ROBINS BACK ON SONG AS THEY PASS STRINGERS OFF THE PARK
Two Division One away wins in the space of six days have given Hassocks renewed cause of optimism. The manner of this latest victory was particularly impressive as they played Hailsham Town off the park to win 3-1 at the Beaconsfield.
The Robins’ performance was miles away from Saturday’s disappointing 4-1 FA Cup Extra Preliminary Qualifying Round exit to Ash United. At the weekend, they struggled to string more than three passes together. Here, they knocked the ball about superbly, scoring one of the best team goals a Hassocks side have managed in many years.
That arrived inside the first 90 seconds. Stuart Faith, Ashley Marsh, Terry Gacias, Arni Kublickas, Anthony Hibbert, Spencer Slaughter and Richard Thompson were all involved in a flowing move which Slaughter finished off with an exquisite shot into the top corner from 12 yards.
Faith was one of two changes from the defeat to Ash as he replaced Ian Simpson in the back three. The other saw Dave John continue his policy of rotating his strikers with Neil Kane the man who had to make do with a place among the substitutes this time as Daley Clark returned to the starting XI.
Anyone arriving late would have missed Slaughter’s opener but they didn’t have long to wait for another goal. Just three minutes after Hassocks had cut through the Hailsham defence like a knife through butter, the Stringers were level.
Scott McDonald was hauled down in the box by Marsh and there were few complaints from the Hassocks camp when the referee pointed to the spot. McDonald dusted himself down to beat Joel Harding from 12 yards.
The Robins were not to be put off by that setback and they continued to pass the ball through midfield. Something just appeared to click between Gacias, Slaughter and Hibbert as all three turned in season best showings so far, which left John purring afterwards.
Clark headed just over and Slaughter and Matt Amos had good chances to give Hassocks the lead before the interval. At the other end, a rare Hailsham chance fell to Tyler Goatcher but he could only blaze over when well placed.
Compared to the opening 45 minutes, the second half took a little while to get going. Neither side fashioned an opportunity until the 64th minutes, when Hassocks took the lead in controversial circumstances.
Hailsham goalkeeper Mark Oldroyd was harshly penalised for picking up a back pass. There was plenty of doubt after whether the ball back to Oldroyd was deliberate, and judging by the reaction of the home players and their colourful manager Kenny McCreadie, they certainly didn’t feel it was intentional.
McCreadie’s mood worsened when Hassocks were eventually able to take the resulting free kick. It is notoriously difficult to score from indirect free kicks from inside the box so the Robins deserve plenty of credit for making the opportunity count.
Slaughter touched pack to Hibbert and while most players would have opted for power in that sort of situation, Hibbert instead went for placement, curling the ball beautifully into the top corner of Oldroyd’s goal.
It is rare to see John turn to his bench when Hassocks are defending a slender lead, so the sight of Kane replacing Clark with 20 minutes left to play caught a lot of the travelling support by surprise.
The decision paid off handsomely as within a minute of his introduction, Kane notched the Robins’ third. Kublickas pushed forward up the right flank and delivered a tempting cross into a gaping gap between Oldroyd and his back line.
Oldroyd did his best to come and gather but he couldn’t get there ahead of Kane, who stole in to shoe the ball into the now unguarded net.
Hassocks: Joel Harding; Arni Kublickas, Sol Bowra, Ashley Marsh, Stuart Faith, Richard Thompson; Terry Gacias, Spencer Slaughter, Anthony Hibbert; Daley Clark, Matt Amos.
Subs: Neil Kane (Clark 70), James Laing (Amos 79), Dan Jacques (Slaughter 90), Ian Simpson, Jason Gander (unused).
Starman: Sol Bowra won most headers and tackles in a good team performance but the vote just goes to Spencer Slaughter.
