Seagulls earn an away point at Lewes.

LEWES 1

WESTON 1

WESTON travelled to Sussex for their penultimate away fixture of the season to the fondly named Dripping Pan Stadium and home of Lewes.

Lewes were the hungrier side in a uneventful first half, which saw Lewes forward Andy Hutchinson lucky to not to receive a card from referee Colin Lymer in the early minutes after a foul on captain Craig Rand.

On the half-hour, Lewes were awarded a corner and Rory Hill’s flag kick fell to David Wheeler, but the midfielder’s shot was blocked twice and the ball fell kindly to Lewes defender Chris Breech, his shot was also blocked by a resilient Weston defence.

In the second half, both teams upped the tempo and Weston’s Nat Pepperell found Marcus Duharty in the penalty area, but his shot was blocked at the near post by goalkeeper Chris Winterton.

Lewes went ahead in the 56th minute when a sustained attack down the right saw Gary Noel’s header cleared as far as Rory Hill and his shot just squeezed in at the far post. Minutes later and Noel was unlucky not to make it 2-0.

There was an agonisingly protracted game of head tennis around the Lewes penalty area before the ball fell kindly for Kane Ingram, who floated it into the top corner.

Minutes later Jamie Price seemed to have put the Seagulls ahead when he sneaked around the back of the Lewes defence to head in a Kane Ingram’s free kick, but the goal was disallowed after the linesman flagged for offside during the build-up.

Lewes were also denied all three points when a goal in the 89th minute, Danny Buckle flicked a deft overhead shot into the net, just after the referee had blown for an infringement.

In stoppage time, Weston’s Pepperrell capitalised on a loose clearance but blasted wide when scoring looked easier.

Weston’s journey home was made more rewarding, when stuck in traffic on the M4 for 45 minutes, ex-England player and now England Under-21s manager Stuart Pearce rolled alongside the coach, Pearce was happy to sign autographs and have his photo taken with the players.

Weston team: Irish, Price, Slocombe, Rand, Laird, Gilbert, Ingram, Kirk, Duharty (Kabba), Trowbridge, Pepperell. Subs not used: Porter, Martin, Diallo, Grubb.