GAULT HAT-TRICK ENDS ROBINS SEASON ON A HIGH
There is something about the final game of the season that seems to bring out the best in Phil Gault.
A year on from his stunning five-goal haul away at Chichester City, he hit a hat-trick to see off third placed East Preston at the Beacon as the Robins wrapped up their 2012-13 campaign.
It gave Hassocks the three points they needed to secure seventh place in Division One with a 3-2 victory over an out-of-sorts EP in conditions more akin to November than May.
The visitors could be forgiven for being a touch jaded given that this fixture brought the curtain down on a mammoth run of 15 games in 26 days that all but cost them any hope of being crowned league champions.
It was also a case of after the Lord Mayors show for Dom Di Paolo’s side who might well have been suffering from a severe hangover having lifted their first senior trophy 48 hours previously with victory in the Sussex RUR Charity Cup final over Broadbridge Heath.
Still, take nothing away from Hassocks who ruthlessly took advantage of the conditions being in their favour in the second half.
Those fans who braved the driving winds and rain were treated to a first appearance in a Robins shirt for over seven years for Pat Harding.
Harding was given permission to turn out for the Robins by Burgess Hill Town boss Ian Chapman as the Hillians’ Ryman League season was completed a fortnight previously.
He saw little of the ball in the first half as EP attacked the railway end of the ground with the assistance of the wind.
Luckily for Hassocks they failed to take full advantage of the gale, scoring just the once through a Liam O’Brien header.
That came when Simon Lehkyj’s attempt to gather a cross from former Hassocks forward Rob Boddy saw him end up stranded in no man’s land with O’Brien nipping in to head into the unguarded net.
With the wind in their favour, Hassocks came out fighting in the second half and posed a far greater attacking threat.
They were helped in that regard by a shrewd piece of management from Mickey Jewell. Knowing that his side would have the wind behind their backs in the second half, the Robins boss gambled that it would mean less defending to concentrate on and so at the break he replaced right back Rob South with striker Nathan Miles.
The gamble nearly paid off straight away as Harding played a superb cross field pass that Miles just failed to get to ahead of EP keeper Ben Rose.
James Westlake then swung over a wind-assisted corner which had to be scrambled off the line at the expense of another corner from the other side and this time the gale nearly whipped it in at the near post.
After those two near-misses, it was no surprise to see the Hassocks equaliser arriving from another set piece. Westlake again sent in a superb delivery that EP failed to clear and they were punished by a thumping volley from Lee Bryant that went in via a deflection from Gault to deny the centre back what would have been his first Hassocks goal.
Five minutes later and the Robins had the lead. Nathan Cooper won possession in trademark fashion and his perfectly weighted pass released Harding who was taken clean out by Rose. Gault slammed home the resulting penalty with aplomb.
Hassocks were now well and truly on top and Harding nearly had the goal his impressive display deserved when Gault played him in but his effort was well saved on the stretch by Rose.
Having given away the penalty five minutes previously, an evening the EP keeper would rather forget was rounded off when Cooper’s seemingly harmless cross from the left somehow eluded him via the faintest of touches from Gault to wrap up his hat-trick.
EP pulled one back with 12 minutes remaining when Matt Axell picked up possession in the centre of the park 35 yards out and with nothing else on, unleashed an unstoppable drive that flew into the very top left-hand corner of Lehkyj’s goal despite being hit against the wind.
That could have led to a nervy final 10 but the Robins comfortably saw out the remainder of the match to complete a reasonably pleasing campaign in which they scored 97 league goals and secured their second highest Division One points tally.
Gault’s treble also ensured that he finished as Division One’s top scorer with 32 – the first Hassocks player to achieve the feat since his strike partner for the evening Harding did so in 2006.
Gault’s excellent evenings work was rounded off with the presentation of Supporters Player of the Season after the game – although whether he was quite so popular with Messrs Bryant and Cooper after claiming goals that could quite easily have gone to them is another matter!
Hassocks: Simon Lehkyj; Rob South, Kieran O’Callaghan, Lee Bryant, Elliott Butler; Stuart Brown, James Westlake, Nathan Cooper, Jamie Weston; Pat Harding, Phil Gault.
Subs: Nathan Miles (South 45), Aaron Czech (Weston 85), Ryan John (unused).
Starman: Nathan Cooper won possession back frequently and hardly wasted a pass in difficult conditions.
