Wind and injuries combine to leave luckless Hassocks pillaged by Pirates
Sometimes when your luck is out, it is really out. Both conditions and injuries went against Hassocks on an afternoon when they needed everything to go their way to stand a chance against an impressive Bexhill United outfit eyeing a late charge into the Southern Combination title picture.
First, there was the wind. A ghastly gale was blowing towards the Railway End of the Beacon at 2.55pm, resulting in Hassocks turning around to defend it in the first half when Jack Troak won the toss.
The Robins did the hard work, going into the interval only 1-0 behind. By the time the second half kicked off however, the wind had dropped markedly. Any advantage Hassocks had hoped to have with it behind them was gone.
Even more problematic were the injuries that the Robins picked up. Troak went at half time. The outstanding Dan Turner was then carried off after suffering excruciating shooting pains up his leg early in the second half with the score locked at 1-1 with Hassocks on top. Fast forward 20 minutes and Bexhill had a 4-1 lead which they held until the end.
To complete a miserable day for the Robins, AFC Varndeanians won their second match of the season by beating Horsham YMCA 3-0. That cut the gap between Hassocks and the bottom two to seven points.
It took just 12 minutes for Bexhill to take the lead. Alex Harris made a decent stop from a 25 yard effort from Jack Shonk but when Hassocks could not clear their lines against the wind, the ball fell to Shonk again. He made no mistake second time around, bending an exquisite effort into the far corner.
Evan Archibald should have doubled the advantage four minutes later when a Bexhill free kick from just inside the Hassocks half was blown all the way to the penalty spot. Luckily for the hosts, Archibald put a header straight into the arms of Harris.
“We know about the wind, deal with it,” shouted Robins head coach Brad Sweetman. His side duly listened, Bradley Tighe and Turner dropping off five yards and becoming more dominant in the air as a result.
Harris too attempted to take the sting out of the game, slowing things down to the point where referee Mark Gidman gave the Hassocks goalkeeper a talking to. Never before can Mr Gidman have pulled up a player for time wasting after 18 minutes with their side 1-0 behind.
Hassocks grew into the game as the first half progressed. James Westlake had a deflected shot held by Pirates goalkeeper Dan Rose and an enterprising Troak run earned a free kick on the by-line from which Lewis Westlake’s delivery caused problems before Rose gathered.
Harris made a big save on the 30 minute mark when the wind caused more issues. Charlie Tuck misjudged the flight of the ball, an outrageous piece of skill from Ollie Hull further bamboozled the young Hassocks full back but Harris got a strong arm down quickly to block the Bexhill winger’s driven effort.
Both Troak and the wind left proceedings at the interval. Hassocks made light of losing their captain initially at least as within 60 seconds of the restart, they equalised.
There was an instant impact for Troak’s replacement Charlie Broad, the striker holding the ball up well before laying off to James Westlake.
Westlake swept a pass out to the left flank, Short ghosted past Connor Robertson and bent an unstoppable effort into the bottom corner.
Turner then departed, Arthur Rawlingson coming on at right back with Tuck taking Turner’s place alongside Tighe in the middle.
The Robins were incensed a couple of minutes later when Short again got the better of Robertson. The Bexhill man appeared to catch Short in the face with an arm and although Hassocks got the free kick, there was no card forthcoming.
Their mood darkened when Bexhill retook the lead on the hour. A Joe Summerbell through ball did not look particularly dangerous, yet it found a way to send Shonk in one-on-one. Hassocks appealed for an offside that never was as Shonk finished.
Two minutes and it was deja vu. Summerbell again released Shonk and despite the commotion of Hassocks this time screaming for both an offside and a handball from Summerbell in the build up, Shonk was calmness personified to clinically complete his hat-trick.
The Robins were utterly at sea now. Bexhill added their fourth when Hassocks failed to deal with a delivery into the box, leaving Max Walsh free to fire into the corner.
Hassocks did at least rally after that to finish the stronger. Tighe went close with a header from a Lewis Westlake free kick, Broad had an effort blocked and Jack Baden was denied a first senior goal by a fine tip over at full stretch from Rose after a mazy run and cross from Short.
The final chance went to Bexhill, Shonk hitting a swerving, dipping effort from 30 yards against the bar. Four was harsh on Hassocks; five would have been cruel.
Hassocks: Alex Harris; Charlie Tuck, Dan Turner, Bradley Tighe, Jack Baden; Alfie Loversidge, James Westlake, Lewis Westlake, Jack Troak; Josh Short, Joe Bull.
Subs: Charlie Broad (Troak 45), Arthur Rawlingson (Turner 51), Lewis Beebee (Loversidge 85), Luke Marshall, Harvey Parker (unused).
