HORROR HOUR HAUNTS HASSOCKS
The players of Hassocks have been in a charitable mood this past week. On Thursday night, they visited Profiles Health and Beauty in the village to take part in a sponsored leg wax for Children in Need.
That event raised £310 for the cause and 48 hours later the Robins were again charitable as Loxwood left the Beacon with what will surely be one of their easier three points of the season thanks to a convincing 3-0 win.
Phil Wickwar had said in the aftermath of last week’s 6-0 humbling at Horsham YMCA that the players owed the Robins supporters a performance, but their debt kept growing as the third biggest league crowd at the Beacon so far this season left bitterly disappointed.
Perhaps this shouldn’t have come as a surprise; Hassocks after all have never beaten Loxwood before and the visitors arrived on the back of three wins on the bounce, which was in stark contrast with the Robins who hit somewhere near rock bottom last week.
In order to try and spark a reaction, Hassocks made a raft of changes from the hammering at Gorings Mead with Nathan Stroomberg, Adam Dawson, Will Broomfield and Harry Mills all being recalled to the starting line up.
The Hassocks bench was also full of quality. Michael Death, Phil Gault and James Westlake were all used subs which goes to highlight that the squad is on paper a strong one, making their current predicament all the more frustrating.
Westlake in particular would’ve been hoping to not be needed at all, given he was running the Brighton 10k the following day.
That proved to be much more successful than his Saturday, a time of 30:57s securing second place in the race and a new personal best.
All three of those subs were called upon before an hour was up in a desperate attempt to try and turn things around, but even the most hopeful of Hassocks fans must have known the tie was already over by that point with Loxwood 3-0 ahead.
Ollie Moore gave them the lead just past the 30 minute mark and then two goals in the space of seven second half minutes from Jordan Warren and Michael Wood wrapped things up.
Not taking chances was one area of concern Wickwar was keen to flag up after the game as Hassocks made it three games without scoring.
“We created some good chances out there but we just aren’t clinical enough which is something we need to look at. We are our own worst enemies at times at the back and if you don’t score goals and have defensive frailties you will obviously be in trouble, which we are right now.”
The last three seasons have all followed a similar pattern. A poor first half of the season leads to genuine fears of relegation but is followed by a much improved second half in which the Robins pull comfortably clear of the drop zone.
Can they do the same again? Wickwar reckons hard work is the key. “We need to pull together and get back to what Hassocks sides of the past were known for – togetherness and hard, honest work. The fans deserve more than we are giving them at the moment, and I’m getting bored of saying that every week.”
The result left Hassocks just four points and three places above the relegation zone and they now face two massive games against Worthing United and Arundel, two of the five sides below them in the table at present.
Hassocks: Nathan Stroomberg; Adam Dawson, Tom Barnes, Ashley Marsh, Jordan Badger; Harry Mills, Lewis Westlake, Will Broomfield, Bradley Bant; Charlie Pitcher, Liam Benson.
Subs: James Westlake, Michael Death, Phil Gault (used), Joe Maskell, Alex Harris (unused).
Starman: Lewis Westlake
