Lewes lose to former manager’s Tonbridge Angels in penultimate pre-season friendly

At a well-presented Longmead Stadium which featured the kind of zippy 3G pitch Lewes typically enjoy, Bradley Pritchard’s new-look side made another good impression on their travels.

After three wins, one draw and one defeat in their previous outings, including a 2-2 draw at home to Worthing last Saturday, the Rooks were unlucky to trail at half-time in Kent, but never did quite enough in the second half to level the scores.

Ultimately, it was a useful lesson for both Pritchard and Nelson, with handshakes all around in a well-mannered encounter.

At an overcast Longmead Stadium, Lewes arrived fresh from a morale-boosting 2-2 draw with Worthing for their penultimate pre-season friendly.

Having found some consistency in their line-up in the previous couple of matches, the Rooks continued to firm things up, with all but one member of their 16-man squad named despite not all being confirmed as signings.

Against a Tonbridge side missing some of their bigger-name players, Lewes made an immediate impact. Right wing-back Ryan Bernal swung in a high cross in the first minute and somehow beat goalkeeper Jacob Adams, giving the Rooks a stunning lead.

In the 7th minute, the hosts equalised as a cross from the left sailed through to Bobby Unwin, who made up for a poor first touch by sweeping a finish past goalkeeper Louis Rogers and defender Clement Asiedu on the line.

With the ball then flying from end to end, Lewes held their own for much of the half. Devonte West, an impressively physical presence in the Rooks’ frontline, had two chances in two minutes as the biggest threat.

Other highlights included Jabari Christmas’ silky footwork in midfield, which got him out of more than one close shave, and the mobility of the trialist playing at left wing-back.

Tonbridge had few chances during this time – an offside Alfie Allen firing straight at Rogers aside – but then snatched the lead in the 41st minute.

Unwin, briefly of Lewes in the back end of 2024-25, was the man at the double, again in the right position as a corner found him on the right of the box for a tidy finish into the bottom left corner.

The Angels could have had a penalty before half-time, too, with nobody more insensed by the referee’s goal kick decision than ex-Lewes assistant manager Joe Vines, now in the Tonbridge dugout.

The players returned to darkness over the High Weald skyline. This did not particularly inspire either team, and much of the second half proved cagier than the first.

Greater interest was sparked by the substitutions made by each manager, with Pritchard introducing a few as-yet-unannounced signings including youth graduates Callum Erskine and Ollie Deda, as well as Walter Figueira and former Millwall academy man Arezki Hamouchene.

Nelson, meanwhile, was forced to replace the injured Allen with another popular former Rook, Marcus Sablier. The game reawakened after the 70th minute, as Bernal drove down the right for Lewes and teed up West for a first-time smash over the crossbar.

Tonbridge striker Eddie Simon responded with a rasping 25-yard strike which struck the angle of post and crossbar, and the hosts then piled on the pressure for the remainder of the match.

While Rogers spilled a corner, the Lewes goalkeeper was not overly troubled by any other effort, with his defence doing enough to hold tricky Tonbridge attack at bay.

Lewes conclude their pre-season on Saturday with the visit of Southern League Premier Division South side Gosport Borough.

The Hampshire side, managed by former Portsmouth midfielder Danny Hollands, make the trip to the Dripping Pan for a 3pm kick-off.

Lewes: Rogers; Bowry (Deda, 46’), Burchell, Asiedu; Bernal, Chadwick (C) (Figueira, 70’), Christmas (Iandolo, 70’), Trialist (Erskine, 70’); Bennett (Hamouchene, 46’), West; Starkey. Unused: Causton.