GAULT IN 60 SECONDS AS ROBINS CUT DOWN OAKS
It was a case of Gault in 60 Seconds at the Beacon as Phil Gault scored the fastest goal in Hassocks history to set the Robins on their way to a 6-1 win over AFC Uckfield.
In fact, it took a lot less than a minute for the hosts talismanic forward to notch goal number 25 for the season.
The actual time was 11 seconds. Gault and Nathan Cooper kicked off with the ball being passed back to Anthony Hibbert.
Hibbert switched to Jamie Weston out on the left who ran 40 yards forward past a couple of meek challenges before whipping a perfect cross straight onto the head of Gault who arrived unchallenged in the box to head home past James Broadbent.
It was a stunning start for the Robins even when you consider the desperate situation of their visitors.
The Oakmen had seen virtually their entire squad walk out on them earlier in the season and along with Worthing United, seem nailed on for a return to Division Two after two seasons of top-flight football.
Hassocks’ title hopes meanwhile had taken a dent after four games without a victory in January, but this success made it three successive wins from three wins games against the bottom three and lifted them back into second in Division One.
In the end, this was as routine as it comes really for Mickey Jewell’s side, although Uckfield were well in the game for the opening 30 minutes as they reacted impressively to Gault’s opener.
It almost looked as if scoring so early led Hassocks to think the game was done and they certainly weren’t fully engaged defensively as with five minutes played, only a fine one-on-one save from Simon Lehkyj prevented the visitors from equalising after the Robins backline was breached with worrying ease.
That was a warning sign that wasn’t heeded and with half an hour played the Oakmen drew level with the goal of the game.
It says much about the quality of Chris Gould’s strike that it earns that title given that Kieran O’Callaghan would go onto score a fantastic effort of his own, but Gould’s really was a thing of beauty as he met a deep Alex Saunders cross with an unstoppable bicycle kick.
That was the cue for Hassocks to belatedly up their game and as a result, Uckfield were on level terms for just seven minutes before Gault struck again, Hibbert sending an aerial ball over the top from which Lewis Baker produced a woeful back header which Gault latched onto to rifle home a first-time volley.
Hibbert picked up a hamstring injury in the build up to that goal and with a John O’Hara Cup Quarter Final against Littlehampton Town to come in three days’ time, Jewell was taking no risks and so withdrew his creator in chief with Nathan Miles coming on.
Miles was straight into the action with a chance to make it 3-1 five minutes before half time after Gault rolled him in, but he saw his one-on-one well saved by Broadbent.
Hassocks did manage to add another before the break. James Westlake’s deep corner was cleverly headed back across goal by Cooper to Marsh who hit a stonking volley which was blocked on the line by what looked like a hand.
Stuart Faith scrambled home the loose ball to render the illegality of the block pointless but that didn’t appease Marsh, who was incensed at being denied what would have been a second goal in as many games after managing two in the previous eight years.
Compared to how quickly their opening goal of the first half had arrived, Hassocks had to wait an eternity before notching in the second as it took them 10 minutes to add their fourth of the game.
Miles delivered a low cross from which Gault produced a clever drag back on the byline to tee up Westlake who finished with aplomb.
The roles were reversed for goal number five with Westlake this time setting up Gault. Substitute Elliott Butler had only been on pitch for two minutes when he released Westlake down the right and his precision cross was guided home by Gault to complete his hat-trick.
The game ebbed and flowed as, to their credit, Uckfield continued to battle and they were unlucky to see a James Smith effort from a Dan Hardy pull back rattle the crossbar.
There was one more goal in the Robins however and they’d saved their best until last, O’Callaghan bringing a Chris Maynard volley down on his chest, flicking the ball over the head of a defender and then firing home on the volley.
Hassocks: Simon Lehkyj; Rob South, Ashley Marsh, Stuart Faith, Chris Maynard; James Westlake, Nathan Cooper, Kieran O’Callaghan, Anthony Hibbert, Jamie Weston; Phil Gault.
Subs: Nathan Miles (Hibbert 38), Elliott Butler (Cooper 62), Phil Johnson (Faith 76), Phil Wickwar (unused).
Starman: Phil Gault. The quickest goal in Hassocks history to set him on his way to a third hat-trick of the season.
