DEPLETED ROBINS BATTLE TO HARD-EARNED POINT
East Grinstead Town might be struggling at the wrong end of the Sussex County League Division One table, but Hassocks will view this 0-0 draw at the GAC Stadium as a good point given the circumstances of absent personnel and a below-par performance.
The Robins might have even had all three. Dan Jacques produced a moment of brilliance deep into stoppage time with an exquisite chip which hit the inside of the post and rolled agonisingly across the line, leaving the visitors centimetres away from an unlikely victory.
Already missing long-term injury victims Terry Gacias, Stuart Faith and Neil Kane and the suspended Spencer Slaughter, Dave John was also without Kieran O’Callaghan, Richard Thompson and Joel Harding who suffered a horrific facial wound playing for Sussex against the Army in midweek.
Harding needed emergency surgery and 20 stitches following a terrible high challenge from an Army player, although he made the journey to watch his teammates at East Court and seemed generally upbeat despite the injury and at least a month of the sidelines.
John is at least well-blessed in the goalkeeper department with 18-year-old Jack Simpson taking Harding’s place for his first start of the campaign. Simpson suffered a nervy start in which he failed to deal convincingly with a succession of corners but once he settled down, he saved smartly twice from Dave Gellatly and once more from the lively Luke Piscina on his way to well-earned clean sheet.
To solve his striker shortage, John turned to former St Francis Rangers forward Sam Jeremiah to make his full debut alongside James Laing. Having not played for the best part of the year due to his world travels, Jeremiah unsurprisingly looked a little rusty.
The movement and ability to spot space that made him such a handful at Colwell Road were still there however and once he finds his touch again, he will surely add much-needed firepower to the Robins’ cause, especially with John having no clear idea of when Kane will be fit again.
In front of Simpson, Ashley Marsh and Pete Lear were outstanding and Jacques offered an excellent outlet going forward down the right, especially in light of the fact that he was hampered by an early calf injury.
What let Hassocks down was how poor they were in possession. Every time it looked like they might string more than three passes together, they would give the ball away to East Grinstead and that allowed the hosts to dominate proceedings.
Phil Gault had Hassocks’ best chance of the first half when he headed straight at Wasps’ goalkeeper Liam Lindsay. Jeremiah perhaps should have done better when he escaped from Marc Pelling but could only chip harmlessly into the arms of Lindsay.
The efforts of Marsh and Lear helped Hassocks make it to the break unscathed despite being second best. Matt Crane had East Grinstead’s best chance of the first half when he blazed over.
Both sides started the second half brightly and within five minutes of the restart, both could have scored. Jeremiah robbed Scott Johnson and played in Laing but his shot lacked power to present Lindsay with a straightforward save. Moments later and Piscina showed a few tricks to set up a shooting chance which Simpson was equal to low down.
Piscina was then denied in a one on one situation by Simpson and twice Gellatly shot over as Grinstead gained the ascendancy, leaving Hassocks to hang on for much of the final 20 minutes.
Daley Clark limped off injured on 84 minutes with young Tom Barnes replacing him for a rare first team outing. Piscina again tested Simpson before Hassocks summoned up two great chances to steal all three points right at the death.
Jeremiah managed to work himself some space to chip Lindsay but his effort landed agonisingly on the roof of the net. Then in the 93rd minute, Marsh won possession on the edge of his own box and embarked on a marauding run into the East Grinstead half.
He fed Jeremiah, whose shot was well blocked by Lindsay. The loose ball fell into Jacques’ path and without breaking stride, Jacques produced a brilliant dink which clipped the inside of the post and rolled along the line before the referee blew for full time.
Hassocks knew it would have been rough justice on the hosts had that got in. Instead, they left with a valuable point from a game in which they were nowhere near their best.
Hassocks: Jack Simpson; Dan Jacques, Sol Bowra, Ashley Marsh, Pete Lear, Arni Kublickas; Daley Clark, Phil Gault, Anthony Hibbert; James Laing, Sam Jeremiah.
Subs: Tom Barnes (Clark 84), Ian Dawson (unused).
Starman: Ashley Marsh and Peter Lear were outstanding, but just goes to Lear who seems to be getting back to his best after his lay off.
