FA Challenge Cup -
Extra Preliminary Round
Saturday 16th
August 2008
WOEFUL
ROBINS OUT WITH A WHIMPER
Hassocks
0-1 Shoreham
This
woeful performance and resulting exit from this
season’s exit from the FA Cup, capped a bad week for
the Robins. They had to switch this game to Culver
Road, Lancing, as heavy midweek rain opened up
drainage slits on the surface of the Beacon playing
surface, leaving the pitch unplayable. As well as the
1-0 loss, Hassocks ended the game with 10 men, Ali
Russell being shown a straight red by referee Mr Flynn
after an alleged stamp on Owen Callaghan. There were
conflicting views on the sending off, some spectators
saying that it wasn’t intentional after he himself
was fouled, whilst the Shoreham bench were quick to
berate Russell after the incident.
With
Peter Lear unavailable, Phil Fitzgerald made his first
Hassocks appearance at the heart of the Robins defence
and Spencer Slaughter was again used as a striker
alongside Russell. The game itself was a dour affair
with goalmouth action at a premium all afternoon –
hardly surprising as the sides drew both league
encounters last term. Hassocks were not at the races
and the sharpness of passing and attacking qualities
shown at Hailsham earlier in the week were sadly
non-existent. This particular afternoon they didn’t
trouble Michael Hunter in the Shoreham goal at all.
Shoreham
scored the winning goal on 20 minutes, Dean Smith
flicking on an up field clearance into the path of
Neil Kane, who outpaced the Robins defence before
coolly slotting past Paul Williams in the Hassocks
goal. Twice before the interval, Shoreham defender Lee
Denyer went close, firstly with a well struck free
kick that Williams handled well down to his right and
then with a header which just flashed wide. The
visitors also had a good shout for a penalty when it
appeared that James Bird had handled a Dan Taylor
cross but the referee waved away the claims. Jamie
Hillwood flashed a wild effort wide in Hassocks’
only meaningful foray into the Shoreham area, as the
Blues deservedly led at the interval.
Anthony
Hibbert and Fitzgerald were both booked for tackles
and once Russell was sent off, it was always going to
be an uphill struggle for Hassocks against a defence
well marshalled by Matt Hurley and Lee Denyer. Even
when Hassocks brought Matt Amos, Laurence Robinson and
James Laing on, they rarely threatened, with the best
effort coming from Amos’s speculative overhead kick
on 87 minutes which went wide of the post.
A
very disappointing performance and outcome for
Hassocks, who missed the chance of a £750 win bonus
and more importantly a home tie against Kingstonian in
the next round.
Hassocks;
Williams, Percival (Laing 76), Hillwood, Marsh,
Fitzgerald, White, Bird, Hibbert (Robinson 70),
Russell, Slaughter, McKenzie (Amos 60)
Unused
subs – Thompson, J Simpson
Man
of the Match – not awarded – the whole team were
well below par
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