanic Skipper; Chris Harden, on a hat trick with an impressive 3-0 scoreline with still plenty of the half left. BOE were magnificent in those first 20mins and the one league place that separated the teams before the game betrayed the huge gulf between them. BOE hustled and harried - dominating the midfield and forcing numerous mistakes in the Lewes defence. This week the lads took their chances and were on fire in the D. When the Club places like this they can beat anyone at this level. Finding the consistency and application to do so regularly is the key going forwards. Lewes managed to nick a goal back from a penalty corner at the end of the half to unsettle the lads (and Coach!) a little but it ended with Blackheath & OEs in the ascendency. 3-1.

The killer blow came at the beginning of the second half as goal scorer turned provider Chris Harden set up Sacha DeMarigny who finished a fine move with a glorious goal. 4-1 and it was effectively game over. The Skipper then added another before Lewes stole a breather with a tidy close range finish to make it 5-2. However, Chris netted his fifth late on to up the goal difference significantly and leave everyone smiling. It’s worth noting that 3 of the Skipper’s 5 goals were from open play proving there’s much more to his game than being a PC Drag flick specialist – the fact that he does that too is a bonus. Lewes did muster some periods of pressure and there were a few ‘self inflicted’ rocky parts between 3-0 and 6-2 some of which may’ve set the tide in the opposite direction or at least gives us plenty to work on in training. Nonetheless we kept our nerve with only a handful of cards and persisted to win the game very convincingly.

Putting goals away early on when given the chance proves that we can succeed and have what it takes, and as the second half of the season progresses I feel personally that we have the ability and the experience to overcome the teams that have previously beaten us and to take it to Guernsey and show this league and the cup we are going places.

Man of the Match – Five Goal Hero Chris Harden with 5 of the 6 goals. PS - Nice goal Sacha!

DOTD - And not at all bothered by it – yours truly: Tom Mayfield - Forgetting his home kit to an away game.