The improvement that Hassocks had made over the course of the first two months of the 2018-19 season were laid bare in October’s opening fixture when the Robins travelled to Chichester City in the first round of the Sussex Senior Cup.
Eight weeks previously, Chi had come to the Beacon and hammered Hassocks 6-0. It was an early signal of what the eventual Southern Combination League champions were capable of but on this occasion at Oaklands Park, they were pushed all the way by Mark Dalgleish’s visitors for their place in round two which was secured via a tight 2-1 win.
Scott Jones gave Chi the lead after 30 minutes but if the home faithful thought it was going to be another cakewalk then they were very much mistaken.
Liam Benson levelled things up five minutes before half time, rising to glance an excellent Jake Lindsey cross past Anthony Ender. That signalled the start of a manic pre-break period with the hosts scoring what proved to be the winner through Gicu Iordache with a long range effort.
Four days later and Crawley Down Gatwick were the visitors to the Beacon in what was a typically entertaining clash. Back in August,the Robins had knocked the Anvils out of the Sussex Principal RUR Charity Cup thanks to a 2-1 victory and that score line was reversed on this occasion.
Josh Green was having an excellent game in the Hassocks goal before he was controversially dismissed with the second half seven minutes old after he felled an attacker in the box.
Hassocks could have little complaint about the penalty award although they certainly felt hard done by when it came to referee David Ellis showing a straight red.
It was April 2016 when IFAB, the body which decides on changes to the law of the game, announced that denying a goal scoring opportunity would no longer result in an automatic sending off.
Unfortunately, nobody appeared to have told Mr Ellis and so he pointed to the spot and dismissed Green. 43-year-old Phil Wickwar took over in goal with Lindsey the outfield player who was sacrificed and there was nothing that Wickwar could do about Nick Sullivan’s penalty which was smashed home with aplomb.
Despite playing with only 10 men for the remaining 35 minutes, the Robins made a good first of it until a wonder goal form Down’s Harry Petty wrapped up the three points, although Hassocks did pull one back to set up a nervy last five minutes when Phil Johnson swept home James Littlejohn’s pull back.
Green’s subsequent suspension meant Wickwar having to start in the following week’s Peter Bentley League Cup third round clash with Lingfield. Hassocks weren’t at the races, conceding three sloppy goals to Thomas Stead, Joel Alexander and Chris Ransome as the Lingers moved into last eight of the competition.
A first league meeting with Little Common for 24 years followed a week later at the Oval but it was another day to forget for the Robins as the hosts won for the first time since the opening week of the season.
The Robins were 4-0 down inside of the opening 55 minutes as a Lewis Hole brace and goals from Wes Tate and Ryan Paul put Common on easy street before an hour had even been played. Consolation goals from Jake Lindsey and Harvey Blake added a little bit of respectability to the score line late on as the game finished 4-2.
Hassocks were in a bit of a rut by this point so the last thing they’d have wanted to see was Newhaven’s name on the fixture list given the terrible record that they have against the Dockers.
The game however ended up being an afternoon on which all the signs were there that the Robins’ form was about to turn. They dominated their title chasing visitors to the point that virtually all of the travelling contingent were left scratching their heads at the full time whistle following their smash-and-grab 2-1 win.
Johnson rewarded Hassocks for their domination of the opening 30 minutes by putting them ahead. Rob Mallia equalised on the stroke of half time with Newhaven’s first real effort. They then scored what proved to be the winner just past the hour mark when Tom Cooklin fired home after an extended game of pinball in the Hassocks box.
The feeling afterwards was that if Hassocks could perform to the level they had against Newhaven against lesser opponents and with a bit more luck, then somebody was going to be in for a hiding. That somebody turned out to be former Robins reserve team manager Scott Osborne’s Seaford Town in the third round of the RUR Cup.
Goals from Liam Benson, Jordan Badger, Phil Johnson, Harry Mills and a Jake Lindsey brace saw the Division One Hornets hammered. Ali Rainsford and Connor Martin did net for Seaford, but this was as comprenhensive a win as you’ll see and set up a tantalising Mid Sussex derby with Haywards Heath Town in the quarter finals.
Harvey Blake’s promising introduction to senior football following his summer move from Mid Sussex League side Sporting Lindfield continued as he was voted the Robins’ October Player of the Month. Johnson finished as runner up for the second consecutive month with Will Broomfield third.
The Under 23s unbeaten start to the season came to an end in their first fixture of October when they suffered a shock 1-0 reversal at Selsey. Nigel Pearce’s side bounced back impressively from that however, scoring 14 goals in their next three games, all of which were victories.
They hammered Hailsham Town 6-0 on in the first round of the Sussex Under 23 Challenge Cup, followed that up with a 5-0 win over Mile Oak in the league and then picked up a hard earned three points from a 3-2 victory over third placed Lancing.
Max Willcox scored six times across those matches as the Robins remained top of the West Division table on goal difference from Horsham YMCA.
The Under 18s kicked off October with a commanding 8-1 win over Rottingdean Village before their eagerly anticipated local derby with Haywards Heath.
Both sides came into the game with 100% records in the Central Division. Hassocks’ winning streak went back even further than the start of the season however as they arrived at Hanbury Park an astonishing 29 games in a row stretching back 385 days.
That proud run was ended though by Heath, who triumphed 5-3 in an enthralling clash. Tristan Hayes netted his 11th goal of the campaign win the 11th minute to give Hassocks the lead but they were ahead for only four minutes before Mahmadou Jawala levelled things.
The crazy first half continued when both sides scored within 60 seconds of each other around the half hour mark, Yahya Azizi netting for the Robins and Matthew Llewellyn for the hosts.
That made it 2-2 but it didn’t stay that way for very long either, Ollie Broad scoring the first goal of what would turn it to be a memorable morning for him in the 38th minute to send Heath into the break 3-2 ahead.
Hassocks left back Josh Sandilands scored direct from a corner in that Rottingdean rout the week before and he showed that was no fluke by repeating the trick to make it 3-3 with 30 minutes left to play.
Broad put the hosts 4-3 up seven minutes after that and they were then dealt a blow when Crowhurst saw red to set up a tense last 20 minutes.
Despite setting up camp in the Heath half, Hassocks couldn’t find a way through and it was in fact Heath who scored while playing with only 10 men, Broad completing his hat-trick with one minute of normal time remaining to send the hosts above Hassocks to the top of the table.
The Robins weren’t going to give up their league title without a fight thought and they showed that by going to third placed Steyning Town a week later and winning 2-1 through Alex Moulvogny and an own goal.
The Ladies played just twice in October, picking up two wins for consecutive victories five and six. There was a 4-0 win away at Milford & Witley with two goals apiece for Billie Philpott and Katherine Chappell which was followed a week later by a 2-1 League Cup win over Bexhill United as the Robins got their defence of the trophy underway.
