CAN’T PUT A PRICE ON LOVE – ESPECIALLY MARK’S VALENTINE’S DAY BRACE
Mark Price can expect to be inundated with belated Valentine’s Day cards from Hassocks fans after his brace secured a 2-2 draw at East Preston on the most romantic day of the year.
Nothing could separate two sides who are much changed since their first Southern Combination Premier Division meeting of the season back in September.
Reigning champions EP could count on their title winning squad and manager Dom Di Paolo back then, the result being a comfortable 4-0 victory for the best team in the league on their visit to the Beacon.
Di Paolo however left the club a few weeks later along with many of his players, sparking a barren run of form and a tumble down the table.
EP put enough points on the board under Di Paolo in the opening two months of the campaign not to be concerned with getting dragged into the relegation battle this season.
They do still retain quality too as they showed at the Lashmar. As late as the 88th minute, it looked like they would claim all three points rather than just one until Price popped up with a timely equaliser for Hassocks.
Whereas EP have regressed as the campaign has gone on, Hassocks have gone in the opposite direction. Having won only one league game in the opening three months, the Robins have improved no end since the middle of December when Mark Dalgleish and Phil Wickwar assumed control.
Under their new joint managers, Hassocks have lost just three times in nine matches. 14 points have been put on the board to give the Robins a real chance of finishing outside of the bottom three.
Dalgleish and Wickwar would be the first to admit there is still plenty of work to do in that regard, but there is a real belief and spirit in the camp. That was epitomised by the way they never gave up here, eventually leading to that deserved late leveller.
Helping the Hassocks cause has been the improvement in player availability as a number of key individuals have returned from injury.
The mercurial Price certainly falls into that category. He can be a genuine match winner with his scheming from midfield. Hassocks sorely missed him in a first half of the season in which he made only a handful of starts.
Price is still having his game time carefully managed as Dalgleish and Wickwar pick and choose the matches he is involved in, based on when they think he can make the most impact.
His selection here – and completing the 90 minutes – was fully justified via those two goals which bookended an entertaining game.
The point secured by Price looked even more important come the full time whistle. Relegation rivals Hailsham Town had hammered the Robins’ next opponents Chichester City 4-1 in yet another twist and turn in the battle to avoid the bottom three.
Despite a difficult surface at the Lashmar, Hassocks came flying out of the traps with Price giving them the lead with only two minutes on the clock.
Phil Johnson made an early dart down the left channel, cut back onto his right foot and delivered a cross to the back post.
Price had timed his run to perfection, ghosting in almost unnoticed before defying his diminutive frame to rise and head home.
EP were woeful for much of the opening 30 minutes and it is no exaggeration to say that the Robins should have put the game to bed in that time.
They seemed to have left their shooting boots at home, however. Johnson uncharacteristically squandered a couple of chances, young Dan Stokes went close and Nick Pitcher fired wide when he looked well placed to score.
That wastefulness was punished when Mark Burgess equalised on the half hour mark, a goal which not only levelled the scores but led to a complete momentum switch.
EP suddenly became the dominant side and like Hassocks, they were left ruing a lack of ruthlessness as a plethora of chances came and went in a strong period at the start of the second half.
Bradley Curtis eventually made the pressure tell, putting EP into the lead with 20 minutes remaining. For the next 18 minutes, it looked like that would be enough to win the game.
Hassocks kept huffing and puffing but without ever threatening until Price made it 2-2 with 120 seconds of normal time left to play.
A trademark driving run and shot from Johnson led to a loose ball falling to Price, who was in the right place at the right time in the EP area to tap home.
Neither side seemed overly concerned with finding a winner in the short time left after that for fear that it could lead to them losing the game. Ultimately, the draw was the right result – and a useful one for the Robins.
Hassocks: George Willett; Bradley Tighe, Ashley Marsh, Rowan Wallis, Dan Jacques; Mark Price, Ryan Collins, Nick Pitcher, Tom Barnes, Dan Stokes; Phil Johnson.
Subs: Tom Davess, Bradley Bant (used), Ellis Common, Phil Wickwar (unused).
