HASSOCKS HAPPY ENOUGH EVEN IF IT NEEDS HUGE SLICE OF LUCK TO TIE THE TYE
Even by the standards of the windiest ground on the Sussex County League circuit, conditions were difficult at Piddinghoe Avenue where Peacehaven & Telscombe have been in formidable form this season.
Hassocks could therefore be pleased with the outcome of their afternoon on the south coast, becoming one of the only visitors this season to leave the Sports Park with something to show for their efforts thanks to a 1-1 draw.
The consensus come full time from players and fans was that it was a fair result, even if the Robins did require a huge slice of luck to earn a share of the spoils.
Hassocks fell beyond to a crisp Tom Levitt strike on the 63rd minute before equalising on 75 with more than a little help from the wind.
Anthony Hibbert’s in-swinging corner caused utter confusion in the Tye box and as Craig Hall cleared the ball, it ricocheted off the back of Adam Kneller to beat helpless Peacehaven goalkeeper Joe Adams.
The match itself was very scrappy early on. Peacehaven had the wind in their favour in the first half but somewhat surprisingly they were unable to take full advantage of it.
Getting the ball down proved challenging on a difficult surface underfoot and that led to both sides seemingly happy to give each other possession as soon as they had won it with neither aerial nor ground route offering much.
Craig Bunch one of the few players who made something happen in the opening exchanges, starting what was a lively all round performance by forcing a fine save from Jack Simpson. Kneller’s free kick then had to be deflected wide by Spencer Slaughter via an impressive block.
Slaughter came close to making a mark at the other end, being inches away from getting on the end of a tantalising Andy Whittingham cross.
Minutes earlier and a Weston cross caused a bit of worry for Adams, who desperately clawed away from underneath his crossbar.
Bunch lobbed a good opportunity over and Simpson produced a stunning tip over at full stretch to deny Ryan Bradley after the otherwise faultless Ashley Marsh had been caught in possession.
Less spectacular but equally important was Simpson’s stop low down from Bunch right on the stroke of half time, ensuring that parity remained going into the interval.
Having struggled when the wind was in their favour at Selsey last Saturday, Hassocks made much better use of conditions on this occasion.
The Robins took the game to Peacehaven in a way few visiting teams have at the Sports Park, forcing two good opportunities in the first 15 minutes of the second half.
Hibbert shot over wastefully when he should have made Adams work. Former Tye striker Dan Smith did at least test Adams with a decent effort but it was not good enough to get the big striker onto the scoresheet against his old club.
It was against the run of play when Peacehaven took the lead. Hibbert was penalised out on the right for a rather innocuous looking challenge, earning a harsh booking in the process.
Bunch met the resulting free kick with a powerful header somehow cleared off the line by Marsh. Unfortunately, the loose ball fell to Levitt who drilled the Tye into the lead, despite the best efforts of Marsh to follow up his initial clearance with what would have been an even more heroic second block.
Hassocks scored their fortunate equaliser with a quarter of an hour left to go. Matt Carruthers hit a long ball forward from defence perfectly weighted with the wind to be picked up by Gault.
When Gault smashed an effort against the inside of the post and Peacehaven cleared the rebound behind, Hibbert sent over his corner which resulted in the score being levelled via the unaware Kneller.
Mickey Jewell had responded to going behind by replacing Slaughter with Nathan Miles and going two up front on 68 minutes and it was the substitute who was involved in the two best chances to win the game for the Robins.
Miles drew a good save from Adams and then looked to have made the perfect off-the-ball run to have a clear charge at goal if fellow substitute Lee Waterhouse could find him.
Waterhouse though made the wrong decision and attempted to dribble through the Peacehaven defence himself, only to be easily repelled.
The draw kept Peacehaven fourth and Hassocks fifth whilst being the Robins’ eighth deadlock of the season. Remarkably, all have been by the same 1-1 scoreline – including when Hassocks and the Tye met at the Beacon back in August.
Hassocks: Jack Simpson; Rob South, Matt Carruthers, Ashley Marsh, Andy Whittingham; Anthony Hibbert, Kieran O’Callaghan, Phil Gault, Spencer Slaughter, Jamie Weston; Dan Smith
Subs: Nathan Miles (Slaughter 86), Lee Waterhouse (Smith 84), Elliott Butler (Weston 68), Dean Smith (unused).
Starman: Ashley Marsh just pipped centre back partner Matt Carruthers in what were two assured performances in the Hassocks back line.
