GAULT HAT-TRICK SETTLES CHAOTIC DERBY IN HASSOCKS FAVOUR
Since St Francis Rangers joined Hassocks in County One in 2007, these Mid Sussex Derbies have gained a reputation for being notoriously dull and petulant affairs.
Not so this Easter Monday meeting at Colwell Road, which was utterly bizarre from start to finish. The Robins won 3-1, Rangers finished with eight men and most spectators spent the morning struggling to keep up.
The hosts have long been doomed to finishing in the bottom three but they produced one of their best performances of the season, a battling effort which deserved better than having three men sent off.
Hassocks in contrast looked nothing like a side eyeing up their highest ever finish and they ended up winning almost despite themselves.
In recent matches the Robins have probably seen enough of referee Michael Lowe to last them a lifetime and even though they prospered overall from his decisions, no doubt they will be pleased not to come across him again anytime soon.
That view was definitely shared by Rangers, whose manager Kieran Collins said he had nothing but admiration for the way his team kept going against increasingly unhelpful odds.
Whilst Mr Lowe was not left with many options but to reach for his pocket in a typically fiery clash, his general handling of the game lacked maturity and common sense and that ultimately turned it into a farce.
However, it still remained competitive throughout. Even with eight men, Rangers showed commendable fighting spirit and a willingness to go forward.
Who knows what the final outcome might have been had they retained their full complement of players for the 90 minutes?
Judging by much of the first half, it could have ended in Rangers securing their first win since the opening day of the campaign.
Rangers came flying out of the blocks to force four corners in the opening 10 minutes. Missing chances has been a theme of their season and explains why they have just one victory to their name.
Had Rangers been able to make the most of their blistering start, they could have been two or three up before Hassocks had even registered a shot.
The hosts did eventually take a deserved lead with 13 minutes on the clock. Kieron Pamment forced a decent save from Jack Simpson but Jake Forward picked up the rebound and his cross returned into the box was converted by Charlie Romain.
Rangers celebrated rather too exuberantly for the liking of Hassocks and a right melee ensured, the result of which was a straight red card for home striker Luke Leppard for an incident in amongst the ruckus.
Leppard for his part said afterwards that he could have no complaints about his dismissal, although he did feel that he was retaliating to the actions of a Hassocks player rather than being the aggressor.
Mr Lowe required an eagle eyed linesman to advice on the sending off of Leppard and the same assistant was also involved early in the second half when Jay Dodd was shown red after colliding with James Westlake.
Hassocks wanted a penalty but Mr Lowe ruled the ball was out of play when Dodd went crashing into former Rangers man Westlake. Dangerous play meant the referee could still show Dodd red however, before inexplicably showing Westlake yellow.
Rangers still led 1-0 at that point having seen out the first half despite playing for the majority shorthanded. In truth, it would have been a travesty if Hassocks had got back on level terms before the break.
They had a golden chance to do so on 34 minutes. Ex-Hassocks midfielder Daley Clark was adjudged to have been a shade late on Phil Johnson, leading to Mr Lowe pointing to the spot.
The normally reliable Phil Gault saw his penalty brilliantly kept out by Rob Gordon. Gault was clearly frustrated and earned himself a booking seconds later.
Even the dismissal of Dodd five minutes into the second half failed to dampen the spirits of Rangers. Neither did Aaron Walsh becoming the third home player to see red.
Walsh cynically pulled the shirt of Johnson in the box after the speedy Hassocks forward broke through the Rangers defence. Gault atoned for his earlier miss, beating Gordon with the resulting penalty to level the tie.
The scores may have now been locked at 1-1 and Hassocks may have had a three man advantage, but still a Robins victory did not seem a foregone conclusion.
Rangers sacrificed forward Romain, introducing defender Josh Bryant and playing only Louis Pople up top after he replaced the injured Rob Cooper.
Pople worked hard leading the line alone and Rangers had more than their fair share of luck as Hassocks were wayward with their finishing, although nobody could deny that the least the hosts deserved was some fortune.
They held out until the 81st minute, when the quality that the Robins possess finally told to break Rangers’ brave resistance with Gault scoring twice in quick succession.
A half cleared corner was fired back towards goal by Nathan Cooper. Gault had the awareness to realise that the shot was heading off target and so he diverted the ball inside Gordon’s post with the cleverest of flicked headers.
Five minutes later and Gault wrapped up his hat-trick and the three points for Hassocks. Nathan Miles slipped his strike partner in and Gault made no mistake, calmly placing an effort under the body of the advancing Gordon.
To add insult to injury for Rangers, assistant manager Lee Saunders was sent from the bench. As frustrations grew on the touchlines, Hassocks boss Mickey Jewell exiled himself to the stands to avoid the same fate, leaving Mark Dalgleish and reserve manager Roy Staughton in charge.
Hassocks’ Cooper picked up a late booking and there may well have been more not reported on here; the regular production of cards made it difficult to keep up.
It was a strange morning all round but at least there were plenty of talking points unlike in recent derbies, even if it was a pity that the officials were at the heart of it.
Hassocks: Jack Simpson; Ben Palmer, Ashley Marsh, Stuart Faith, Chris Maynard; James Westlake, Kieran O’Callaghan, Anthony Hibbert, Phil Johnson; Nathan Miles, Phil Gault.
Subs: Nathan Cooper (Maynard 51), Jamie Weston (Johnson 71), Spencer Slaughter (Westlake 82).
Starman: Phil Gault for Hassocks, if only because he scored all the goals.
