Five star Robins maul Montpelier Villa to progress in RUR Cup
There were two ways for Hassocks to look at their Sussex Principal RUR Charity Cup second round tie with Montpelier Villa.
It could be seen as either an unwanted distraction from the ominous looking task of avoiding relegation from the Premier Division or a chance to put those league woes to one side and try and restore some much-needed confidence.
A surprisingly straightforward 5-0 victory over their lower league opponents had the home faithful hoping for the latter as they left the Beacon happy having witnessed the Robins end their five game losing streak in emphatic style.
Villa sit seventh in the Division One table and arrived in Mid Sussex fresh from seeing off Storrington 4-0 at the weekend. Clearly, they are no slouches.
Hassocks though gave a ruthless performance full of clinical finishing of the sort that might have resulted in different outcomes had it been present in their two most recent defeats at fellow strugglers East Preston and Loxwood.
The Robins have not enjoyed much luck so far this season either, so it came as something of a shock that the goal which gave Hassocks the lead with 12 minutes on the clock was a result of a huge slice of fortune.
Josh Short’s decision to go for goal from 25 yards seemed optimistic at best until his effort struck the back of a Villa defender, giving it more spin than a Shane Warne wrong’un.
The visitors’ stand-in goalkeeper Ryan Walton had already committed to going one way and could only watch helplessly as the deflection took Short’s shot in the opposite direction and into the back of the net for his second goal in the space of 72 hours.
Five minutes later and Short played a huge role in Hassocks doubling their advantage. There was no need for lady luck on this occasion as the midfielder slalomed his way past a couple of defenders and into the area where he was wiped out by Walton.
A penalty was the obvious and only outcome which referee John-Patrick Kane could reach and taking duty fell to the evergreen Phil Gault, making his first Hassocks start for four years after replacing the absent Joe Bull in attack.
Gault made no mistake from the spot, tucking home his second of the season and goal number 187 in Robins colours. The race for 200 is on.
An offside flag saved Villa from conceding a third before the 20 minute mark, Bradley Bant’s deep cross causing Walton to have a bit of a flap before the linesman saw fit to correctly intervene.
Those watching from the Clubhouse side then thought Gault had scored again but his free kick rippled the side netting as it bent the wrong side of the post.
Hassocks were totally dominant by this point and they next struck on 25 minutes via the goal of the night from Lewis Westlake.
The midfielder was 36 yards out and slightly to the right when he spotted Walton had strayed from his line, sending a beautiful effort over the Villa goalkeeper’s head and into the back of the net.
It was some style for Westlake to mark the first home appearance of his fourth spell with Hassocks after re-joining the club from Steyning Town last week.
Gault momentarily resembled a man who only arrived back in the country on Monday from four days drinking vodka in Poland when the ball fell perfectly to him for a volley on the edge of the box but he could only succeed in kneeing it 15 yards wide of goal.
Hassocks took their foot off the gas a little as the first half came to a close and were almost punished as Charlie Pugh was called into action for the first time.
Oliver Stevenson curled a low free kick in a dangerous position around the wall, drawing a superb save from Pugh whose fingers just did enough to tip the ball onto the post.
There was precious little to report in the opening 15 minutes of the second half until Gault added his second and Hassocks’ fourth on the hour mark.
Some slick passing football sliced through the Villa defence to present Gault with an opportunity he was never going to miss, even coming off the back of a trip to Eastern Europe.
Brad Sweetman took the chance to rest some legs with the game won after that as Alfie Loversidge and Gault made way for Louis Thwaites and Jack Troak respectively.
And it was youth team player Thwaites who got the fifth and final Hassocks goal, ending a scramble by smashing home clinically at the back post.
It was Thwaites’ first senior goal and it rounded off a confidence boosting win to set up another home tie in the third round against the winner of Mile Oak versus Crawley Down Gatwick.
Hassocks: Charlie Pugh; Arthur Rawlingson, Dan Turner, Bradley Tighe, Bradley Bant; James Westlake, Lewis Westlake, Josh Short, Lucas Tyrrell; Alfie Loversidge, Phil Gault.
Subs: Louis Thwaites (Loversidge 65), Jack Troak (Gault 70), Josh Hawkes, Jude Wallis, Alex Harris (unused).
