Awesome Akras denies Hassocks three points in sunny Steyning
With both Steyning Town and Hassocks safe from relegation, there was little to play for when the sides who sit 16th and 17th in the Southern Combination League Premier Division met at the Shooting Field.
It was to both teams credit then that they still put on a decent show, especially in the first half when most of the chances arrived and both goals were scored in a 1-1 draw.
The spoils being shared was probably the right result, even though home goalkeeper Stefanos Akras was the best player on the pitch.
He denied the Robins from adding to Jack Troak’s early opener with three saves of the highest class and was also involved in the game’s major talking point midway through the first half.
That saw Lewis Westlake clip a long ball forward for Josh Short to chase. Akras came haring from his goal and as Short beat him to the ball and rounded him, the two collided. Short now had an open net to fire into and so Akras cleverly grabbed his head.
The general consensus from those who had the best view of the incident watching from the stand was that Akras had been caught on the shoulder, but from the position that referee Nick Blogg was in, it must have appeared a head injury.
Mr Blogg subsequently stopped the game, denying Short the most routine of goals. Hassocks were incensed and even though Mr Blogg was right to halt proceedings for a potential head injury you could understand why the visitors were irked; they almost certainly would have gone onto win had they gone 2-0 ahead.
It was a lead they deserved too after dominating the opening 25 minutes. To make matters worse, the decision seemed to take the wind out of the Robins’ sails and Steyning equalised shortly afterwards with their first shot on target.
Hassocks had gone ahead with only seven minutes on the clock. Dan Turner charged over to the touchline to use one of his famous long throws, launching the ball 50 yards down the pitch deep into Steyning territory.
The Barrowmen worked the ball back to a surprised Akras, who dallied in possession for a second too long. Troak closed him down, won the ball and then rolled into an empty goal to make it 1-0.
Akras atoned for his part in the opener with his first outrageous stop of the afternoon five minutes later. Lewis Westlake played a long ball over the top to set Short away and his powerful drive looked destined for the bottom corner until Akram somehow repelled it with a strong arm.
The Steyning goalkeeper made an even more impressive save just before the phantom head injury incident. Lewis Westlake swung over a corner which young Luke Marshall met with a towering header.
Akras though threw himself into the air and got the most important of touches on the ball, pushing it onto the crossbar as Steyning again survived.
The Barrowmen’s quest to find a way back into the game appeared to get a little harder when Bobby Bennett limped out of proceedings with around 30 minutes played.
Steyning though made light work of losing their leading striker. They finished the first half the stronger side and scored with their first real effort at Alex Harris five minutes before the interval.
A left wing cross from Max Howell was met by a flicked header from the in-form Josh Bradley, scoring for the fifth time in Steyning’s past five matches.
Chances were at a premium after the break. Hassocks struggled to make much headway whilst Steyning could find no way past Turner, who was a one-man blocking and heading machine.
The only thing Turner did not win on the day was the post-game meat raffle drawn in the Clubhouse afterwards. One of the prizes did at least go to someone with Hassocks connections, the dad of suspended defender Bradley Tighe and substitute Wes picking up a nice prize to take home.
In football terms, Hassocks had the only chances of note in a second half which drifted somewhat compared to the entertainment of the first.
Another Lewis Westlake corner caused problems for the home side on 58 minutes. This time, Short met it with a header as good as Marshall’s in the first half. Unfortunately for Hassocks, Akras pulled off an equally impressive save to keep it out.
Then on 81, it took a combination of Akras and defender Joe Fitzpatrick to ensure the Robins were not victorious. Short led the Steyning defence on a merry dance, skipping past three defenders before firing a shot towards the bottom corner that Akras kept out.
The loose ball fell to James Westlake, who looked certain to score. That was until Fitzpatrick appeared from nowhere to make a superb sliding block which sent the ball behind for a corner.
Hassocks: Alex Harris; Arthur Rawlingson, Dan Turner, Luke Marshall, Alfie Edmeads; Bradley Bant, James Westlake, Lewis Westlake, Jack Troak; Sam Smith, Josh Short.
Subs: Joe Bull, Alfie Loversidge (used), Charlie Broad, Jack Baden, Wes Tighe (unused).
