Lewes slump continues with defeat at Whitehawk

In an Isthmian premier game which was originally played in late December, only for the floodlights to go out as Whitehawk led 2-0 in the late stages, Lewes’ chance at redemption quickly fizzled out.

Despite going ahead in the fourth minute, the Rooks never pushed on and were punished by a clinical Hawks side who converted their three best chances in the match.

Even a Whitehawk sending-off in the second half could not alter the direction of the points, with Lewes labouring before the Hawks put the gloss on an emotional win.

Following Lewes’ lucky escape in late December, a second bite at the cherry in East Brighton was a big opportunity. This Lewes team was considerably different to the one which lined up less than two months ago, with five changes to their starting XI following a recent injury crisis.

It was one of those additions, winger Taurean Roberts, who made an immediate impact. Just four minutes in, the Rooks man received the ball in space on the left of the box, and steered an excellent finish past Hawks goalkeeper Lennon MacLorg.

It was a welcome break for the Rooks, who had scored just two goals in their previous six games, with one win in that time. Predictably, though, their recent faults reared up as they were pegged back shortly after.

In the 18th minute, a dangerous cross was swept in by right-back Stefan Wright, with Hawks striker Harry Lodovica unmarked in the box to head home.

The hosts piled more misery on Lewes six minutes later, with Wright felled inches inside the box and a penalty awarded. Charlie Lambert thundered his effort into the bottom-right corner, completing a rapid turnaround as the Hawks led 2-1.

The Rooks responded well to going behind. Devonte West sent a beautiful effort narrowly over the crossbar when trying his luck from 20 yards, while Beaux Booth and Roberts also lashed in speculative attempts to varying degrees of success.

It was soon Whitehawk’s turn to threaten, however, as a low Lambert effort was flashed across the face of goal to get Rogers sweating, before Lambert was then set away on the counter and poked a tame effort straight at the ‘keeper.

A late flurry then saw West and Lambert threaten again in almost identical fashion to their previous chances - the former lashing over from 20 yards, and Lambert again foiled by Rogers’ legs.

In a second half of sparse chances, Lewes were expected to be the aggressors, but struggled to get anything going. For much of it, they were one-dimensional, lacking a rhythm and a direction to even burst into the box.

They even received a gift in the 60th minute, when former Rooks man Destiny Ojo was shown a second yellow card for a foul on the right touchline.

With the Hawks down to ten, they concentrated all their energies on defence. Despite facing a rather orthodox 4-4-1, Lewes were devoid of solutions to the stubborn problem they faced.

West was regularly given the ball on the left and asked to produce magic, but with two men assigned to him, the winger struggled to produce the goods. The best chance of the half, before the closing stages, fell to Lodovica, who slashed narrowly wide with an effort from the right of the box.

As the game entered the last five minutes, Lewes threatened to burst into life. A beautifully clipped ball into the box found substitute Charlie Walker on the volley, only for his effort to fizz over the bar and take some wind out of the 35-year-old on his return from injury.

With Lewes unable to muster anything more than that, it left the path open for Whitehawk to seal the win.

In the 92nd minute, substitute Jay Emmanuel-Thomas toyed with the Rooks defenders on the left byline, weaving in and out of challenges. The former Ipswich Town man then cut inside and shunted the ball to the edge of the box, where fellow substitute Florian Kastrati was free as a bird to power past Rogers.

While Lewes tried to muster a response, they couldn’t seriously test the Hawks defence. The hosts therefore secured their sixth win in their last nine games to start seriously looking at a play-off push, while Lewes were left in the opposite camp.

Craig Nelson’s side suffered their sixth loss in their last nine, and are now looking at a home match with 19th-placed Cray Valley Paper Mills this Saturday as a pivotal game to allay any fears of relegation.