JUST
a week before big-spending Hawks entertain
Northern League club Marske United for a place
in the FA Vase quarter finals, it was Hassocks
who visited East Brighton Park and found it an
unwelcoming place. Dave John’s Robins
usually give Hawks plenty to think about, both
home and away, but not so in Saturday’s
County League game, which was settled by half
time thanks to a Sam Crabb hat-trick.
On
a lumpy and dead surface that certainly does
silky Hawks more harm than most of their
visitors, Hassocks were not in the race in the
opening 45 minutes. It was stoppage time
before they engineered their first chance as
James Laing pulled the ball back from the left
and Spencer Slaughter hit a low right foot
shot just wide of keeper Lloyd Anderson’s
righthand post.
Two
minutes earlier, Crabb had completed his
three-timer when his finish was simplicity
itself after a good ball inside the full back
had sent Marc Whiteman racing down the left to
deliver an accurate low cross. That was
Crabb’s second strike in four minutes after
he had finally opened the scoring on 31
minutes. The second goal was a follow-up after
a superb save by Joel Harding, who picked up
an injury in the process.
Although
the visiting keeper came out for the start of
the second half, he lasted only eight minutes
before a jarred elbow prompted him to hand
over the No 1 jersey and gloves to defender
Sol Bowra, who had volunteered at half time to
step into the breach if required. Keiran
O’Callaghan, a beach footballer of some
renown who has not played for Robins for
several seasons, was the player who took
Bowra’s place in defence. As a keeper, Bowra
did not have too much to do but Hawks still
added two to their tally and the stand-in
would have been disappointed with the first of
those on 69 minutes as sub Wes Tate did well
on the right before his low cross slipped
under Bowra’s body and left Scott Kirkwood a
simple tap over the line.
The
final goal was again down to Tate as he
rounded Bowra and saw his goalbound effort
helped over the line by Whiteman, whom
Hassocks defenders were convinced was offside.
At least the visitors made a slightly better
first of it after the break and created a few
half chances. Full back Richard Thompson was
disappointed to hit his angled shot straight
at the keeper after doing well to work a clear
shooting chance and his replacement Arni
Kublickas would surely have felt he could have
done better with a good chance he put into the
sidenetting just a minute after joining the
action.
But
really this was a ragged performance by a team
sorely missing the combative spirit of Stuart
Faith and making it all too easy for a side
they and the rest of the league will be
spurring on to make further progress towards a
Wembley final.
Hassocks:
Harding; Jacques, Lear, Bowra, Marsh,
Thompson; Slaughter, Hibbert, Clark; Gault,
Laing.
Subs:
O’Callaghan (Harding, 53), Kublickas &
Miles (Thompson & Laing, 72).
Middy
Starman: Not awarded.
