Report By Andrew Finch

Second half goals from the returning Ashley Lodge and Tom Windsor earned the Moles a share of the spoils, after Jamie Brotherton’s penalty and Jonte Smith’s fine solo goal had given the hosts a commanding half-time lead.

Following floodlight failure at Corinthian-Casuals a fortnight ago the prospect of a second abandonment in as many weeks was very much on the cards for the Moles, with multiple patches of standing water on the surface making the closing stages a bit of a lottery.

The ref had a fine game, and it was to his credit that he opted to complete the 90 minutes, although did bear the fury of the Lewes management by blowing for full-time seconds after the clock had struck 90 minutes, despite a flurry of second half substitutions.

The Moles once again lined up with a new centre back pairing, with James King partnering the ever-maturing Ryan David. There was also the very welcome sight of Ross Chalke taking his place on the bench just seven weeks after suffering a serious head injury at Cray Wanderers.

Lodge picked up where he left off following his hugely successful spell with the club five years ago. Playing in the ‘McShane’ role behind the front two he linked the play superbly and provided drive and energy. All that was good about the Moles invariably went through him.

Twice in the opening stages he combined with full-backs Nathan Gordon and Sam Charles to get in behind the home defence, although on both occasions the chance came to nothing.

It was slightly against the run of play on ten minutes when Gordon allowed Charlie Coppola to get the wrong side of him, and then clumsily bundled him over in the box. Brotherton stroked home the penalty.

Allen pulled off a routine save from Brotherton and a slightly less routine one to deny Lloyd Cotton’s header from a corner, but it was the Moles who should have drawn blood next, when Charlie Samuels’ skewed harmlessly wide from Jake Ross’ defence splitting pass.

Ross was just as influential as Lodge during the first half with his quick feet and close control, but he was crowded out inside the Lewes half five minutes before the interval which allowed the hosts to break three on two.

It looked like the chance had gone when ex Met Police and current Bermuda international striker Smith took a heavy touch wide having run half the length of the pitch, but he finished expertly into the bottom corner to double the hosts lead.

The second half was played at a frantic pace, and after Samuels had twice been denied by Chris Winterton the turning point of the match arrived on the hour mark.

Lewes’ Jack Dixon let fly from 22 yards, which Allen did superbly to keep out and then gobble up the loose ball.

Ten seconds later the Moles had halved the deficit, with Allen throwing to Rose, who released Lodge to slot beyond Winterton. Game on.

With conditions worsening, the Moles won a corner with 15 minutes to go, and with the ball only partially cleared Gordon played an intelligent ball out wide for Rose to close in and cross for Windsor to scramble home for 2-2.

With momentum now on Molesey’s side the sizeable home contingent that moments earlier had been calling for the game to continue were now lambasting the ref for opting to carry on.

And this was where the fun really begun. Substitute Jordan Johnson-Palmer looked to be clear on goal but left the ball behind in a puddle, slide tackles seemed to finish across the county border from where they started, and any pass played along the ground stood virtually no chance whatsoever of reaching its intended recipient.

In a Molesey team lacking height skipper Craig Lewington won some vital towering headers in the closing stages, and the Moles were relieved when Dixon missed a couple of close range headers in the dying minutes.

They did almost complete the unlikeliest of comebacks, when Johnon-Palmer struck just over.

Credit must go to the Lewes groundstaff for preparing the pitch in such a way that it just about withstood 90 minutes of relentless downpour, and it was the Moles who were happier with the point that gives them the tiniest amount of breathing space over the bottom three.

As November draws to a close they have tricky looking fixtures against Tooting & Mitcham and Cray Wanderers, as well as the chance to atone for September’s humiliating 7-0 defeat to Walton Casuals.
The start of that sequence is Tuesday night at Imperial Fields, Tooting.