HILL HOIST TROPHY AS ROBINS RAISE £800 FOR CHARITY
Burgess Hill Town lifted the Ann John Memorial Trophy after defeating Hassocks 4-0 at the Beacon in front of a bumper crowd of 337.
They helped to raise over £800 for St Peter & St James Hospice and those in attendance were treated to a masterclass from Hill forward Aaron Smith-Joseph as he helped his side win the cup outright for the first time.
Smith-Joseph scored Hill’s first and fourth goals, played a crucial role in earning the penalty for their second and set up the third.
His pace and directness tormented Hassocks all night and the Robins’ young side will be thankful that they won’t come up against too many players of his quality in the Southern Combination League this season.
These games have provided rich entertainment in the past, with four of the five previous editions ending in draws and the trophy shared.
Last years in particular was superb. Hassocks stormed into an early 3-0 lead through Michael Death and two goals from James Westlake, only to see the Hillians fightback to draw the game through a late leveller from former Robin Sam Fisk.
Unfortunately, there was none of that sort of drama this time around, with the first 30 minutes being completely forgettable as neither side managed to work a worthwhile opening.
A chance finally arrived on 34 minutes and it fell to Smith-Joseph whose shot through a crowd of players drew a sprawling full stretch save from Alex Harris in the Hassocks goal.
From the resulting corner, Harris got into a bit of a flap when attempting to punch clear and the Robins keeper was grateful to see Smith-Joseph’s shot after he’d collected the loose ball blocked on the line by Spencer Slaughter.
Hill did get the ball in the back of the net shortly after that but it was disallowed for handball after Smith-Joseph practically caught a cross, dropped it at his feet and volleyed home.
After that dour first half, supporters could’ve been forgiven for taking a little longer to leave the bar at half time.
But those who loitered inside would’ve missed the games opening goal as Hill scored within two minutes of the restart.
Smith-Joseph’s pace down the left was electric as he tore away from Harry Mills and Jordan Badger to bear down on Harris’ goal, slotting the ball calmly under the Hassocks keeper to give Hill the lead.
They nearly had a second five minutes later when Gary Elphick’s diving header with only just kept out by Harris, leading to half-hearted appeals from the Hill captain that the ball had crossed the line.
It hadn’t on that occasion but it definitely did cross the line when Kieron Pamment met a floated free kick to bundle home. Unfortunately, he also took Harris with him with the referee correctly ruling that one out for the foul.
Five minutes later and it was Pamment who was on the receiving end of a foul, earning Hill the penalty from which they scored their second.
Smith-Joseph popped up on the right this time and blitzed away from Hassocks substitute Jake Atherton before pulling the ball back to Pamment.
Pamment was about to pull the trigger when Mills clumsily bundled into him from behind. Pamment dusted himself down after the challenge to hammer the penalty into the top left corner of Harris’ goal.
Smith-Joseph’s cross to the far post set up Billy Barker for a tap in for goal number three and Smith-Joseph himself added the fourth, breezing past Dan Turner and dropping a shoulder on Adam Dawson before firing home from a tight angle.
Hassocks finally managed to summon up a couple of shots in the final few minutes, the first being a glorious opportunity that was spurned in the strangest of circumstances.
George Galbraith-Gibbons latched onto a long ball over the top, beating Hill’s substitute goalkeeper Mitch Bromage to the ball and lifting it over him.
That left an easy chance for Galbraith-Gibbons strike partner, an open goal from six yards out yet somehow he managed to volley the ball against the crossbar and straight back into the arms of a relieved Bromage.
Galbraith-Gibbons had Hassocks’ other opportunity but his shot was turned behind for a corner by Bromage after good work down the right by Dan Stokes.
