Tuesday 7th November 2023 – The Fenix Trophy – The Dripping Pan, Lewes
Aside from a couple of Isthmian South league games against Guernsey and an FA Trophy tie against Merthyr a few years ago, there’s not been many opportunities to play against teams outside of England. But this summer an opportunity arose for us to take part in the expanded Fenix Trophy, now in its third season.
Developed by Leo Aleotti, the owner of Italian side FC Brera, the invite-only tournament features clubs with a social purpose, community-focused or are aligned to a special cause. FC United of Manchester won the 2021/22 inaugural tournament, whilst last season the Danes FC Skjold were victorious in the San Siro. This season twelve teams would be doing battle, in four groups of three, playing each other home and away. Our opponents would be tournament veterans KSK Beveren and FC Oslo, themselves making their debut in the competition. It had taken months to get to this point, trying to organise the fixtures over the next few months, with the complication that FC Oslo’s season was at an end and wouldn’t start again until March.
I’m sure that clubs who play in European tournaments have someone, or a team of people who focus on the logistics of travel and hosting teams from overseas. But the clubs involved in the Fenix don’t have the luxury of such resources. Which is why at 8.30am I was at Gatwick Airport waiting to welcome our visitors from FC Oslo, hoping that they had actually booked their flights and were on the Norwegian Air flight due to have landed 30 minutes ago. I’d already caused a mile-long queue at the single manned ticket desk at the airport’s train station by buying 64 return tickets (32 to Brighton and back, 32 to Lewes from Brighton and back), which caused the ticket machine to overheat, and print a dozen or so more tickets than required. Oh how the rest of the queue laughed.
Thankfully, they were and as my “Welcome to England” gift to them, I bought 32 Greggs sausage rolls and passed them around the squad. Yes, they may have got up at 4am but in that moment, I could see in their eyes it was worth it. Professional clubs would have been transported to their hotel by a luxury coach but we don’t conform to standard at Lewes. Instead, we would be on the 9.31pm Thamslink service to Brighton, where the team would be ensconced in the luxurious Ibis Hotel. The mood on the way down was jovial. I was asked whether Brighton was a ‘proper town’ by one of the players. It took a few follow up questions to realise what he was asking was whether there would be any hairdressers open to do his braids before the game. I responded and said he was about to arrive at the capital of braiding, and if he wanted a tattoo whilst drinking his organic matcha and listening to Chilean panpipe music, then he didn’t have to walk more than 50 yards without finding somewhere.
Once at the hotel, the party took over reception. Whilst it is unfeasible that they would have 16 rooms ready at 10am, it was also in their interest to get as many of the squad out of reception where tiredness was already kicking in. I’m not one for mind games but I have to say that myself and some of my colleagues liberal use of the phrase “you must be tired after such an early start and a long journey” may have come straight out of the Derren Brown guide to influencing behaviour, hoping that they would feel too tired to play when it came to kick off.
I left the chaps to have a few hours “free time” in Brighton, recommending a trip down to the Pier, through the Lanes and of course, a swim in the sea. I’d provided a minute by minute itinerary for them, so had exactly 4 hours and 37 minutes before I’d welcome them at Lewes Train station. We had arranged a tour of the town for them but they were too tired to walk too far (see, it’s working!) and instead took them to the Royal Oak, where we had rented upstairs for them to relax in, in the very same room back in 1885 where another group of men decided to form a football team and play down the hill at The Dripping Pan. The historical reference was lost on many of them.
Aside from watching their game against fellow group D opponents two weeks ago against KSK Beveren on YouTube, we would be stepping onto the Dripping Pan pitch with a sense of the unknown as to what we’d face. There had been a lack of information about their squad, a scant amount of information about their games and no idea on how they would line up or play. What we could see was they had a couple of solid players, who we assumed (correctly) would be their back four. Their recent league form had seem them score for fun, averaging over four goals a game, as they won the Oslo 2 4th Division for the first time last week. In just 48 hours time they would face Ready 1907, the other Fourth Division Oslo region league winners to determine who would be the champions of champions. Naturally, we reminded them of how big a game that would be for them and such a long day today would make them tired by the time they returned home.
An hour before kick off I was standing on the pitch in front of the BBC cameras, ready to do a “down the line” interview, where someone unseen to me in a studio somewhere was asking the questions. I wasn’t alone as a lost in translation issue had seen FC Oslo captain Ivar Erlien Furu emerge in full kit to do the interview rather than the CEO that we’d ask them for. Not to be deterred, the first question was fired at Ivar – “You’ve had a long journey to Lewes. Have you had a chance to look around the town and enjoy some of the countryside?”. Ivar carefully considered the question, then answered with a steely stair at the camera, “no”.
Media duties done, and with our first printed match day programmes in nearly 6 years completely sold out before kick off, we reminded the officials of the rules (which despite being a UEFA sanctioned tournament, were “fluid”) and the sides took to the field. Our guests presented us with a pennant, whilst we gave them a green beanie hat, the only thing we could lay our hands on at short notice – after all, I doubt any Norwegians would own such protection to arctic weather.
It was a cagey opening few minutes, with both sides feeling each other out. With well over 1,000 in the ground, this was one of, if not, the biggest crowds the Norwegians had ever faced. The Ham Lane End gently welcomed keeper Robin Vikskjold, who played along with the banter all through the game. FC Oslo were solid at the back, which is what we expected, but perhaps more surprising considering their scoring exploits is that they didn’t really trying to counter attack with numbers. Wave after wave of Lewes pressure buffeted against the Norwegian rock at the back. Both Deon Moore and Kalvin Lombombo Kalaha (aka KLK) had the beating of their full-backs and the two combined in the 15th minute, the former’s cross was nodded in at the far post by the latter.
The visitors did well to keep the score to just a single goal by half-time with fans-favourite Vikskjold keeping out efforts from Moore, Wood and Elliott.
The second half was a much more even affair that saw the Norwegians show their physical side. Whilst Lewes are no wall flowers in going toe to toe, with a relatively small squad, the visitors challenges at times were robust to say the least, a fact borne out by four cautions, lengthy treatment to Arthur Penney and young Archie Tamplin departing on a stretcher with suspected concussion after being thrown to the floor. It was all a bit out of character for the spirit of the game and fortunately there were no further incidents as the Rooks tried to find a second goal that would see them top the ground after the first round of matches.
It ended 1-0. A good work out for both sides with big games ahead. Lewes hadn’t been at their most fluent best but it had been an opportunity to get minutes in the legs of a few of the squad and they’d done well. A goal or two more would have topped the night off, but fair play to FC Oslo’s keeper and centre-backs.
At the far end of the ground four fans cut a lonely picture on the open terrace as they cheered on the Norwegians. It turns out they weren’t Norwegians, nor were they from anywhere near Scandinavia. A bit closer to home actually – Worthing. Instead of watching their side take on Havant & Waterlooville, they had incurred the cost of travelling to Lewes and paid for tickets to Lewes just so they could show the 1,100 other fans how much they didn’t like Lewes. After the game the FC Oslo fans signed shirts and posed for photos with them which hopefully left them with some positive memories of their trip to The Dripping Pan.
Post match, and food consumed, some of the Norwegians headed back to Brighton rather than staying in the bar, determined to make a night of it in the city centre. Yes, there was an important match in 48 hours but these Viking warriors were determined to make every second count of their trip.
It had been a success. Logistically, bar a few teething problems, we coped, the crowd went home happy, we sold out of most pies, most beer and all of the programmes. We now get to experience the other side of European football as we travel to Belgium next month to face KSK Beveren. Happy days.
The Ball is Round 
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