Back-to-back awards for Lewis Westlake after another outstanding month
December may have been a bit of a washout with only two games played, but that was all Lewis Westlake needed to win back-to-back Hassocks Player of the Month awards.
The midfielder hammered in three goals from four appearances in November, enough to see him claim the gong ahead of Arthur Rawlingson in second and brother James Westlake in third.
This time, it was a Westlake one-two with only 3.9 percent of the vote keeping Lewis ahead of James, leaving Rawlingson to settle for third spot this time around.
Lewis continued his excellent goal scoring form in December’s first game when Hassocks were beaten 5-2 away at Eastbourne Town.
The Robins were two goals behind midway through the first half when referee Nick Blogg deemed that Alfie Loversidge had been fouled outside the Town penalty area when most spectators felt it was a clear penalty.
If the hosts thought that Mr Blogg’s decision making had given them a lucky reprieve then they mistaken, Westlake sending the resulting free kick past Chris Winterton and into the back of the net.
That made it four goals in five appearances for Westlake since re-joining Hassocks from Steyning Town. In contrast, he had scored four in 77 appearances over the course of his two previous spells with the Robins.
Westlake could not add to his total when Premier Division leaders Saltdean Untied visited the Beacon but he was at the heart of an industrious Hassocks performance which saw the Robins claim a point from a star-studded Tigers outfit.
Brother James’ second place in the December Player of the Month poll stemmed from his man-of-the-match performance against Eastbourne Town.
Senior Westlake was a real driving force and played a part in the Robins’ second goal at the Saffrons, a fine cross from out on the right being headed home by Sam Smith scoring a debut goal following his move from Loxwood.
With Hassocks’ draw against Saltdean stemming largely from their unbelievable work rate, the presence of an international marathon runner in midfield obviously went a long way towards helping secure that most unlikely of draws.
Holding off the challenge of Jack Baden for third was Rawlingson in a battle between two players have been absolute revelations since taking over the full back positions from the injured duo of Jack Gardner and Andy Whittingham.
Rawlingson has combined solid defensive abilities down the right with a penchant for getting forward when the time is right, enabling him to make a difference at both ends.
That was most evident in the Saltdean match when his powerful charge forward and cross into the box looked set to be chinned in by Josh Hawkes until the veteran midfielder was blatantly tripped by a defender.
Had Hassocks got the penalty they deserved for that, they might have even beaten the table topping Tigers – and a good December could have become a great one.
