Starting 2019 as I mean to go on

Lewes 0 Burgess Hill 3, Bostik Premier League, Tuesday 1^st January 2019

I’m not a great believer in making New Year’s resolutions.

I’m just no good at sticking them. Like, I'm sure, practically everybody else who makes them, ambitions that are entered into with the greatest of intentions at the start of January are already starting to waver by the end of the month before being completely forgotten about by February. They’re simply pointless.  

I do, however, subscribe to the idea of starting the year as you mean to go on. Therefore, on the first day of 2019, there was no way that I wouldn’t be attending a football match somewhere.

And following a quick scroll through the local fixtures I knew that there was only ever one place I would be heading this New Years’ Day – Lewes’s Dripping Pan for the Sussex derby between promotion-chasing Lewes and relegation-battling Burgess Hill in the Bostik Premier League.  

Now at this point I should mention that this is far from the first time that I’ve visited the Dripping Pan.

While a large of my portion of my teenage years were spent on the terraces at Newhaven FC’s Fort Road, a similarly sizable tranche of my early adult years were spent at the Pan. After Newhaven, Lewes are the non-league side that I’ve seen play more than any other, while my two sons have been to the Dripping Pan more times than they’ve been to any other ground. My youngest has even commandeered a Lewes scarf that I bought myself during one of my regular forays to the ground in the early noughites.

However, as I haven’t been there yet this season, and since embarking on my groundhopping journey back in August I’ve decided to reset my visited grounds list to zero, this was the perfect chance to reacquaint myself with the ground.

As well as my two boys, I was attending the match alongside a friend and his son, and some members of his Burgess Hill supporting extended family. Realising that there was likely to be quite a large crowd for the game, we decided to eschew the car in favour of a train. The Dripping Pan is located literally over the road from Lewes train station, and with the train times favourable (and somewhat unbelievably running to schedule) we decided that rail would be a better option than trying to find a parking space, whilst navigating our way through the town’s notoriously narrow streets.

The Dripping Pan is well known in groundhopping circles. Not only is it one of the oldest grounds in the country, but it’s arguably one of the most picturesque too. Surrounded by ancient flint walls – which have caused a few issues with regards to ground development in the past – I have encountered few better places to watch football on my travels.

That said, the Dripping Pan has changed a lot since my first visit there more than 20 years ago (a season in the National League in the mid-noughties making redevelopment of the ground essential). Today it houses a 500-seater stand along one side of the pitch, and an impressive covered stand behind the near goal. There is also an uncovered terraced area at the far end, and a small scoreboard in a far-corner, much to my youngest’s delight. He loves a scoreboard! 

An option even exists to hire out one of the executive beach-huts (yes, really) to watch the match from this rather unique setting. Lewes’s quirkiness, equality drive (the men and women’s team are paid the same amount), and fan-owned community spirit are arguably other factors which have made the Pan a magnet for groundhoppers.

Admission for the game was £12 for adults, which is in line with some of the other Bostik Premier grounds that I’ve been to this season, while under 16s were free – an initiative which regular readers will know I’m a huge fan of.

Unfortunately, a negative mark against the club is now on its way. 

Lewes has become the first club that I’ve been to see this season (out of 30 so far) that no longer produce printed programs!.They do an online version but, unfortunately, I’m old fashioned and a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to these sorts of thing and just don’t like digital programs. The fact is, I like something tangible that I can hold in my hands and glance through before kick-off and during half-time. I spend enough time looking at things through a screen – be it on my computer or my phone – and don’t want to add football programs to the list.

And before I get any moany comments about this slight rant, I do get the financial argument against printing programs, but just think it’s a shame that this long-held tradition of printed matchday programs could be nearing an end.

Anyway, on the match itself.

While I hadn’t seen Lewes play this season, I had watched Burgess Hill play out a dour goalless draw with Worthing back in August. Without doubt the worst game that I’d been to this season.

And after 45 minutes of this match, I was worried that history was about to repeat itself. The only word I can really use to describe the opening half is ‘dull’. And that’s probably giving the game a bit too much credit. 

Honestly, some of the corners and set-pieces were of a standard that wouldn’t have looked out of place in an under 9s match. Some of the players couldn’t seem to get the ball off the floor. It was bizarre!

Despite a crowd of over 1,100 people, the atmosphere felt extraordinarily flat where we were standing (behind the covered goal). Whether this was due to one too many Harvey’s being sunk the night before, or a reflection on the lack of action on the pitch, it’s hard to say. Probably a combination of the two.

While Lewes were the better side in the first 45, and certainly saw much more of the ball, they didn’t really cause the Hillians defence any sustained periods of trouble. The only real chance of note in the first half came in the 40^th minute when Lewes’s Dayshone Golding’s shot was well saved by Josh James.

The only other talking point in the first-half was a yellow card for Burgess Hill’s Andre McCollin for simulation. Admittedly I was a long way from the incident, but both my friend and I thought he’d been clipped when through on goal, an outcome which could have spelt trouble for the Lewes defender.

During the break, having now sat through a game and a half of fairly negative tactics from Burgess Hill, I asked my friend’s relatives if this was a regular trait for the team. They assured me that it wasn’t and were all adamant that the Hillians had been playing quite well recently and would improve.

Now I’m not sure what was said in the Burgess Hill changing room at half-time, but whatever it was worked – as did the addition of two half-time substitutes who changed the game. While the Rooks once again looked lethargic, the Hillians suddenly looked full of energy and began to swarm all over the hosts. This enacted a response from the travelling faithful, who were far noisier than the home side’s fans had been in the first 45 (probably because they were being given something to sing about).

Five minutes into the second-half, the first goal arrived, albeit in highly fortuitous circumstances. A well delivered corner (finally) wasn’t dealt with by the Lewes defence, and the ball bounced off the highly unfortunate Olumide Oluwatimilehin (who was probably the home team’s best player) past the stranded Carey to give the visitors a lead. The goal also sent my youngest son into a huge sulk, culminating in me being handed back my Lewes scarf and him sitting moodily on the floor with his bottom lip resembling a diving board.

If the home fans expected a response from their team then it didn’t come. The Hillians had a goal disallowed for offside, before Ben Pope doubled their lead with a really composed finish into the bottom corner. The players celebrated wildly with the fans. My youngest’s bottom lip became ever more protruding. His mood not helped by his elder brother's decision to start supporting Burgess Hill instead. The turncoat!

Lewes now looked like a heavyweight boxer slumped against the ropes, well aware that one last inevitable punch would finish them off. On the 65^th minute the knockout blow seemingly arrived when the ball was headed in from a corner, only for the referee to rule the goal out, I assume for a push although I didn’t see much wrong with it.

The third goal did duly arrive, though, and it was the best of the lot. Pat Harding was arguably afforded a little too much space outside the area, but in truth there was little anyone could have done to prevent his 25-yard searing half-volley from ending up in the net. Game over and both the Burgess Hill and Lewes fans (and my son, unfortunately - by this point he had his fingers in his ears so he couldn't hear the chanting) knew it.

As the action on the pitch tapered towards its inevitable conclusion, the Burgess Hill fans began indulging in some good-hearted banter, lightly chiding the home fans regarding the lack of atmosphere and noise coming from around three sections of the Pan. That said, I’m not overly impressed by the anti-reading chant that someone started up. There’s nothing wrong with reading a good book guys and girls. And if you’ve got football-loving kids allow me to recommend theAlfie Jones series. I’m not bias, honest!

So I’ve started the year as I mean to go. The Hillians will also be hoping that they have too, while Lewes will be wanting this performance to disappear from memory faster than a New Year's Day hangover.