HASSOCKS LIMP TO DESERVED DEFEAT AT WIND SWEPT CHI
Division One leaders Shoreham failed to breach the Hassocks defence last Saturday but it took Chichester City just seven minutes to score this week as they defeated the Robins at Oaklands Park.
That proved costly as Mike Long’s low strike ended up being the only goal of the game. Hassocks’ performance was a far cry from their efforts at Middle Road, although in fairness they were hampered by injuries and a strong wind blowing across the ground which Chi were much more comfortable dealing with.
Dave John was without two of his most important players with skipper Ashley Marsh and talismanic forward Phil Gault both injured. Daley Clark and Michael Bates were other notable absentees, Anthony Hibbert played despite having a knock and both Neil Kane and Terry Gacias exited proceedings early to deepen John’s selection problems.
Sol Bowra started at sweeper in place of Marsh, whose absence related to a shoulder complaint. Hassocks’ back three has looked lacking in pace all season, so to be without the only semblance of speed it possesses suggested a long afternoon might be in store.
Chi fired an early warning sign of what was to come inside of 120 seconds. Callum Cutler played in Long but the forward’s finish lacked power and that enabled Hassocks to clear.
Five minutes later and the Robins were not so fortunate. The same two Chi players linked up again as Cutler sent the speedy Long racing clear and this time, he beat Joel Harding with a placed finish inside the right-hand post.
Still inside the opening 10 and Harding pulled off an extraordinary reaction double save to thwart James Temple and Adrian Brockway. Harding was wearing the captain’s armband in Marsh’s absence and he needed to be at his best midway through the half when denying Temple after Sol Bowra and Stuart Faith both failed to get the required distance on clearing headers.
The gale force wind wasn’t the only aspect of conditions that Hassocks struggled with. The Oaklands Park pitch looked like it could do with a cut with long patches of grass littering the surface.
That seemed to inhibit the passing game of Hibbert, Gacias and Spencer Slaughter and as a result, the Robins didn’t have a sniff of goal in the first half save for a half chance which fell to Kane immediately after Harding’s second stop from Temple.
There was a little more energy about Hassocks after the break but they were still sloppy in possession. Kane hobbled off on the hour mark but the Robins actually looked more lively with Logan Newington on, who displayed some nice touches in attack in his 30 minutes on the pitch.
James Laing was on the receiving end of a terrible tackle from the otherwise excellent Temple with John’s blood boiling on the sideline when his player was initially refused treatment, only for the referee to then pull a Chi break back to award Hassocks a free kick.
It was a bizarre passage of play. Hassocks nearly made the most of the foul when it was eventually given, working the ball into area from the free kick. A net layback from Newington found Hibbert in space but his curling effort was well wide in the end.
John said that Gacias was only 75% fit and the midfielder didn’t quite make the 90, hobbling off with five minutes remaining. Former Haywards Heath Town man Alex Macnaughton took Gacias’ place for his first team debut after some impressive performances for the reserves this season.
Hassocks pushed Faith forward late on with Slaughter dropping in at sweeper. That bold move failed to have the desired effect and it was Chi who looked the likelier scorers in injury time.
Temple got the better of Slaughter but his effort wasn’t troubling Harding and Josh Briggs was then wasteful when he really should have at least forced Harding into a save.
Those squandered chances hardly mattered though as Chi’s early goal proved enough for a result that nobody with Hassocks connections could have any complaints about. A far cry from the previous week’s heroics.
Hassocks: Joel Harding; Dan Jacques, Stuart Faith, Sol Bowra, Ian Simpson, Arni Kublickas; Anthony Hibbert, Spencer Slaughter, Terry Gacias; James Laing, Neil Kane.
Subs: Logan Newington (Kane 66), Alex Macnaughton (Gacias 85), Chris Scrase (unused).
Starman: Plenty of effort but no-one stood out enough to merit the award.
