FRENCH-LED BILLINGSHURST GIVE HASSOCKS THEIR TOUGHEST TEST YET
Hassocks Under 18s faced their toughest test of the 2020-21 season so far against a well organised Billingshurst outfit at the Beacon.
That didn’t really come as a surprise to anyone given the identity of the man in the away dugout. Former Hassocks favourite Eddie French is the Billingshurst manager and he knows a thing or two about what it takes to forge a good youth team.
French came through the ranks as part of one of the best Under 18s sides that Hassocks have had at the same time as he captained Sussex. He went onto play nearly 100 times for the Robins first team before going onto become a club legend in the Istmian League with Horsham.
Despite leaving the Beacon nearly 20 years ago now, French remains a popular figure and he and his team received a warm welcome on his return.
It says much about French’s players that they pushed Hassocks harder than anyone has managed so far thanks to a disciplined, organised performance which aimed to keep them in the game for as long as possible.
The Robins’ quality eventually came through to secure a sixth consecutive success via a 3-0 win, but Hassocks had to wait until the final 15 minutes to score two of those goals. It was a much sterner test than the Robins are used to, especially having plundered 43 goals from their previous five outings.
Hassocks made four changes from the side who seen off a physical Crawley Down Gatwick outfit 6-0 a week earlier at the Beacon. Dropping out of the starting line up were Oscar De Janon Griph, Sam Geard, Charlie Jones and Alfie Loversidge.
Daniel Llewellyn, Josh Sprigg and Archie Messent were all promoted from the bench and Harry Bundy returned after missing the victory over the Anvils.
The fact that it took some time for Hassocks to wrap up victory enabled the Robins to display a different string to their bow other than simply steamrolling teams aside. They had to remain patient and calm and keep plugging away until victory was eventually sealed with those late goals in the final quarter.
The identity of Hassocks’ scorers will have pleased manager Brad Sweetman too as it was not the usual suspects who hit the back of the net to see off plucky Hurst.
Joint top scorer Lewis Beebee failed to notch for the first time this season as neither he nor Archie Russell were able to add to the 10 goals they have already plundered.
Instead, it was captain Alex Crawford who continued his rich recent form with a fourth goal in five games having scored just twice from 12 appearances in the 2019-20 season before the pandemic and curtailment arrived.
Two of this summer’s new signings provided the Robins’ other goals with Beau Howard and Archie Messent on target, ending the spirited fight of a Billigshurst side who should take a lot of heart from their performance.
Hassocks have a week off next weekend. We are currently awaiting conformation of the Southern Combination League Under 18 North Division fixtures for November, so please keep an eye on our website for details of when and where you can catch the Young Robins over the next month. They are well worth a watch at the moment.
Hassocks: Jayden Dunkley, Dan Llewellyn, Josh Sprigg, Alex Crawford, Luke Marshall, Kobe Dersley, Archie Messent, Archie Russell, Beau Howard, Lewis Beebee.
Subs: Oscar De Janon Griph, Cody Craig, Stan Hull, Fraser Mears (used).
