If before Saturday's
trip to Selsey Dave John had been offered a point,
he would probably have bitten your hand off,
especially with a starting line up with an average
age of just 21. But
in the end he was slightly disappointed that his
young Hassocks team did not collect a much-needed
three points against a Selsey outfit who looked
like they were struggling for confidence
themselves. Chances were few and far between in
the goalless draw and Jack Simpson will rarely
have a more trouble-free afternoon, with just one
save to make in the first half and a few crosses
to gather after that, which his big frame made him
comfortably equipped to do.
The Hassocks back
line of Jacques, Eynon, Marsh, Pitcher and, in
particular, the superb Stuart Faith, dealt
admirably with anything that was thrown at them
and Blues were restricted to a couple of
speculative efforts that flew tamelessly over.
James Laing, the oldest player in the side at 31,
played in an unfamiliar holding midfield role and
did a fine job alongside Anthony Hibbert and
effervescent Jamie Hillwood. The 18-year-old
Hillwood is far from the finished article, his
defensive duties often leave a lot to be desired,
but as an attacking influence he is a real find.
Twice he put in excellent efforts in the first
period, forcing Steve Phillips to save low down on
both ocassions.
But the best chance
of the entire match fell to Jamie Buckett on 19
minutes when after fine work down the left by
Hillwood and Eynon, the striker scuffed his shot
badly wide from eight yards with just Phillips to
beat. It was a critical miss in the context of the
game. In the second half, Hillwood marauded into
the box but his cross-shot went agonisingly wide
of the far post, Buckett headed straight at
Phillips from Jacques' cross and Hibbert shot just
wide. At the other end Tom Ridley and Mark Lee
both hooked efforts over and it looked as if each
side had settled for a point in the final quarter,
especially Selsey as they were reduced to 10 men
with 12 minutes left, when Sean Dobbs received a
second caution for a tackle on Laing.
Main talking point
at the end was the performance of Burgess Hill
referee Colin Mallows in booking six players,
including Faith and Eynon, in a game where all
players were committed but hardly produced a bad
tackle between them. All too often, it seemed, the
official held up play to hold a conference with
players as well as scattering yellow cards around
like confetti. But it was a good away day for the
Robins, with a hard-earned point to boost
confidence as John tries to get the club back on
track.
Hassocks: Simpson,
Jacques, Eynon, Marsh, Faith, Pitcher, Buckett
(Miles, 75), Hillwood, Hibbert, Laing, Robinson.
Unused subs: A
Williams, Thompson.
Middy Starman: It
was an excellent, whole hearted performance by a
young side but Stuart Faith gets the vote as he
hardly lost a tackle or header all afternoon.
