Lewes rally at Wingate for vital point ahead of hectic run
Lewes FC could reflect on a positive turnaround in their fortunes as they were on the right side of a late comeback in their 2-2 draw at Wingate & Finchley.
The Rooks were comfortably second-best in North London in the first half and were 2-0 down by the 58th minute with two sloppy goals, only to turn things around.
Danny Bassett converted a 79th-minute penalty and Gianluca Botti netted a 91st-minute equaliser, before the football gods smiled on Lewes as their hosts sent a 94th-minute penalty over the crossbar.
On an afternoon of horrible winds and rain at the Maurice Rebak Stadium, the Rooks were always up against it as they faced a side one place above them in the Isthmian Premier Division table and boasting the league’s top goalscorer, Ogo Obi.
Wingate & Finchley were admittedly without a win in five games and had lost their last four, but with Obi scoring the first goal and Jaiden Drakes-Thomas capitalising on a defensive mix-up to double the lead, they looked back to their early-season best.
Lewes were off the pace and considering they had dropped points late on against Dulwich Hamlet, Billericay Town and most recently Chichester City, they did not look like getting back into the game.
However, Bassett and Botti – scoring their 12th and 8th league goals of the season, respectively – rescued the Rooks in just the fourth time this season they had won points from a losing position.
The result will have pleased manager Craig Nelson, who has become increasingly frustrated by dropping points of late.
Nelson made decisive changes by bringing in defenders Ethan Kaiser and Peter Ojemen for the Wingate trip, and with this pair available after spells out of the side, there are encouraging signs ahead of a busy festive schedule.
After hosting Folkestone Invicta on Boxing Day, the Rooks travel to Hashtag United on Saturday 28th December and then make the short journey to Whitehawk on New Year’s Day.
This is the tightest turnaround of games Lewes will face all season, but with all three of the week’s opponents sitting in the bottom half, Nelson’s side will fancy their chances.
They will be wary of a Hashtag side on a five-match unbeaten league run and Shaun Saunders’ resurgent Whitehawk, but with Lewes on the edge of the play-off places, motivation for positive results has never been higher.