Today brought Lewisham Borough to the halfway mark of the current season and produced a fixture, which brought the home sides opponents from the first match of the season to the Ladywell Arena. Lewisham were victorious by a 4-2 score line on that occasion as they out-passed and out-classed Snodland on a sunny day and smooth playing surface. Today brought a very different playing environment with cold weather and a pitch that is saw to the eye.

Lewisham welcomed back Anthony Sands and Sheldon Brown, both long-term absentees, and gave a debut to Stephen Williams in goal. Snodland arrived with a much younger and fresher looking squad than the opening day fixture and started the game at a fast tempo. The away team were putting pressure on the Borough team in all areas of the pitch and also made a number of ‘late’ challenges, which were going un-punished by the referee. Sheldon Brown became a ‘target’ for a few ‘friendly’ tackles and one of these, a kick from behind that was no-where near the ball brought about little more than a free kick.

Martin West was the next player to be caught late, again with only a free kick being given, as he received treatment for a dislocated finger. This resulted in West being off of the field of play for over ten minutes, during which time Snodland grabbed the opening goal. As Sands cleared a ball down the line, Snodland picked the ball up and put it back down the same channel. Sands appealed for offside, only to find Dwayne Okocha behind him playing the opposition on side. The winger then produced a low cross into the box, which first Williams and then Wilson failed to deal with, leaving a simple tap-in for a Snodland forward.

Lewisham picked themselves up and finished the half with a lot of possession, particularly in the Snodland box, but without ever testing the keeper.

The second half saw the home team start the stronger and again dominate possession, as the away team found it difficult to get out of their own half. Every time that Snodland entered the Lewisham half, they were dispossessed as Lewisham launched another attack. The problem is that the home team again did not produce a shot on goal.

As the game began to even up again, Williams was called upon to make three good saves, each time rushing off his line to smother Snodland efforts on goal. With minutes remaining, Snodland grabbed a second goal after a defence-splitting pass was finished with an excellent first time effort into the top corner of the net.

With a minute of the match remaining, an incident happened involving a Snodland supporter and Lewisham player which provoked an ‘off-the-field’ brawl, ending with the referee abandoning the game. This was something that is very out of character for both teams, which will be dealt with by the Kent League Officials.

TEAM:

Stephen Williams 7, Anthony Sands 7, Martin West 8, Dwayne Okocha 7, Marcus Wilson 7, Jason Campbell 7, Sheldon Brown 6, Lambert Tsemzang 6, Ricardo Harvey 6, Dinah Diawara 5, Ikeno 5

SUBS:

Chris White 5, Ousmane Kaba 5