Sussex Intermediate Cup
Monday 26th February 2007
INTERMEDIATE CUP DREAMS OVER FOR ROBINS
Hassocks 1-2 Uckfield Town

After weeks of postponement the Sussex Intermediate Cup Quarter-Final was finally played on a dry night at The Beacon. A big “well done!” must go the ground staff for what can only be described as a day of forking around to ensure the surface was fit for this important fixture. The dressing room was surprisingly quiet considering the importance of the game ahead but things were soon turned around when the ‘captain’ Brian Husbands arrived (All the gear, no idea!). As usual he never fails to get the lads laughing and the spirits high even if it is at the expensive of fellow colleagues. The management received a phone call hours before kick-off from Richard Thompson saying he was unable to make the game which left the door open for Mark Darbyshire to impress on the left hand side.

After a trademark warm-up conducted by the manager Phil Wackers, the lads returned to the dressing room for the pre-match briefing. Wackers as expected got all the important points across in usual fashion (I’m not sure Jack Simpson is old enough to understand some of the language!) but to everyone’s surprise second in command Michael Jewell remained very quiet.

The game kicked off and immediately it was clear to see Uckfield were fired up for the tie. The first few minutes saw Hassocks unable to put their foot through the ball and the pressure continued to mount resulting in an early Uckfield corner. Instead of Hassocks clearing their lines they tried to be clever and play the ball out with some intricate passing which was completely against the manager’s wishes. The ball was intercepted by the opposition and the right winger produced a Beckham-Esq cross which evaded all the Hassocks defenders and the Uckfield striker unmarked at the far post said “thanks very much” as he thundered the header past the helpless Jack Simpson. Hassocks restarted the game a little brighter but Uckfield continued to pressurise with good link up play between the midfield and the front two especially down the channels. As you can imagine many stern words flew out of the Hassock’s dug-out from both Wackers and Jewell.

After 20 minutes Hassocks finally pulled their fingers out. The midfield three of Wilson, Church and Robbins began to get amongst things and break up the play. Robbins looked confident on the ball and started to run at the Uckfield defence. After effortlessly gliding past four Uckfield players Robbins found some space on the edge of the area but as he was just about to pull the trigger……………bobble! As he tried to regain control the Uckfield defence were able to close down the space and prevent the shot. (Good players don’t get bobbles!). Hassocks’ second chance of the half came after some good link up play between Darbyshire and Gault who squared the ball to Church who attempted to side foot the ball from the edge of area but again the Uckfield defence were sharp to close him down. Wilson however was able to hit a half volley from 30 yards with great technique which on just cleared the bar, to the keepers delight.

Hassocks were now showing glimpses of quality all over the park. Both the wing-backs Mark Darbyshire and Ian Dawson were beginning to get involved and provide some width. Eventually the break through came on 30 minutes. Hassocks were awarded a corner which was delightfully delivered by Wilson and met by Ian Simpson but unfortunately his eyes were firmly shut and he was unable to get the connection he would have hoped. Uckfield were unable to clear the ball and it fell nicely to Gault on the left hand side and his delivery was met wonderfully by the diving Richard Thomas to guide the ball into the bottom corner.

The goal lifted Hassocks and the tackles became snappier and the passes were now reaching. The experienced (old!) Wilson and Husbands started to win pretty much everything in the air which began to inspire the rest of the team. All The Robins could hope for now was to get to half time all square and regroup for the second half. Unfortunately this was not to be, after a good passage of play the opposition midfielder was able to wriggle through three Hassocks players (no names mentioned) and feed the ball through to the striker on the left wing (who made Mr. Christie look sluggish!) who drove the ball across the 6 yard box. The cross deflected off the usually faultless Stripp and fell delightfully to the oncoming striker who had to score but young Jack Simpson was having none of it as he made the save of the game. Unfortunately Simpson’s parry dropped perfectly to the Uckfield player and he managed to squeeze the ball through the gap between Stripp who tried desperately to block the shot and the post which was tighter than Anthony Hibbert’s wallet.

Hassocks returned to the dressing room at half-time with their heads hanging low. Wackers made it clear that the tie was nowhere near over and every player needed to apply themselves and do their jobs properly. Again the normally very vocal Jewell stayed quiet (thanks for the tops Mick!) Hassocks started the second half with a much more positive attitude. Wilson continued to be dominant in the middle and Husbands, Ian Simpson and Stripp were competing and tackling much more with Church and Robbins winning the second ball. Thomas and Gault did a good job holding the ball up and bringing the wing-backs into play which lacked in the first half. Many more chances fell to The Robins with long range efforts coming from Wilson, Gault and Thomas but the best chance of half came from a corner when Simpson rose like a salmon and forced the Uckfield stopper to tip the ball over the bar.

Very few chances came Uckfield’s way as Hassocks were a lot tighter and organised throughout, although a long throw did undo Hassocks on 65 minutes and the Uckfield number 11 managed to miss the target from 5 yards (the crowd could only assume he had swapped boots with Husbands at half-time). On 70 minutes The Robins made their first substitution with the introduction of Nathan Harvey who replaced Mark Darbyshire. It wasn’t until after the game it was brought to light that Darbyshire had departed due to a shoulder injury sustained whilst taking a throw-in. One has to ask “does his boyfriend throw?”.

Harvey settled into wing-back immediately and provided some inviting crosses but the Uckfield defence were able to deal with the threat. Hassocks continued to apply the pressure and they were looking good for an equaliser. On 80 minutes both Jaques and Bates were introduced for Church and Robbins who worked tirelessly in the midfield. Immediately the fresh legs combined with Wilson continued to win the midfield battle and support the front two. Still Hassocks were unable to get the goal they deserved. Crosses from both Dawson and Harvey were still putting the Uckfield defence under pressure but time was running out. With minutes to go the nippy Uckfield number 10 broke free on the right hand side but luckily Stripp covered the ground and made a wonderfully timed tackle to thwart the attack. The final chance of the game was left on the shoulders of Gault with a free-kick from at least 35 yards……………………all I can say is the trains were in more danger than the goal. The final whistle sounded and Uckfield came away 2 – 1 winners to face Little Common in the Semi-Final. Hassocks now must learn from this and concentrate on the rest of the season. Michael Jewell managed to raise the spirits in the dressing after the game as he exited the showers in what can only be described as a hand towel!!!!!

Team: J Simpson, Darbyshire, Dawson, Church, Husbands (c), Stripp, I Simpson, Wilson, Robbins, Gault, Thomas.

Subs: Harvey, Jaques, Bates, Wickwar (Unused).

Tom Stripp