Hudson to the four as Robins crush Crows in season opener
Jay Hudson was the star on the opening day of the Southern Combination League Under 23 North Division season, scoring all four goals as Hassocks hammered Crowborough Athletic at the Beacon.
The Robins’ 4-1 win was the first victory by a Hassocks side so far in 2021-22, lifting the mood somewhat as the first team remain winless from four very difficult fixtures to start the campaign.
With Brad Sweetman and Jordan Wilson heading up both the senior and Under 23s management teams this season, there is expected to be a fair bit of crossover between the two sides as Hassocks operate with a very young squad.
Eight of the 15 players used by the Robins on the evening have already turned out for the first team this season and they proved to have too much quality for a Crows outfit who had been one of the stronger in the North Division last season prior to curtailment.
Charlie Pugh, Kobe Dersley, Ben Hicks and Jordan Badger were all involved in Tuesday night’s 2-2 draw against AFC Uckfield Town, Badger taking the headlines for his late equaliser in his first game after two seasons away from football.
Jack Baden, Archie Russell, Jude Wallis and Max Blencowe have all been involved in the senior set up and it surely will not be long until Hudson follows suit after his goal scoring heroics.
It took the former Burgess Hill Town man less than one minute to open the scoring, giving Hassocks the perfect start to the campaign.
David Crouch equalised for Crowborough on 36 minutes and when the sides went into half time locked at 1-1, there had been little sign of the dominance that the Robins were about to exert in the second 45 minutes.
Six minutes after the restart and Hudson had his second of the evening to put Hassocks back into the lead.
He completed his hat-trick on 65 and added a final lick of gloss to the scoreline when making it four with two minutes left of normal time to play.
Hudson became the first player to score an Under 23s hat-trick since Phil Johnson in a 5-1 win over Oakwood nearly two years ago.
More astounding is the fact that Hudson’s four-goal haul means that he is already only one short of outgunning last season’s Under 23s top scorer Lewis Beebee, who ended the curtailed 2020-21 campaign with five goals from 13 appearances.
Scoring proved to be a major problem for Hassocks last season – until April’s Supplementary Shield at least when they hit nine in five matches – so to start the new campaign in such free-flowing form augurs well for the year ahead.
If they can produce a similar result and performance next week away at a Horsham YMCA side who have dominated Under 23s football since 2018, then it really might be time to get excited.
Hassocks: Charlie Pugh; Wes Tighe, George Mercer, Zac Kladdis, Kobe Dersley, Jack Baden, Sean McSwiney, Jude Wallis, Ben Hicks, Jay Hudson, Archie Russell.
Subs: Jordan Badger, Max Blencowe, Jacob Kilkelly, Harvey Ransome (unused).
