SHOCK OF THE ROUND AS HASSOCKS BEAT HIGH FLYING HAWKS
The shock of the second round of the Sussex Senior Cup belongs to Hassocks after the Robins eliminated Whitehawk at the Beacon.
This was a meeting of two sides in contrasting form and with a very obvious gap in quality between them – and yet Hassocks made a mockery of all that to win 2-1.
Most of the talk among the home faithful in the clubhouse before kick off focused on Saturday’s 4-2 defeat against Hailsham Town and whether it was the Robins’ worst performance of the campaign so far.
There’s been a fair bit of competition for that accolade lately. Mickey Jewell’s side had won just four of their previous 14 matches coming into this one, the bright start to the new manager’s tenure fading as the depths of winter arrived.
Hassocks reminded everyone though of those heady August and September days here though, warming up a bitterly cold Beacon with a deserved victory against a Whitehawk side who had swept all before them to win the County League last season as well as reaching the semi finals of the FA Vase.
They’re going even better this time around in Ryman South. It’s no secret that the Hawks are backed by some serious money and manager Darren Freeman has spent it wisely, assembling a squad that looks well placed to secure back-to-back promotions.
That Jewell was without his first choice centre back pairing added to the sense of hopelessness. Captain Ashley Marsh was missing through suspension while Pete Lear was unavailable.
Kieran O’Callaghan was moved back from his usual holding midfield role and he was joined at the heart of the Hassocks defence by Sam Goodridge making his first start since his recent move from Steyning Town.
Jewell also made a slight tactical adjustment, switching from the 4-4-2 of Saturday’s Hailsham horror show in favour of a 4-5-1.
Dan Barnard was the striker who was sacrificed to accommodate the change with tricky winger Lee Waterhouse coming in on the right of a packed midfield.
The makeshift defence did an excellent job all evening against a dangerous Hawks forward line who became increasingly frustrated at their inability to find a way through as the evening went on.
Jack Simpson meanwhile was in superlative form between the posts. Given how long Simpson has been around the first team scene at Hassocks, it’s easy to forget that he’s still only 19-years-old.
As with all young players, Simpson will have bad days and good days and while his weekend showing against the Stringers wasn’t the best, Whitehawk only managed to beat him once all evening despite their best efforts.
Hassocks’ goals meanwhile came from Dan Smith and Spencer Slaughter, deserved rewards for two hard-working performances.
Smith in particular deserves serious credit. Jewell placed a lot of faith in his young striker to lead the line by himself against opponents from a league above.
Smith responded by working tirelessly throughout, running the channels and pulling more experienced players here, there and everywhere before Barnard took his place late on.
Slaughter’s goal took him onto 11 for the season from midfield; already making this statistically his best campaign in a Hassocks shirt.
The Robins’ reward for toppling the Hawks is a plum home tie with Ryman Premier outfit Horsham, a fixture that is sure to attract a decent sized crowd to the Beacon even without the intrigue of Pat Harding returning to his old stomping ground in Hornets colours.
Harding and co guaranteed their place in round three with a shock of their own, defeating Crawley Town 2-0.
Hassocks: Jack Simpson; Rob South, Kieran O’Callaghan, Sam Goodridge, Andy Whittingham; Lee Waterhouse, Anthony Hibbert, Phil Gault, Spencer Slaughter, Elliott Butler; Dan Smith.
Subs: Dan Barnard (Smith), Dan Jacques, Nathan Miles (unused).
