DEPLETED Hassocks
picked up a well deserved point away to
relegation battlers Pagham on Saturday in what
was their 11th draw in 30 matches. Drainage
work at the Beacon has helped Robins get well
ahead of their fixtures and they are on course
to finish their season before mid-April.
With other teams
having games in hand, Dave John's side
can expect to slip steadily down the table
although after this game they needed only two
more points to reach the magical 40-point mark
that most managers view as the safety zone.
Pagham's Dave
Berkovitz would probably be happy to change
places with Hassocks but at least his team
have shown signs of improvement of late.
Not that they
looked particularly impressive in this match,
however, against visitors robbed
of numerous regulars. Both sides struggled to
produce a spectacle to take fans'
minds off a biting north wind that made
watching distinctly uncomfortable.
Daley Clark
went close with a glancing header from a good
cross by Michael Bates only eight minutes in
but Hassocks were relieved to stay on terms
after 36 minutes when skipper Ashley Marsh was
penalised for a foul on Brett Forden after
good work by Pagham's Ryan Cox had worked the
ball into the box. The visitors felt referee
James Slaney had missed a foul earlier but
could have no grumbles about the award of the
spot kick, which Forden then struck against
Jack Simpson's right hand post after sending
the keeper the wrong way.
No doubt the
visitors felt that was poetic justice and they
deserved to go in at half time still on level
terms despite Simpson having to dive low
to his left to prevent the hapless Forden
making amends. Clearly the influential Pagham
No 8 was sore after his penalty miss for he
got into an argument with Marsh after that and would
not let the matter rest until he finally
talked himself into a yellow card. That
was the topic of debate after Mr Slaney's
whistle ended the half and was still in mind
on the resumption until an error by Marsh
offered the hosts a welcome distraction eight
minutes in. Marsh's back header was ill
advised and he could have done without the
recipient being Pagham's leading scorer
Michael Frangou, who took the chance
clinically.
One wondered
where Hassocks could find an equaliser from
but an inkling came three minutes later when
Sam Jeremiah, still working his way back to
match fitness, conjured up a good run that
ended with a crisp shot that, unfortunately
for him, was too close to home stopper Wes
Hallett. It
was still evenly contested when the equaliser
did arrive on 73 minutes as
youngsters Michael Bates and Nathan Miles
combined neatly from a throw-in on
the right and Miles' deep cross was
headed in at the far post by Jeremiah, who
must surely have a soft spot for Nyetimber
Lane where his stoppage time goal famously
earned previous club St Francis Rangers their
much cherished Division 1 status. Two
minutes later Simpson stayed big to deny
Frangou from a one-on-one to leave honours
even and both sides relieved and disappointed
in equal measure.
Hassocks: J
Simpson; Bates, Marsh, Bowra, Faith, Thompson;
O'Callaghan, Gault, Clark; Jeremiah,
Miles.
Subs: Laing
(Jeremiah, 81), Dawson & I Simpson (not
used).
Middy Starman:
Skipper Marsh generally had a good game but
ruled himself out
with a couple of bad errors and so it
goes to the ever-reliable Stuart Faith.
