DEFENSIVE ERRORS COST HASSOCKS DEAR AT THE DEFENCE
As far as season openers go, there wasn’t too much excitement to shout about as Hassocks met Southern Combination League new boys Horley Town at the New Defence.
It was the hosts who ran out 2-0 winners, but that owed much to two defensive lapses from the Robins. This was a game devoid of any real quality as two pretty robust back lines ensured that chances were at a premium, save for the goals that Hassocks contrived to give away.
The manner in which they conceded left Mark Dalgleish more than a little perplexed with the Hassocks boss knowing that with a little more concentration, his side could have been heading back from the north of the county come 5pm with a hard earned point.
How good a point that would have been remains to be seen. Horley are something of an unknown quality having been moved across to the Southern Combination League in the summer by the FA.
They finished 10th in the Combined Counties Premier last season, a league that is often considered stronger than its Sussex counterpart based on results in the national cup competitions.
Where that puts them in a Premier Division that doesn’t have a clear cut favourite this year nobody yet knows. But based on this showing, they’ll be resolute, well organised and stubborn opponents – traits that could make them a threat to those towards the top of the table.
Hassocks had been scoring goals for fun in pre-season, registering 14 in four games. Yet they couldn’t land a real blow on a Horley back line that was marshalled superbly by the outstanding Ryan Brackpool.
True, Hassocks were well below their best and created very little of the attacking verve that saw them give their Isthmian League neighbours Burgess Hill Town and Haywards Heath Town a real fright over the last month. But credit should still go to Horley who defended doggedly when they needed to.
The closest that the Robins came to troubling George Hyde in the home goal was when Phil Johnson had a strong penalty claim waved away by referee Ciaran Kane.
That brought back memories of Hassocks’ only previous visit to the New Defence for a competitive fixture, a 4-2 FA Vase defeat three years ago in which they had three cast-iron penalties turned down.
They’d fallen three goals behind inside a horror opening half hour on that occasion. It wasn’t the best of starts this time around either as Horley took the lead with just five minutes on the clock.
A long throw into the Hassocks box caused chaos and in the ensuing confusion, it appeared to be the unfortunate Andy Whittingham who sliced into his own goal when attempting to clear.
Hassocks regrouped after that early setback and they did some decent things through midfield as the first half wore on. Alex Spinks was a controlling presence after an injury-hit campaign last time out and Jack Troak, a new signing from Lewes, showed plenty of promising touches.
The Robins back four looked relatively solid as well. Will Broomfield was partnered at the heart of the defence by Arni Kublickas, back at the Beacon after several seasons in the Mid Sussex League with Burgess Hill Albion.
With Harvey Blake and Whittingham in the full back positions, Josh Green a safe pair of hands in goal and the likes of Harry Mills and enigmatic fan favourite Dan Jacques sitting on the bench, Dalgleish certainly appears to have plenty of options for his rear guard.
What will help Hassocks’ cause is if this becomes the season when they can finally cut out goals from set pieces. Conceding cheaply from corners and free kicks has been an ongoing problem dating back to 2015, and it was from yet another dead ball scenario that Horley added their second midway through the second half.
Brackpool was the scorer as he escaped the attentions of Rowe-Hurst to be left with a free header which he gleefully powered past Green.
Hassocks turned to James Littlejohn and Joe Bull to try and wrestle a way back into the game but in truth it never looked likely as proceedings petered out, giving Horley an historic first win on their Southern Combination debut.
For Hassocks, there were some promising moments on a tough assignment, although Dalgleish and his players will know that they can perform much better than this.
Hassocks: Josh Green; Harvey Blake, Will Broomfield, Arni Kublickas, Andy Whittingham; Dan Stokes, Alex Spinks, Matt Berridge, Jack Troak; Jack Rowe-Hurst, Phil Johnson.
Subs: Joe Bull, James Littlejohn (used), Dan Jacques, Harry Mills, Lewis Westlake (unused).
