ROBINS HAVE NOW ANSWER TO IMPRESSIVE CHI
Hassocks suffered only their third loss of 2016 after in form Chichester City left the Beacon with all three points following a 3-1 victory.
Goals from the dangerous Jimmy Wild and a brace from Dan Heggarty ensured it was game over within one minute of the second half commencing.
For every game they play at the minute, Hassocks seem to be without yet another key player. Here, their unavailability problems seemed to reach a nadir as three more joined the ranks of the missing and crocked.
Bradley Bant and Michael Death were both absent while Alex Harris was ruled out with the injury that forced him off with 25 minutes left to play of the weekend win against Littlehampton Town and pressed joint manager Phil Wickwar into goalkeeping duties.
It was another Wickwar who took over from Harris for the visit of Chi with Under 21 goalkeeper Reece coming in for his first start since October.
Along with Wickwar, there were welcome returns for Jonno Melia after a short spell on the sidelines and Rowan Wallis who was handed a start against his former club, with whom he remains a popular figure after switching Oaklands Park for the Beacon in 2011.
It was Melia who had the first opportunity of the game, his pace getting him away in trademark fashion only to be forced wide when one-on-one by some clever goalkeeping from Dave Hook.
Wild is one of the more dangerous strikers in the league and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him moving up the pyramid sooner rather than later.
He opened the scoring with eight minutes on the clock, producing a neat finish despite the best efforts of Wickwar and Bradley Tighe to deny him.
Hassocks were still in the tie and creating some half decent opportunities mainly using the pace of Melia, Jamie Hillwood and Jack Wilkins on the counter attack right up until five minutes before the break, when Heggarty scored with a fine header to double the advantage.
If that was a disappointing end to the first half then the start of the second was absolutely disastrous as, with most fans still making their way out of the clubhouse, Heggarty added his second and Chi’s third straight from kick off.
Wickwar showed good handling to take a number of crosses and then denied Wild a second of his own when he was in one-on-one as Chi cranked up the pressure.
They had plundered seven at the weekend against Eastbourne United Association and clearly were after another big scoreline such as the 6-1 win they ran up last time these two met.
That was back in September when Hassocks were really struggling, so to only concede three times could be seen in an optimists eyes as a sign that the Robins have moved in the right direction over the intervening seven months.
There was even a consolation in it for Hassocks when Hillwood pulled one back with 80 minutes played with a finish typical of the talented winger.
One positive aspect of the game being up within 46 minutes was that it allowed the Robins to give extended game time to a trio of their talented teenagers with Liam Benson, James Oliver and Joe Russell all appearing from the substitutes bench.
Hassocks: Reece Wickwar; Bradley Tighe, Rowan Wallis, Tom Barnes, Luke Akehurst; Dan Stokes, Josh Hawkes, James Westlake, Jamie Hillwood; Jonno Melia, Jack Wilkins.
Subs: James Oliver, Liam Benson, Joe Russell (used), Mark Price, Phil Wickwar (unused).
