ROBINS HIT FOR SIX IN A VASE AFTERNOON TO FORGET
The cricket season may be all but over but Hassocks found themselves hit for six as their FA Vase adventure come to a shuddering end.
The Robins’ fellow Southern Combination League Premier Division side Horley Town were the visitors to the Beacon and they cake-walked into the first round proper of the competition with a 6-1 victory.
It was a result that came out of nowhere really. Yes, Hassocks had lost their previous four games in a row but that only told half the story.
They’d gone down to single goal defeats to Isthmian League side Chipstead in the FA Cup and second placed Lancing and third placed Broadbridge Heath in the league.
Even the one fixture with a compelling scoreline was harsh, leaders Eastbourne Town’s 4-1 win at the Saffrons being an encounter that was delicately poised until the final 30 minutes.
Those good performances against tough opponents seemed like a distant memory after 90 chastening minutes under the Mid Sussex sun.
In fact, what probably sums this game up best is the man-of-the-match poll that the Robins’ Twitter account ran afterwards.
Two of the nominations were goalkeeper James Earl – without whom it could have been even more than the half dozen it was – and left back Andy Whittingham. So, that’s a goalkeeper and a left back who were part of a back five that shipped six goals. Telling.
Then came groundsman Alan John for his work in preparing a fine playing surface and Christine Low who put on an excellent selection of food from the T-Bar. At the time of writing, it was neck-and-neck between Christine and Alan as to who would win the vote.
Choosing between pitch or cheeseburger was a tough dilemma. Unfortunately, Mark Dalgleish had no such headaches when it came to his team selection as Hassocks were beset with a raft of unavailability.
Josh Green, Harvey Blake, Harry Mills and Jack Rowe-Hurst were all among the regulars missing, which contributed to a pretty disjointed showing.
Liam Benson came in for his first start since returning to the Beacon from Steyning Town while the bench included last season’s Under 18s top scorer Tristan Hayes and Louis Pople, last seen in a Hassocks shirt in the 2012-13 season.
It was another substitute, Joe Bull, who provided Hassocks’ only bright spot when he notched his first senior goal for the club midway through the second half.
The move started from a free kick in the Robins’ own half which was played down the line from where a decent cross was delivered which Bull slid in at the far post.
Horley were already five goals to the good by that point. They opened the scoring inside the opening 10 minutes through the lively Kerran Boylan.
He’s a player who is clearly thriving since the Clarets’ move from the Combined Counties League into the Southern Combination having notched eight times already coming into this tie.
Boylan was a real handful all afternoon and alongside his strike partner Tony Halsey, they gave Dan Jacques and Arni Kublickas a torrid time of it.
Hassocks managed to make it past the half hour mark before goal number two went in, Newson this time being the man on the score sheet.
Number three arrived four minutes later, midfielder Russell Harvey popping up with his first goal of the season. Most of those in attendance accepted that it was pretty much game over at that point, but Horley were in no mood to ease up going into the second half.
Plenty of the crowd were still in the clubhouse tucking into one of Christine’s burgers when Boylan added his second and Horley’s fourth within five minutes of the restart.
Bull then struck the hosts’ consolation, a deserved goal for the 19-year-old as he looks to nail down a regular spot in Dalgleish’s side.
At 4-2, the Robins might have had hope of making things a little more respectable. They’d done so the last time these two sides met in the FA Vase in 2016, falling 4-0 behind but scoring two late goals to ensure it wasn’t a hammering.
Unfortunately, there was to be no repeat of that on this occasion as Mario Quiassaca made it five shortly after. The final goal arrived in the last five minutes, Dale Burgess rounding things off for Horley to give them a stylish win. For Hassocks, an afternoon to forget.
Hassocks: James Earl; Dan Stokes, Dan Jacques, Arni Kublickas, Andy Whittingham; Matt Berridge, Will Broomfield; Ben Bacon, Jack Troak, Jamie Hillwood; Liam Benson.
Subs: Joe Bull, George Galbraith-Gibbons, Harvey Enticknap (used), Tristan Hayes, Louis Pople (unused).
