ENTI AND STOKES SCORE TO SEE OFF NINE-MAN STEYNING
Two red cards, three goals and plenty of controversy made for an entertaining afternoon at the Beacon where Hassocks and Steyning Town met in a league fixture for the first time in 25 years.
The Robins ended up winning 2-1, 19th in the table beating eighth in something of an upset – although whether Hassocks would have won had Steyning managed to keep their discipline is up for debate.
The visitors were reduced to 10 men with eight minutes of the first half remaining when Mayckol Sabino decided to rake his studs down the back of Will Broomfield after a firm but fair challenge. Broomfield certainly made the most of the situation, but you can’t kick out at an opponent like Sabino did.
The away support were incensed by the red but most tellingly, Steyning captain and former Hassocks defender Alex Gathern could be heard berating Sabino for his stupidity as the striker trudged off.
It was another ex-Hasssocks player who picked up the Barrowmen’s other red card, although what Jamie Weston did to deserve the first sending off of his career remained a mystery.
His first yellow was for an innocuous trip out on the right in the first half. The second came in front of the home dugout late in the second half. Weston said afterwards that he wasn’t even sure what it was for and given that he’s one of the nicest men in football, it’s hard to believe that he could have said anything untoward, nor were either of his tackles worthy of bookings.
To compound Steyning’s misery, Jamie Brotherton then lost his head and talked himself into a spell in the sin bin, leaving the visitors to try and find an equaliser with only eight players on the pitch in the final 10 minutes.
That Steyning had more of the ball and were still creating chances despite a three man disadvantage suggests that, had they not had players kicking out and mouthing off, this could have been a very different afternoon.
The biggest question at half time was where were the goals going to come from for Hassocks to take advantage of their numerical superiority?
Phil Johnson’s nightmare season has lurched back into the treatment room again as he’s out for an indefinite period with an ankle ligament problem. Ben Bacon has departed for Three Bridges and Blagomir Mastagarkov’s brief Hassocks career already looks to be over.
Liam Benson ploughed a lonely furrow up top but chances were few and far between. In the end, it was two midfielders who struck to give the Robins the perfect response to the previous week’s 7-0 hammering at the hands of Eastbourne Town.
Harvey Enticknap scored the first on the hour mark after James Littlejohn danced away down the left and delivered a low cross.
Steyning had chances to clear, but two defenders both passed up the opportunity which left Enticknap to rifle home at the back post.
The Barrowmen almost levelled straight from kick off when Rob Clark smashed the crossbar with Charlie Pugh well beaten.
Dan Stokes added the hosts’ second nine minutes later when Steyning tried to play their way out of their own box, only to gift possession to Hassocks.
A few swift passes later and the ball was switched to the other side of the area where Stokes was lurking to make it 2-0 via a heavy deflection.
Steyning pulled one back on 75 with the goal of the game, a sweeping passing move which Conor Bull finished with aplomb.
That looked like it would set up a nervy last 15 minutes. Weston’s dismissal and Brotherton’s 10 minutes off the pitch reduced the threat slightly, but the relief at the final whistle among the home contingent was still palpable.
Before Sabino’s early bath, Pugh had been forced into two good saves low down from Bull while Littlejohn and Stokes had both flashed in crosses which Benson couldn’t quite get on the end of.
The outstanding Dan Turner broke up a couple more dangerous looking Steyning attacks and he also tested Conor Kelly with a towering header from a Littlejohn set piece.
Broomfield had a similar second half chance superbly repelled by Kelly and Pugh had to be alert to turn away Josh Maher’s effort three minutes prior to Enticknap’s opener.
The strangest moment of a strange afternoon though was reserved for Harry Mills, who picked up a ridiculous booking for jumping on Kelly for a piggyback as the Steyning goalkeeper was about to launch a kick down pitch.
Mills quite rightly picked up a deserved booking, much to the amusement of a home bench which featured Phil Wickwar as substitute goalkeeper; Wickwar also having provided the keeping backup in the previous league meeting between the sides back in 1995.
Hassocks: Charlie Pugh; Harvey Blake, Dan Turner, Will Broomfield, Jack Troak; Sam Cash, Harvey Enticknap; Dan Stokes, Alex Spinks, James Littlejohn; Liam Benson.
Subs: Harry Mills, George Galbraith-Gibbons (used), Ben O’Leary, Dan Jacques, Phil Wickwar.
