ROBINS FIGHT TO FIRST POINT AT NEWHAVEN
In their recent slide into the relegation zone, Hassocks have lost four times, conceded 15 and scored only one. The lack of fight has been marked.
They certainly got their fight back at Newhaven’s Trafalgar Ground, a venue their record previously read played six, lost six.
There was the fight to come back from two goals down to take a point. The fight that saw Hassocks goalkeeper Nathan Stroomberg sent off for choke slamming an opponent.
The fight to hold on for a draw with joint boss Phil Wickwar in goal for the last 10 minutes. And the fight to get the most blatant handball goal since the quarter final of the 1986 World Cup overturned after the Dockers Lee Robinson tried to cheat his side to victory in injury time.
Hassocks made a raft of changes from last weeks crushing 4-0 home defeat to Arundel with Wickwar saying he and Mark Dalgleish, “Wanted a side that want to play for this football club, are fully on board and desperate to keep us up.”
The most eye-catching selections were bringing midfielder Spencer Slaughter back into the side at centre half and handing a full debut to Under 18s striker George Galbraith-Gibbons.
What appeared to be two big gambles before the game looked like masterstrokes come the final whistle. Slaughter had his best game of the season in a position in which he played occasionally when first breaking into the Hassocks first team a decade ago whilst Galbraith-Gibbons took the man-of-the-match plaudits, scoring the Robins’ first goal and assisting the second.
Hassocks began the game brightly, Bradley Bant drawing a good save from Jake Buss from a one-on-one and Galbraith-Gibbons making the wrong choice when he ignored the pressing run into the box of Harry Mills, instead hitting a tame effort at Buss after being teed up by fellow teenager Jack Wilkins.
Newhaven took the lead from the penalty spot when Jordan Badger felled Robinson and the Dockers top scorer dusted himself down to convert from 12 yards.
Hassocks felt that decision was harsh with Badger having won the ball but he had gone through the back of Robinson to do so. Kyle Woolven then rattled the bar from a full 25 yards as Newhaven laid siege to the Hassocks goal.
Eventually, the Dockers added a second. Stroomberg was seemingly caught in two minds about whether to control the ball or clear it first time; the result being he did neither and it bounced off his foot and straight to Robinson who needed no further invitation to double the advantage.
Given the Robins woeful record against Newhaven and the fact the hosts had scored 12 unanswered goals against Lancing in an RUR Cup Quarter Final just four days earlier, Hassocks connections could’ve been fearing the worse but they pulled one back almost immediately.
It was a great counter attacking goal, a quick break going through Bant, Will Broomfield and Wilkins before eventually finding Galbraith-Gibbons who produced a stunning finish on the angle two minutes before the break.
Newhaven’s lightning quick front three began the second half by causing Hassocks problems but the defence of Joe Maskell, Ashley Marsh, Slaughter and Badger held strong.
At the other end, Galbraith-Gibbons was coming into the game more was coming into the game more, delivering a delicious cross which somehow missed Broomfield and Bant who were piling into the box.
It was from another great Galbraith-Gibbons ball in that the equaliser arrived. Newhaven thought they had done enough to clear their lines from a corner but they hadn’t counted for James Westlake picking out Galbraith-Gibbons brilliantly and his first time cross was met by a sublime side foot finish from Slaughter who had remained in the host’s penalty area.
It was after that that things got really heated. Robinson’s attempts to win a best actor Oscar with a less-than-convincing dive in the box didn’t impress referee Alex Bradley who booked the Dockers striker for simulation.
It didn’t impress Broomfield either as he knocked the ball out of Robinson’s hand, sending him into Marsh in the process who went flying as if hit by a bus.
That sparked a melee and as handbags began swinging from both sides, Stroomberg arrived to do a passable impression of Jack the Ripper, throwing Robinson to the ground via the throat to earn a thoroughly deserved red card.
That wasn’t the end of the controversy either and again Robinson was at the heart of it when, into injury time, a free kick was pumped into the Hassocks box.
With replacement goalkeeper Wickwar coming to claim it, Robinson beat him to the ball but only by producing his own ‘Hand of God’ moment to punch it into the back of the net.
Robinson and Newhaven ran off celebrating what they thought was the winner only for joy to turn to despair as Hassocks’ vehement appeals were backed up by the linesman who had seen the deliberate handball.
From believing they had won the game, the Dockers instead found themselves down to 10 men as Robinson picked up his second caution of the game.
“We’re delighted with the point,” Wickwar said afterwards. “We were on the end of a poor decision for the first penalty but then the officials got two big calls right with the second one not being awarded and the handball at the end.”
Hassocks: Nathan Stroomberg; Joe Maskell, Ashley Marsh, Spencer Slaughter, Jordan Badger; Harry Mills, James Westlake, Will Broomfield, Bradley Bant; George Galbraith-Gibbons, Jack Wilkins.
Subs: Phil Wickwar, Kieran Dimelow, Josh Tuck (used).
Starman: George Galbraith-Gibbons.
