A single change to the side who narrowly lost their league opener on Sunday resulted in Katie Young being restored to the starting line-up and Becs Bell starting on the bench. Manager Jesus Cordon also enjoyed the luxury of a full set of subs to choose from, with new signing Jess Richardson making her first appearance of the season in a matchday squad. Regular number one Lauren Dolbear was back but also had to be content with a place amongst the replacements, owing to the form of Libby Kingshott. Player-of-the-Match at AFC Bournemouth at the weekend. Chloe Winchester also made a welcome return to the team sheet.
Unfortunately though, the current club trend of going behind appears to have spread to the Women. After the same fate befell them three days ago, it happened again thanks to a misplaced pass presenting the hosts with an early gift that they gratefully received. Layla Proctor was given the freedom of the Dripping Pan to get the ball rolling just eight minutes in.
Putting the setback behind them, the visitors soon got back into the game. Indeed it only took three further minutes for Sophie Humphrey to make headway down the left-hand side and find Tierney Scott inside the penalty area. Her pullback to Katie Cooper, outside it, came mightily close to restoring the equilibrium.
The Rebels continued to play on the front foot when Holly Talbut-Smith slipped in Sammy Quayle soon afterwards, only for the striker’s shot to go inches the wrong side of the near post.
However, the seven made no mistake around the half-hour mark thanks to Scott’s run on the right resulting in Dani Lane picking out Quayle who made no mistake at the second time of asking.
A case of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ almost put the blue-clad Reds in front on the stroke of half-time. This time Scott was a whisker away from getting on the end of Lane’s through ball.
‘Tense and tight’ could have described the first forty-five quite aptly but the embryonic stages of the second period were quite different.
Lane shifted the ball out of her feet to whistle a long-ranger over the crossbar, before Emily Linscer resumed a more familiar role up front by drifting inside and forcing a brilliant tip over the top out of Rooks’ custodian and namesake Emily Moore.
The resulting corner drew more gasps from the two hundred-plus in attendance, via Skipper Dan Rowe not simply taking it but procuring another one following an identical effort and outcome.
Not to be outdone though, Lois Roche joined the many of those watching in shock as her flag- kick up the other end somehow evaded everyone in the eighteen yard box, except for an unidentified blue leg.
On Sunday, it had been Bournemouth’s bar that had denied Dani Lane. On Wednesday night, the upright came to Lewes’ rescue. A superb first touch by Rowe, succeeded by a raking pass out to half-time change Bell saw Becs cursing her luck when she struck the outside of the goal frame.
Muna Eze then reminded the team from the other side of the County line that they weren’t necessarily going to have things all their own way; flashing a rising drive above the crossbar after deceiving Linscer in the inside right channel.
An end-to-end encounter opened up even more thanks to Quayle’s persistence paying off during her dispossessing of Captain Hannah Godfrey, only for More to save the day yet again; racing out to snuff out the danger.
The match tipped in the homester’s favour for a while after that, concluding with substitute Katie Gilligan pulling an attempt narrowly off target.
It really was anyone’s game, as both sides repeatedly attacked at will. Rowe sent Young along the right wing, More punched clear, Lane recycled and Winchester’s strike was charged down.
Added time might have led to an extra thirty minutes no longer being required, although Carpenter would have been disappointed at merely scooping Adekite Fatuga-Dada’s byline burst and pullback into the grateful gloves of Kingshott, at her front stick.
So, the regular ninety failed to separate these two close rivals, meaning a further half-an-hour would have to be played if the dreaded penalty shootout was to be avoided.
It didn’t take long for the relentless Blues to overcome any tired legs by way of a brilliant Quayle tackle allowing Bell to utilise her great speed on the right flank. Lane, the recipient of Becs’ subsequent delivery though unable to keep her shot down.
Less than sixty seconds later, Lane turned provider when she switched roles with BB and set her up for a near post stinger that More repelled.
Five minutes from the end of the first period, Humphrey worked hard on the left and located Quayle in the danger zone, where a fifty-fifty challenge with former Worthing defender Izzy Glass-Oliver put paid to hopes of holding a half-time advantage.
Looming ever larger, the ‘taking of kicks from the penalty mark’ ebbed away when sub Carpenter unleashed a rocket, at least twenty yards out that even the airborne Kingshott couldn’t quite keep out of the top corner, three minutes into the second period of extra-time.
A Rooks result could have been sealed moments later, after Fatuga-Dada recovered from a bad case of cramp to see her effort deflected behind and, despite an inordinate amount of even more added minutes – during which back-up ‘keeper Ella Hunkin was forced to quickly change into an outfield kit, until Fatuga-Dada declared herself fit to continue – a battling Blues outfit were ultimately left to contemplate what might have been.
