TEN MAN HASSOCKS HOLD HORLEY TO A SCORE DRAW
Hassocks Under 23s got their first point of the season on the board with a hard-fought draw against North Division newcomers Horley Town.
This was a game which could have gone either way right up until the Robins’ Ben Hicks picked up a second yellow card with 20 minutes left to play. From that point on, the 10 men of Hassocks had to dig in and repel wave after wave of Horley attacks to hold on for a deserved 1-1 draw.
The Robins’ starting line up was unrecognisable from the side who had opened the campaign with a 2-1 Mid Sussex Derby defeat away at St Francis Rangers eight days previously. Hassocks made eight changes with just Hicks, George Galbraith-Gibbons and Harvey Ransome surviving from Colwell Road.
There were two new faces. Conor Evento came in for his first start in goal since re-signing for the Robins from Broadbridge Heath and former Burgess Hill Town youngster Jay Hudson was handed a debut.
Jake Chadwick made his full debut after coming on as a substitute against St Francis; Charlie Alderton, Charlie Jones and Luke Marshall all made their first appearances of the campaign whilst the Under 23s were also able to call upon first team regulars Dan Turner and Joe Bull.
The players missing out were Jayden Dunkley, Connor Bradley, Kieran Dimelow, Max Donaldson, George Harwood, Kenny Pearce and Jamie Wilkes with Brad Sweetman dropping down to the bench.
Whilst Hassocks were kicking off their season with defeat, Horley were busy beating Loxwood 3-1 at the New Defence in their debut fixture at this level of football in the Southern Combination League.
That was an impressive result for the Clarets, given that Loxwood have had one of the strongest development set ups in Sussex over recent seasons. Hassocks found that out first hand last season when their memorable Sussex Under 23 Challenge Cup run came to an end at the quarter final stages in a 1-0 defeat at Plaistow Road.
All of which pointed to a tough evening being in store for Hassocks. It certainly looked that way in the opening exchanges when Horley had plenty of the ball, eventually taking the lead on 29 minutes. Jonathan Kusaka was the scorer, poking home at the near post after Hassocks failed to convincingly deal with a corner
The Robins though responded well, only allowing their visitors to lead for seven minutes. Last season’s Under 23s top scorer George Galbraith-Gibbons notched the leveller to open his account for 2020-21, nodding home a poacher’s goal from close range after a free kick had struck the bar.
The game could have gone either way after that. Hassocks had a strong bench and gave game time to Sweetman, Lewis Beebee, Alex Crawford and Will Broomfield before Hicks’ red card left them hanging on rather than trying to find a winner.
Broomfield’s minutes were particularly welcome as he steps up his return to action after suffering an injury hit pre-season.
Hassocks: Conor Evento, Luke Marshall, Dan Turner, Ben Hicks, Harvey Ransome, Charlie Alderton, Jake Chadwick, Luke Marshall, Jay Hudson, Joe Bull, George Galbraith-Gibbons.
Subs: Lewis Beebee, Brad Sweetman, Will Broomfield, Alex Crawford (used).
