Match in 28 pictures: Newhaven beat Crowborough Athletic by odd goal in five

Late goals by Ryan Warwick and Lee Robinson (2) saw off the challenge of Crowborough, who led 1-0 then drew it back to 2-2 in a dramatic second half at Fort Road. Crowborough are 17th after this defeat.

See pictures from the match by Paul Trunfull on this page and those linked, and get the local football action in the Sussex Express, out on Friday.

Here’s the full report from David Fuller:

A frantic final 15 minutes saw Newhaven snatch victory against Crowborough at Fort Road on Saturday. Up to that point, the Dockers had trailed 1-0 after Harry Forster had given the visitors a deserved lead in the 50th minute.

In truth, the hosts were lucky not to be further behind by this stage, with the Crows having been largely dominant. They could have been two-up inside the opening ten minutes, with the first clear opening of the match coming just 30-seconds of kick-off, only for Josh Tuck to make a great last-ditch tackle. Jake Buss then twice made very good saves to perverse parity.

At the other end, the Dockers were struggling to find any attacking momentum. Ryan Warwick and Callum Edwards both had opportunities that could only be described as half-chances at best, but it was the Crows who were well on top. Even after Forster had put Crowborough ahead with a speculative long-range strike that deceived Buss, bouncing over him and into the net, Newhaven never really looked like responding.

Not, that is, until with 15-minutes remaining Jake Robinson scampered up the right wing, and his cross found its way to Warwick at the far post who made no mistake. Four minutes later, Newhaven were, somewhat inconceivably, ahead. The suddenly shaky Crows defence failed to clear a long Tom Vickers throw-in, and Lee Robinson eventually bundled the ball home at the second attempt. Soon after, Jake Robinson thought he’d added a third, only for his effort to be cleared off the line.

Crowborough weren’t done yet, though. Just a minute after Jake Robinson had been denied, a deflected effort from Crowborough hit the bar and landed straight at the feet of Forster who couldn’t miss from close-range. With the game now seemingly destined for a fourth draw in a row between the two sides, Newhaven went and won it in injury time. A sumptuous ball over the top from debutant Regan Clarke-Salter set Lee Robinson away, and Newhaven’s record goalscorer brilliantly lobbed the ball over the stranded visiting goalkeeper’s head for what proved to be the winning goal.

Despite a disjointed opening month of the season, Newhaven have emerged with 11 points from six games, without ever really hitting their stride. A steady, if not spectacular, start to the new campaign.