Before the November lockdown, Hassocks sat in the dizzy heights of seventh spot in the Southern Combination League Premier Division. Things went less well following a month off as the third part of our 2020-21 Season Review covering December has to remind you, unfortunately.
December did got off to a decent start for the Robins, off the pitch at least. The 2020-21 instalment of the Ann John Trophy against Burgess Hill Town was hastily arranged to be the first fixture post-lockdown having been unable to take place in its usual pre-season berth because of the summer restrictions on crowds.
Despite the fixture now happening in the depths of winter, a sizable crowd still turned out so that a record £1,500 was raised for St Peter & St James Hospice. That was the good news. The bad news was that Hassocks were comprehensively beaten by the Hillians as Jay Lovett’s Isthmian League outfit ran out 8-1 winners to ensure the trophy stayed at the More Than Tyres Stadium.
Former Robin Pat Harding opened the scoring for Hill with only nine minutes played and seven minutes later, Aaron Smith-Joseph added a second. Connor Tighe marked his first appearance since re-signing for the Hillians with the visitors’ third seconds later, Samson Doherty earned and converted a penalty for number four and Tighe made it five before half time.
Hassocks did pull one back prior to the break, Jack Troak firing home from the spot. That goal led to a much improved Robins showing in the second half as they kept Hill at bay right up until the final 15 minutes.
Another ex-Hassocks player in Nathan Copper made it six, Max Miller got the seventh from the third penalty of the afternoon and Tom Chalaye hit the goal of the game with a brilliant curling effort from distance to round off the scoring.
Three days later and the Premier Division campaign resumed with Broadbridge Heath visiting the Beacon on a freezing cold Tuesday night. Both Robins and Bears did their best to warm things up in a fiery encounter featuring two red cards and so many further yellows that even the Royal Mail would have struggled to keep up.
Andy Whittingham saw red for Hassocks after a wild lunge on Alfie Jones to try and retrieve a loose ball which the Robins left back had overrun. That sparked an almighty melee and left Jones incensed.
He instantly set out to gain revenge, resulting in an even more vicious tackle than Whittingham’s and the Heath man becoming the second player dismissed in five minutes.
The only goal of the game had come some 40 minutes earlier, Mark Zydonik heading into an empty goal midway through the first half after Charlie Pugh had done well to keep out Ollie Joels’ initial header from a corner.
It was the same score line four days later when Hassocks suffered another 1-0 defeat, this time against Eastbourne United at the Oval. George Landais scored with 60 seconds of the first half remaining to give Ray Collier his first win as United boss following Matt Crabb’s resignation in October.
United were indebted to goalkeeper Sam Owens for their three points as he claimed the hosts’ man-of-the-match award after stepping in to replace Jordan Hawkins, who had moved to Steyning Town 24 hours earlier.
That defeat at United ended up being Hassocks’ last Premier Division match of 2020-21. Wet weather meant the visit of Alfold to the Beacon scheduled for December 20th was postponed with the winter lockdown following, preventing any football taking place until April and the Supplementary Shield.
The Robins finished the regular season in 12th place with six wins and seven defeats from their 13 matches, a much improved performance on the 2019-20 campaign when they were sat in the relegation zone at the point of curtailment.
One Under 23s match took place in December when North Division leaders Horsham YMCA visited the Beacon. There was to be no upsetting the league table as Hassocks suffered a 2-0 defeat to goals from Ronnie Burchell and Johnny Mills in a game packed with drama which the Robins ended with only nine men on the pitch.
Shay Leahy picked up two quick-fire yellows after his introduction as a substitute, following goalkeeper Conor Evento in heading for an early bath.
Evento’s dismissal meant that 45-year-old Phil Wickwar found himself coming off the bench to take over being the sticks, making a piece of history as the only man to have played first team, reserves, Under 23, Under 18 and veterans football for the Robins.
The Under 18s played two fixtures in December, surrendering their 100% record when being held to a 2-2 draw by Broadbridge Heath at the Beacon in their first game back.
Lewis Beebee and Cody Craig scored against the Bears with Hassocks following that up by hammering Crawley Down Gatwick 8-0 at the Haven.
The Robins were top of the North Division when the season was brought to a close having won six and drawn one of their seven games, plundering 38 goals and conceding only four.
