‘Doesn’t favour anyone’ – Lewes boss reflects on abandoned clash at Whitehawk

With referee Will Briers content that the pitch would hold up to consistent rain at the Enclosed Ground, the Sussex derby was played for 45 minutes in farcical conditions before the decision was taken to send both teams home.

The score was 0-0 at the time, with both teams having chances but struggling in the muddy conditions to play anything that resembled their usual style of football.

“From a game of football's perspective, that doesn't favour anyone,” said Nelson. “Both teams want to play a game of football where they're not having to worry about slipping, and from a fan’s perspective, you're not really watching any football.

“It becomes a game of luck almost, and who makes the first mistake. It wasn't conducive to football, and from a league perspective, it's not a good showing of what this level is about.”

Despite the dreadful conditions which Lewes felt the worst of while kicking up the Enclosed Ground’s slope in the first half, there was plenty of grit to praise from the Rooks.

Having weathered a long spell of Whitehawk pressure, Lewes then had the better of the first half’s late stages, with Danny Bassett curling a late effort onto the crossbar in the game’s best chance.

“I was surprised that [the game] was on, but we just had to get on with it,” said Nelson. “Over the last couple of weeks, we've been speaking about resilience and having grit and determination to fight, because we've been ahead in games and drawn and lost – the previous game at Hashtag [United] being no different.

“Sometimes it is that resilience to keep going when your back's against the wall; that fight that you can't really teach, but together, you can be a unit.

“Today, the team talk was very similar, especially [about playing] for the fans, especially [about] what it means to the club as a local derby. It’s making sure that when you step over that white line, pride and passion have to show because you're wearing a Lewes badge, and that's what a lot of the conversations have been between the two games, to players individually, so they understood what it meant to us as a club and to the fans.”

Nelson added that much of this message was prompted by those around him, who had been engaging with him prior to the match.

The Rooks boss said: “I've had so many messages from every type of fan you can imagine, whether they be old or young. You can really feel that energy of ‘we can't come here and lose’.

“I said to the boys, ‘We've got to show that fight’, which I think we did. If the game stayed on, I think kicking down the hill would have been a little bit easier [in the second half].”

As well as the call to dig in for the badge prior to kick-off, Lewes’ players benefited from an outstanding display of support from their fans in the Enclosed Ground’s uncovered stand in the first half. With loud chants throughout, the group who travelled stood out for praise.

“They were unreal. They were loud,” said Nelson. “What you saw from the boys afterwards [was that] they wanted to come straight out the changing room and show their appreciation for people not only being here, but in the conditions out in the rain, screaming and shouting and chanting, because that's how we connect.

“It's not always through good times, but through tough times, or tough conditions. People have come out and spent their hard-earned money to watch us here.

“Credit to the team, too. They were like, ‘Okay, the game is off, but we need to go out to the fans and show that where we understand that they care for us because we care for them.’ It's a joy to see.”

Lewes have little time to reflect on the abandonment, with their next contest coming up this Saturday against 18th-placed Cheshunt. The Hertfordshire side visit The Dripping Pan in huge contest for both teams, with the Rooks keen to get their first win in over a month.

Nelson’s side have had three draws, two narrow defeats and two abandonments since their 2-1 win over Canvey Island on 30 November, and are keen to make the most of home advantage this weekend.

“For us, we need to win,” said Nelson. “We've played some exceptional football over the last couple of games, including at Hashtag. In the first half, we were unreal and we could have been out of sight.

“You've got to put the ball in the back of the net, but we could have been well out of sight in that game. So it's now about making sure the boys turn up and want to get over the line and again connect with the fans.

“Sometimes it's not going to be by playing football. It's going to be by showing you care and giving a bit of grit to the game.

“That won't change our underlying principles. It's about [the players] being them and expressing it in a way that shows and then allows us to win games of football.

“So for us, it’s business as usual; we'll be looking for points because we will slide the other way if we don't start picking up points.

“We want to be in the upper half of the league, so we've got to start picking them up now. For the teams that are in and around us, five or six points between us and them or whatnot, we have to start bridging a bigger gap between them, and you can only do that by putting points on the board.”