Consistency
has hardly been the name of Hassocks’ game
this season and on Saturday it was certainly a
case of after the lord mayor’s show. A
splendid 4-1 win at Arundel seven days earlier
seemed a distant memory as they turned in an
abysmal performance in being well beaten by
the County League basement dwellers. There was
no disguising manager Dave John’s
disappointment although he preferred to dwell
on the more positive side, saying at least his
side created chances in the second half. That
was true but their finishing matched the
general all-round performance and in the end
both sides got what they deserved. For the
visitors, this welcome win was enough to
lift them off the bottom although their
continued survival in the top flight seems
highly doubtful.
At
the start there was no lack of confidence in
the home camp as Hassocks were happy to pass
the ball around. Unfortunately that confidence
was misplaced as the final pass nearly always
let them down and they were guilty of far too
much sideways and backward movement rather
than getting the ball forward where they could
cause some damage. Oak were not any better and
a couple of decent chances fell to Hassocks’
James Laing before Bognor Regis referee Nigel
Baker awarded a soft penalty against them on
36 minutes. Before that Clay Lamont had
recovered to block Laing’s effort inside the
six-yard box after Phil Gault headed on an
Anthony Hibbert cross and then keeper Aaron
Stenning got down well, low to his left to
deny Laing after the home striker had managed
to hook the ball goalwards from a prone
position after his first effort was blocked.
The
penalty, the fourth game running Hassocks had
conceded one, seemed a little harsh as Liam
Austin-Slade appeared to stop just inside the
box and that was the only reason there was any
contact between him and his marker Dan
Jacques. Still, Graham Martin was in no mood
to look a gift horse in the mouth and he
converted from the spot. A second goal inside
three minutes of the second half then more or
less sealed the home side’s fate. Joel
Harding, on his return after a bad facial
injury, had Graham Martin’s free kick
covered despite a deflection but the ball went
behind via a post. The same Oak player then
took the corner and at the far post Lamont
showed his power to muscle his way in for a
stooping header.
Boss
John made a triple substitution on 71 minutes
and while that was sound logic, it seemed
strange he persisted with Anthony Hibbert who
had one of those games he will truly want to
forget. The midfielder is a key player for
Hassocks when he is passing well but he barely
managed a pass of note all match. At least the
changes started to have a positive effect and
two of the newcomers, Nathan Miles and Neil
Kane, were involved in a good break that ended
with Oak’s Gary French conceding a corner
that was not too far away from an own goal.
From the set-piece, Gault squandered a great
heading chance at the near post.
If
the game was not up then, it certainly was on
77 minutes when Hassocks only half cleared a
Graham Martin corner and he returned it to the
near post where No 5 Nick Kerly got the vital
touch to deflect the ball in. After that, well
worked moves produced excellent chances for
Gault and Sam Jeremiah but their finishing was
woeful to just about sum up Hassocks’
afternoon.
Hassocks:
Harding; Jacques, Marsh, O’Callaghan, Lear,
Thompson; Hibbert, Gault, Clark; Jeremiah,
Laing.
Subs: Miles (Clark 71), Kublickas (Jacques
71), Kane (Laing 71).
Starman: Skipper Ashley Marsh continued his
excellent form in the heart of the home
defence but it was not enough to avert defeat.
