Abandoned: How Lewes and Whitehawk’s 2025 got off to a false start

On an afternoon that never looked suitable for football, especially on a grass pitch susceptible to standing water, the biggest surprise was that the game went ahead.

When it did, both sets of players were slipping and sliding around East Brighton, while the ball was sticking in the mud and making a farce of what was expected to be a fierce contest.

With the rain refusing to relent and the pitch only cutting up more, referee Will Briers eventually decided to call the game off at half-time, saving the players from any further danger.

With few updates from either side on the morning of the match, fans were left guessing as to whether the contest would go ahead amid persistent rain and powerful winds.

Eventually, the Lewes squad and fans had to make their way through East Brighton Park as the decision was made to go ahead, but it was with some trepidation.

Following a 2-1 defeat at Hashtag United in their final game of 2024, Lewes made three changes, with Jerry Puemo, Ben Mundele and Maliq Morris restored in place of Josh Spinks, Matty Warren and Parish Muirhead.

Taking to a muddy pitch where the ball showed little bounce at kick-off, the Rooks braved the conditions as every outfielder donned short sleeves.

They were under pressure from Whitehawk from the very first minute, with the hosts kicking down the slope in the first half and intent to make the most of their advantage as they had an early finish past Toby Bull ruled out for a foul.

The Hawks tested another new-look Lewes defence with a couple of dangerous through balls early on and spread panic as the ball stopped rolling when Bull was set to come and clear.

As the Rooks adjusted to the conditions, any game plan went out the window and it came down to pure improvisation.

Bull pulled off a top save 13 minutes in to deny young striker Harry Bridle’s header, which followed a long throw flicked on by defender Wasiri Williams.

Both sides soon settled into an attritional game of hit-and-run, with full-backs hooking the ball up the line and looking for a flick-on.

This approach admittedly led to several chances, with Danny Bassett blasting into the side-netting for Lewes while Williams flicked a header over the crossbar at the other end.

Bull scrambled to clear a couple of dicey back passes and fortunately reached a ball played in by Bridle before Emmanuel Mensah could pounce in the 33rd minute too, with Lewes just about surviving.

Lewes had their best spell before half-time, with Alfie Allen taking aim as a corner was played short in the 41st minute and drawing cries of handball as his shot struck a Whitehawk player.

In the 44th minute, the best moment of the match came from Bassett, who took a pass from Allen down with the end of his outstretched right boot and curled a beautiful shot onto the crossbar above the top right corner, just inches away from beating goalkeeper Jasper Sheikh.

As both sides made their way off at half-time, several words were exchanged between the Lewes players and the officials, some regarding some questionable offside decisions but others undoubtedly about the conditions.

With the wind and rain only getting worse, the decision was then made during the interval to abandon the contest.

With the match now having to be rescheduled, it leaves Lewes with a second fixture to slot into a midweek gap between now and late April.

It joins their abandoned game at Cray Valley Paper Mills, which is yet to have a new date confirmed after the Isthmian League ordered a replay.

With no points collected from this game, Lewes drop to 10th in the Isthmian Premier Division with 32 points – six points below Horsham, who occupy the final play-off position in 5th. Whitehawk, meanwhile, remain in the relegation zone in 19th spot with 23 points.

Lewes return to action this Saturday as they host Cheshunt at The Dripping Pan, with a 3pm kick-off against the division’s 18th-placed side. Whitehawk visit Dartford.