Injuries deprived us of Jason Stripp, Guyni Nganga, Stephen Hodge, and Bailey Neil-Gray, but Jeff Duah-Kessie was back on the bench and Armani Morris was making his debut.

A lightning start when Armani Morris gathered a loose ball in the centre of the pitch and played it to Deven Reid-Solanki on the left. He ran into the box and fired his shot across the keeper to nestle in the right corner of the net for 1-0. Shortly after, Reid-Solanki returned the favour by playing in Morris to attack the box and win a corner that was cleared. Winning the ball back gave Reece Jacobs the chance to attack down the right, only to take a shot from the right corner of the box when he had Reid-Solanki overlapping on the wing. Just short of ten minutes, Reid-Solanki was back on the left and dribbled into the box. The ball seemed glued to his feet as he twisted and turned, looking to work an opening as the Newhaven defence struggled to get a tackle in. He won a corner for his efforts, from which nothing came.

The home side came to life in the next ten minutes with a break down the left, crossed into the box to produce a header that Jack Webb-Olley saved easily. A break down the right ended with a cross that went through our box without a touch. Then put through on goal down the centre, all the striker could do was fire over the bar. From a corner on 19mins the ball was delivered into a crowded six yard box and, in trying to put the ball over the bar Webb-Olley could only push it into the net for the equaliser. A Newhaven move down the right was stopped by Jack McDonnell, and a follow up ball in was gathered by Webb-Olley. Tyler Hargreaves was onto a ball out on the left and sent it forward for a chase between Reid-Solanki and the goal keeper that the latter won. On the half hour, a free kick by Newhaven on the left was cleared by Reid-Solanki and set Jacobs free on the right. He drove to the byline but was tackled, and it was out for a goal kick.

Starting the last quarter hour was a solid challenge by McDonnell to win the ball on the byline on the left, and then clear the loose ball. Melvin Adesida made a great tackle inside the box on 34mins where there was no room for error. A couple of minutes later Newhaven, found space for a shot from outside the box but sent it over the bar again. Having already spoken out from the bench and earnt a yellow card, the Newhaven manager was in trouble again on 38mins and received his marching orders with a second yellow card. The Newhaven keeper rushed out to cover a ball down the left but failed to win it and gave Morris an opening, but cover got back to concede a corner. Three minutes to go, and while Newhaven disputed a throw, McDonnell took it quickly to Reid-Solanki. He took the ball into the box on the right and fired his shot across the keeper to make it 2-1. In the first added minute, Jaiden Chang set Reid-Solanki on a run, but he could not force his way between two defenders.

Newhaven started the second half with a corner from the right that Webb-Olley took well. From a cross from the left Conor Wilford headed the ball out and David Heaton cleared. Ten minutes played and a cross from the left, went through our six yard box and out beyond. Adesida covered a long ball and put it back to Webb-Olley. His ball out had us on the break down the right with Jacobs, but his shot from outside the box was over the bar. Newhaven then had a run of corners where they used a tactic of crowding Webb-Olley. We defended the first two, but the third one ended with Newhaven putting the ball in the net for the equaliser. Another attack was blocked well in the centre of the box by Heaton at the expense of another corner. Once again they crowded around Webb-Olley for the corner, and it yielded a third goal from a corner as we failed to counter their tactic, although, given how often a keeper gets a free kick from the merest touch, it was a surprise that the referee saw nothing wrong.

A couple of minutes short of the hour, and another Newhaven corner brought a header on target that McDonnell cleared off the line. Shortly after, it was a great tackle in the D by Hargreaves that stopped Newhaven. On 68mins Webb-Olley blocked a free kick and then it was cleared. It was time for a triple change as Jacobs, Chang, and Morris were replaced by Jeff Duah-Kessie, Kai Neil-Gray, and Chibuike Haruma. With twenty minutes to go we were on the end of one of the current stupid hand ball decisions as the ball hit Heaton's hand. The penalty was tucked home and it was 4-2 to the home team. Heaton suffered more bad luck when, somehow, the referee decided he was guilty of dissent by rejecting a demand to tell Wilford to keep quiet and so was sent to the bench on 72mins. A corner from the left by Cheeseman came to Reid-Solanki for a shot that flicked off a Newhaven player for a second corner from which nothing came. Adesida did well defending on the left on 76mins to win a goal kick. A couple of minutes later, Jeff Duah-Kessie held up a long ball and battled well to keep hold of it but lacked an option to offload it. With ten minutes to go and still playing with ten men, Newhaven were able to work the ball from left to right outside our box and fire home too easily to make it 5-2.

Duah-Kessie took possession of the ball on the left and worked his way across the pitch to slide the ball out to Reid-Solanki on the right. He attacked the box and was taken down for a penalty. Wilford gave the keeper no chance from the spot to pull it back to 5-3. Instead of Heaton returning to the pitch, Noah Agbinone replaced him on 84mins. A minute later, Newhaven were able to put the ball into the box from the left and, too easily once again, fire it home to make it 6-3. In the last minute, Chibuike Haruma flicked the ball over his head on the left touchline to set Hargreaves away to win a corner. In added time, the corner was delivered to the far post and, with the ball there to be fought for, the referee gave Newhaven a soft free kick. In the second added minute, Newhaven headed a free kick behind and so it ended at 6-3.

We do not often get much from our trips to Newhaven, as last season we were a superb save away from going 2-1 up only to then lose a pretty even game 4-1. Here we at least took the chances that came our way, with Deven Reid-Solanki once again on the score sheet with a brace and earnt the penalty. Unfortunately, our defending on corners let us down. As far as the table goes, nothing changed as:-

Lancing, AFC Varndeanians, and Shoreham all lost;
Wick edged away by a second point with a draw, while Midhurst & Easebourne lost;
Crawley Down Gatwick and Eastbourne United were both in FA Vase action and progressed to the next round, with now a game in hand over us.

Eastbourne United are four points ahead of us in thirteenth, while wins for Seaford Town and Little Common opened the gap to us to eight points. Our next task is to try to do what fourteen other teams have failed to do and that is to take a point off table toppers Haywards Heath Town, who were also successful in their FA Vase game.