Sussex RUR Cup 2nd Round
Saturday 18th October 2008
JOHNSY RETURNS WITH A WIN
Hassocks 2-1 Midhurst and Easebourne

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