HASSOCKS got Hassocks
back on Saturday and while the standard of football
may not have been particularly high, there was no
shortage of effort and commitment as they finally
saw off the RUR challenge of Division 2 strugglers
Midhurst.
Dave John in his
first game back in charge after the sacking of John
Suter and the departure of all the players with
Horsham YMCA connections, admitted it was a long
second half and added with a rye grin: “It will
probably be a long season.”
Johnsy has been there
before and knows he does not have the same number of
quality players to draw on as he has done in
previous years but until he can address that
problem, he will be more than happy to accept the
old Robins spirit.
Goals early in each
half should really have been enough to see off the
visitors but they pulled one back in excellent style
on 53 minutes and from there threatened to complete
the comeback. It was a somewhat tense time for the
hosts but really they missed enough decent chances
in the first half to have dispensed with all that
worry.
Laurence Robinson made his trip home from university
well worthwhile by scoring after only six minutes. A
good ball by Michael Bates released Dan Jacques down
the right and his cross was touched home at the near
post by the tall striker who revels in the nickname
‘Crouchy.’Midhurst showed they were not going to
lie down and roll over after that and with No 8
Jamie Buitenhuis looking particularly lively, they
were always in the hunt.
But as half time
approached, the Robins had some great chances to add
to their lead. First a long throw by Richard
Thompson was headed goalwards by James Laing and
clawed away from under the bar by keeper Gavin
Arnell, who then somehow kept out Jacques’
follow-up header.
Laing then almost defied belief by hitting the
underside of the bar from no more than a yard when
Anthony Hibbert’s inswinging corner posed
problems. Jamie Hillwood was only just wide from the
half clearance and then almost immediately Laing
tested Arnell after a poor goalkick by the keeper.
Thompson failed to
make the second half as he was nursing a hamstring
injury but it could have been all over little more
than a minute in when the visiting defence backed
off Hibbert and he produced one of his crisp drives
from 25 yards to leave Arnell well beaten.
But credit Midhurst
for replying swiftly although two minutes before
they reduced the deficit Laing and Robinson
engineered an excellent break and the latter’s
superb cross ended with a Hibbert header that Gary
Jones cleared
off the line with his keeper beaten. Midhurst cashed
in on that when Hillwood started an alarming
second-half trend among most of his team-mates in
giving away possession cheaply and Buitenhuis
crossed to the nearpost where Dan Warren scored with
a bullet header. Simpson got his hands firmly to the
ball but it had too much power to make any
difference.
After that the minutes ticked by slower for Hassocks
than they probably did for Midhurst, whose best
chance was squandered by Warren as he blazed over a
chance put on a plate by skipper James Glue.
Hassocks’ best opportuinty fell to Hillwood after
an astute back heel by sub Aaron Walsh but at the
other end they were grateful to keeper Simpson deep
in stoppage time when he leapt to his left to turn
around a powerful drive by defender Paul Grantham.
The hosts may have
ridden their luck but after the traumas of this
season, everyone in the Hassocks camp was simply
happy to get back to some kind of normality.
Hassocks: Simpson; Jacques, Marsh, Faith, Pitcher,
Thompson; Bates, Hibbert, Hillwood;
Laing, Robinson.
Subs: Eynon
(Thompson, 45), Walsh (Laing, 76), Williams &
Buckett (not used).
Middy Starman: The whole team as none could be
faulted for effort
Report courtersy of
Chris Francis at the Mid Sussex Times
