JEREMIAH RESCUES ROBINS A POINT AGAINST LOWLY LINGFIELD
Suddenly, the flame does not appear to be glowing so brightly at the Beacon. After a surprise midweek RUR Cup exit at the hands of Sidley whom Hassocks had hammered 5-0 just 17 days earlier, the Robins struggled to preserve their unbeaten league record against lowly Lingfield.
They needed a Sam Jeremiah goal 16 minutes from time to rescue a 1-1 draw in a game that nobody is likely to forget anytime soon thanks to the antics of Lingers boss Dave ‘Dixie’ Dean, appointed three weeks ago after the resignation of Jim Bajeux.
The visitors arrived at the Beacon with only two substitutes and Dean as support staff on a sparsely populated bench.
Dean did not last the full 90 minutes either – and he would have been banished to the stands much sooner had he not also been acting as physio.
That job, in truth, did not last long. Dean’s first venture onto the pitch to administer treatment came after only eight minutes and ended with him slamming down the medical bag, giving it a kicking and then storming off without so much as touching the magic sponge.
He was seemingly incensed that referee Matthew Goldsmith had not awarded his side a penalty against home goalkeeper Jack Simpson, leaving his own injured player to tend to himself.
Dean need not have worried. That bizarre incident sparked a mad few minutes which eventually ended with Mr Goldsmith giving Lingfield an outrageous spot kick for a perceived foul by Pete Lear on Daryl Coleman.
That set the tone for an awful afternoon for Mr Goldsmith, who landed himself with a mountain of paperwork. He dished out seven bookings, four to home players although Ashley Marsh and Spencer Slaughter could have no complaints.
Lear on the other hand certainly could as a yellow card for the penalty-that-never-was rubbed salt into the wounds of the Hassocks defender.
As for Dean, Mr Goldsmith said afterwards that he would be reporting the Lingfield boss twice for misconduct. He also confirmed that Dean had only survived so long in the dugout because he could not be sent off whilst acting as physio.
Once Dean had delegated that task to a Lingers fan, Mr Goldsmith sent him to the stands for foul and abusive language.
Back to the actual football and Coleman – the best player on the pitch by some distance – duly slammed home that controversial penalty to give Lingfield the lead with 12 minutes played. Leaking an average of three goals a game, the visitors were content to get bodies behind the ball after that.
The next 80 minutes ended up being a strange affair. Hassocks still created plenty of opportunities, but there could be no doubt that they were a shadow of their best and lacking in the sort of invention which has characterised the first two months of Mickey Jewell’s management.
It was poor fare all round really and only the antics of Dean could be labelled entertainment. Even that had run thin long before the end as home supporters becoming increasingly upset with his antics. Mr Goldsmith also came under the spotlight, which is always a shame and not what the game is really about.
The Hassocks equaliser summed up their performance perfectly – scrappy and unconvincing. Jewell had made three substitutions in the space of eight minutes as he desperately sort a spark of creativity from somewhere.
Anthony Hibbert was the last of the players introduced and when his attempted cross from a free kick instead rattled the bar, an almighty scramble occurred with the ball eventually bundled in and Jeremiah claiming the final touch.
On chances, it was deserved enough but had Dean not blotted the Lingfield copybook, there may have been a twinge of sympathy from Hassocks supporters towards the visitors, given the effort they put into defending their early lead.
Jewell admitted afterwards it was another poor performance but the Robins have still not lost in the league this season and that means something will have to give on Tuesday night at Jubilee Field; either Hassocks’ unbeaten record or Three Bridges’ 100% start.
Hassocks: Jack Simpson; Rob South, Ashley Marsh, Pete Lear, Elliott Butler; Lee Waterhouse, Dan Smith, Phil Gault, Spencer Slaughter, Sam Jeremiah; Neil Kane.
Subs: Nathan Miles (Kane 51), Kieran O’Callaghan (Smith 55), Anthony Hibbert (South 58).
Starman: Not awarded.
