PENALTY HEARTACHE AT FARNHAM SEES ROBINS FA VASE DREAMS SMASHED
If the Farnham tourist board need somebody new to front an advertising campaign for the town, Hassocks manager Mickey Jewell is unlikely to get the call.
“I have to say it was quite a depressing place to visit and the result didn’t help,” was Jewell’s verdict after seeing his side eliminated from the FA Vase at the second qualifying round stage.
Nothing could separate Hassocks and Farnham Town over 240 minutes. The initial tie at the Beacon on Saturday finished 1-1 after extra time and it was the same score at a gloomy Memorial Ground in this replay, necessitating a penalty shoot out.
The sides were nearly as evenly matched at spot kicks as they were in open play. Sudden death was required from 12 yards.
At 7-7, James Westlake drilled his penalty wide. It was unfortunate on Westlake, who also saw what appeared to be a perfectly good goal ruled out for offside on Saturday. Had it stood, the Robins would have progressed and with no need of a replay.
Farnham took instant advantage of that Westlake miss in the shoot out, scoring their eighth penalty. With that, the Combined Counties hosts had their place in the first round proper of the competition confirmed.
Really, it should not have got as far as the dreaded shoot out. The Robins were the better side on the night but failed to turn their dominance into goals other than Phil Gault’s first half opener.
Jewell touched on that afterwards too: “After Gaulty gave us the early lead, we played nearly all the football. We defended fairly well and overall it is a tie we should won.”
Hassocks made one change from the 1-1 draw at the weekend. Work commitments meant Matt Carruthers was unable to make the midweek trip to the Surrey/Hampshire border.
His place was taken by Jamie Weston, who Jewell probably would have found a way to include in his starting XI even if Carruthers were available.
It was Weston’s introduction after 65 minutes on Saturday which turned Hassocks into much more of an attacking threat in what had been a dour game up until that point.
His willingness to run at Farnham and his eye for a pass had caused plenty of problems for the visitors at the Beacon, especially when Town began to tire in extra time. It was in those additional 30 minutes that both teams scored.
The wait for a goal was nowhere near as long this time around. Gault struck with 12 minutes on the clock, moving onto six goals in his past five appearances in the process.
Gault had also been on target at the weekend with a brilliant lob over Farnham goalkeeper Arjuna Adlam after receiving a free kick with his back to goal.
Rather than a repeat of that spectacular moment of quality, Gault’s goal at the Memorial Ground was a clinical finish placed low and hard into the bottom corner.
Farnham rarely threated following the Hassocks opener and it looked for much of the evening like the Robins were going to progress.
Having scored 14 times in their three matches before these two meetings with Farnham, it was strange to see so many chances go begging for Hassocks.
They were eventually punished for their wastefulness late on when the hosts snatched an equaliser in the final 10 minutes to force ectra time.
No further goals in the additional 30 meant penalties followed and with them, the end of the Robins’ interest in the Vase for another year.
Hassocks: Jack Simpson; Dan Jacques, Ashley Marsh, Stuart Faith, Chris Maynard; James Westlake, Jamie Weston, Kieran O’Callaghan, Phil Johnson; Nathan Miles, Phil Gault.
Subs: Anthony Hibbert (Weston 71), Andy Whittingham (Johnson 93), Sam Goodridge (Marsh 97).
Starman: Kieran O’Callaghan.
