GAULT HAT-TRICK GIVES PAGHAM A POUNDING
Phil Gault’s second successive hat-trick sent Hassocks on their way to a 6-1 success over Pagham as Mickey Jewell’s side delivered one of their best performance of the season.
The Lions arrived at the Beacon in good spirits having claimed the notable scalp of second-placed Littlehampton Town just four days earlier.
That result for Pagham boosted Hassocks’ own challenge for the runners up spot and thanks to Gault’s brilliance here, they laid down a real marker ahead of what looks to be a busy final two months of the season in which they must play 17 more games.
That pile up is as a result of the wet winter we’ve had, with this being the first match Hassocks have played for a month since beating Lingfield at the Beacon back on January 25th.
Gault notched a treble that day too and his latest exploits in front of goal have now seen him move onto 141 goals for the Robins, just two behind James Laing’s senior record of 143.
While Gault while quite rightly take the headlines, the contributions of Ashley Marsh and Nick Pitcher at the other end were equally impressive.
Hassocks’ defensive duo were outstanding in dealing with the very real threat posed by Pagham’s prolific strike force of Scott Murfin and James Temple.
Murfin in particular has been a thorn in Hassocks’ side so many times over the years, but he had one of those days which even the best strikers experience every now and again where he simply couldn’t find the target.
That culminated in a second half penalty miss when he blazed his kick high, wind and handsome over the railway end cross bar when Hassocks’ lead was only 2-0.
Had that gone in, then it could have been a very different game but as it was, Hassocks survived and went onto rack up a comfortable win in the end.
In a game that ebbed and flowed from start to finish, it was Anthony Hibbert who gave the Robins the lead with less than five minutes on the clock.
It was a fine team move that presented Hibbert with the opportunity, the ball being worked down the right through Alex Gathern, Mark Price and Nathan Miles before Hibbert applied a crisp finish from the angle.
Gault scored his first and Hassocks’ second of the afternoon on 14 minutes, converting a spot kick which was harshly awarded against Temple for handball.
The tireless midfield running of Hibbert, Price, Nathan Cooper and Jamie Ingham ensured that the Lions were never really able to get their creative midfield pairing of Darren Pearce and Sean Newman on the ball but Pagham still looked dangerous.
Murfin had an effort blocked by Pitcher and Tom Davess timed a tackle to perfection to deny Josh Clack when he was ready to pull the trigger.
Alex Harris then had to be alert to claw away another Murfin effort as Hassocks managed to make it to half time with their lead intact.
Murfin wasted his opportunity from the penalty spot shortly after the restart but the Lions did get the goal that they’d been threatening, Clack giving his side a lifeline with a stunning free kick that left Harris completely motionless.
They were back in the game for all of four minutes before Dan Jacques re-established Hassocks’ two-goal advantage. Gault was the architect, delivering a cross to the near-post which the enigmatic Jacques met with a sweet finish for his first goal since March 2010.
Substitute Rob South probably should have done better when he scuffed wide and Temple headed over before Harris was forced off with 75 minutes played after taking a nasty whack in the face from an accidental kick from Temple. Cooper took over in goal with Zak Dove coming on in midfield.
That might have led to a nervy last quarter of an hour, but the Robins stand-in goalkeeper was largely untroubled, save for fielding a couple of crosses as Hassocks scored three more times to give the scoreline a rather flattering look.
Dove hooked a good ball over the top of the Pagham defence for Gault to beat James Binfield at the second attempt on 82 minutes.
It was Dove himself who notched the fifth five minutes later when his effort came back off the post, hit Binfield and then trickled over the line to give the former Lewes youngster his first goal in a Robins shirt.
Gault had saved the best until last however, scoring in stoppage time with an audacious chip over Binfield from an impossible angle to complete his hat-trick and the rout at 6-1.
Hassocks: Alex Harris; Alex Gathern, Nick Pitcher, Ashley Marsh, Tom Davess; Jamie Ingham, Anthony Hibbert, Nathan Cooper, Mark Price, Dan Jacques; Phil Gault.
Subs: Rob South (Price 52), Zak Dove (Harris 75), Rowan Wallis (Marsh 90).
Starman: Although Phil Gault will take the plaudits for his hat-trick, the industrious Jamie Ingham deserves special praise.
