February was a month of relentless rain but Hassocks still managed to take to the field three times with three very contrasting results.
A Tuesday night trip to Hill Park kicked the month off where the Robins took on fellow strugglers Saltdean United. Neither side could afford to lose and perhaps somewhat predictably, a freezing evening ended in a 1-1 draw.
Dan Perry opened the scoring for the Tigers with the first shot on target after 18 minutes. Hassocks’ equaliser came 10 minutes later when a long Dan Turner throw caused chaos in the Saltdean box and captain Alex Spinks was on hand to crash a volley home for his first goal for the Robins.
Hassocks had the clearer cut chances but come the full time whistle, the result was the correct one. A battling point on the road should have set Mark Dalgleish and his players up for a massive game away at bottom side Loxwood four days later, but the trip to Plaistow Road quickly descended into a nightmare.
Loxwood were yet to win a Premier Division game all season before Hassocks made the journey north. The Robins were 3-0 down inside of 28 minutes to goals from Mark Goldson, Charlie Pitcher and Timothy Bennett and that was how it finished.
It was a defeat inflicted by a host of former Hassocks players. Pitcher was on target, Dan Webster had teed up Goldson for the opener while Eddie French was voted as the hosts’ man-of-the-match ahead of Josh Hawkes who came third in the poll.
Not many people gave the Robins much hope against one of their bogey sides, Horsham YMCA three days later. In typical Hassocks fashion, they went and shocked YM by winning 3-2 at the Beacon.
You would have got long odds on that score line when YM stormed into 2-0 lead with just seven minutes played through a Sam Lemon brace. A bitter evening looked in store for the Robins until the second half, when James Westlake pulled one back 10 minutes after the restart.
Dalgleish turned to his bench and that duly won the game for Hassocks. Substitute Phil Johnson tucked away an 85th minute equaliser from the penalty spot after Westlake was wiped out in the box. The winner arrived in the 92nd minute, Turner heading a corner back across goal for George Galbraith-Gibbons to scramble home.
Galbraith-Gibbons was also on target in the Under 23s only February fixture that managed to beat the weather. That was the long trip to the Bunn Leisure Stadium to face Selsey, a game which ended 1-1. Michael Woolston scored for the Blues.
The Under 18s too played just once in February, delivering one of their most impressive performances and results of the campaign by hammering reigning Central Division champions Haywards Heath Town 6-1 at Hanbury Park.
Harrison Lees helped himself to a hat-trick with Lewis Beebee grabbing a brace and Alex Crawford. Nobody knew it at the time, but that was to be their last game of the 2019-20 campaign.
The Ladies one February fixture was an afternoon to forget as they went down 3-0 against a strong Crawley Wasps side. Rosane Fine, Danielle Boy and Lauren Callaghan were the scorers.
