ROBINS BLOW IT AGAINST DIVISION TWO TOWN
For the second season running, Hassocks exited the John O’Hara League Cup at the second round stage against opponents from Division Two.
Last year it was a dismal showing away at Rustington that put paid to the Robins hopes of ending their 107 year wait for a senior trophy. This time around, it was Seaford Town who left the Beacon with a top division scalp after running out 2-1 winners.
Both these sides came into the tie in good form, the Robins with just two defeats in their past seven matches while Seaford had won their previous three away games.
There was a blow for Hassocks before kick off when the in-form Neil Kane had to pull out before the start. Kane had notched four goals in his past three appearances despite playing with a troublesome knee.
It was that knee that went in the pre-game warm up, leaving the Robins with just three substitutes as James Laing came in to take Kane’s place in the starting line-up.
There was then further bad news at half time with Anthony Hibbert not reappearing for the second half after picking up what appeared to be a hamstring problem in the first 45.
That forced Dave John into a tactical reshuffle with Phil Gault dropping into midfield and young Logan Newington getting an extended run up front alongside Laing.
Hassocks began the game in impressive fashion and should have been one up as early as the second minute. They’ve been playing some good football of late and another slick passing move involving Gault and Hibbert played in Daley Clark who had come bursting through from the right.
Clark’s first effort was blocked but he picked up the rebound and faced an open goal, only to somehow contrive to hit the far post.
It was an open tie from that moment on which was all the remarkable given the difficulty both sides faced in playing in a gale force wind blowing across the Beacon.
Joel Harding’s fingertips kept out one Seaford effort before the visitor’s rangy striker Drew Greenall provided a miss nearly as bad as Clark’s when he put a free header wide when perfectly placed.
Scott Dartnall wasn’t far away with an enterprising 45-yard effort that the wind picked up before an uncharacteristic error from Harding gifted Seaford the lead with 33 minutes played.
There looked to be very little danger as a low cross was delivered but Harding spilled it straight to the feet of Joe Cutress who gratefully fired the loose ball home.
Harding made amends five minutes later with an unbelievable reaction save, changing direction after a Rickie Mitchell shot picked up a huge deflection off Sol Bowra that left it arrowing for the top corner.
Both sides seemed eager to use the wind more in the second half and Harding looked less than comfortable dealing with a couple of high crosses that the gale both swirled around and left hanging with no real predictability.
It was from one such instance that Seaford added their second, a 65th minute cross coming in which Harding spilled, allowing Seaford skipper Ben Dartnall to poke home.
Hassocks felt that Harding had been fouled but after a long consultation with his assistant, referee Mark Parsons was happy to allow the goal to stand.
The boot was on the other foot six minutes later when it was Seaford’s turn to be incensed about a foul on the goalkeeper not being given when Arni Kublickas’ left wing cross sailed straight over the head of Sheldon Levett.
The visitors’ complaints were based on the fact that Levett ended up in the back of the net but even if there had been sufficient contact to award a foul, the ball had already flown past the visiting goalkeeper before he’d been touched.
That was Kublickas’ first senior goal and poetic justice for the way that Seaford had scored their second. It also set up a tense last 19 minutes in which Seaford backs were very much against the walls apart from Cutress drawing another good save from Harding on the break.
The Robins had plenty of opportunities to force extra time with Newington spurning two good one-on-one chances. The first of those saw him finish somewhat meekly which allowed Levett to save comfortably and the second saw him lift the ball agonisingly over the bar.
Adam Kneller then produced a superb last-ditch tackle to nick the ball off Newington when he looked set to pull the trigger on an equaliser and Gault and Laing tried their luck from distance without much success.
Spencer Slaughter flirted with a second yellow card after one foul too many earned him the first while three Seaford players found their way into Mr Parson’s book for verbal offences.
Hassocks: Joel Harding; Dan Jacques, Sol Bowra, Ashley Marsh, Stuart Faith, Arni Kublickas; Spencer Slaughter, Anthony Hibbert, Daley Clark; Phil Gault, James Laing.
Subs: Logan Newington (Hibbert 45), Richard Thompson (Clark 75), Michael Bates (unused).
Starman: Stuart Faith.
