Five defeats in five and two cup exits in a tough September for Hassocks
Five points from five matches to end August 2021 gave Hassocks hope that perhaps they had turned a corner following a tricky start to the 2021-22 campaign.
The Robins were sadly to be given a reality check in a difficult September in which they lost every game they played, including early exits from both the FA Vase and the Peter Bentley League Cup.
Newhaven visited the Beacon in the first game of the month which pretty much set the tone for what was to come, although the 5-0 defeat against the Dockers did at least provide the highlight of September’s five matches.
That came via a stag party from the west country, who decided they wanted to spend their Saturday at Hassocks v Newhaven followed by a night out in Brighton.
There was some method behind the madness; the groom-to-be was a Swindon Town fan and so Hassocks was their destination on account of both clubs being nicknamed the Robins.
To mark the occasion, Swindon supporter Steve Underwood therefore found himself in full Hassocks kit and a robin mask, leading the teams out as the game’s mascot before dancing to Rockin’ Robin on the pitch at half time in front of a bemused Beacon crowd.
That Underwood ended up being voted as the Hassocks man-of-the-match tells you how poor the Robins were on their way to another heavy defeat.
Hassocks had actually done a decent job of keeping the Dockers at bay in the first half, turning around trailing only 1-0 to a Lee Robinson strike.
Newhaven ran rampant in the second half, scoring four times in 14 minutes. Robinson ended his afternoon with a hat-trick whilst there were two for Henry Watson in the rout.
Three days later and early Division One leaders Roffey came to the Mid Sussex in the second round of the Peter Bentley Cup.
It was not much of a shock that the Boars progressed at the expense of their higher division opponents, Roffey extending their perfect start to the campaign to eight wins from eight games in the process.
Hassocks were a little hard done by however when it came to the final score. Roffey clinically despatched virtually every shot on target they had to win out 5-1 winners.
Josh Meyer and Kelvin Lucas had the visitors 2-0 up going into half time. The same two players struck again along with Jamie Wanstall to make it 5-0 before George Mitchell-Phillips grabbed a late consolation for Hassocks from the penalty spot.
The Robins should have had more than that solitary goal to show for their efforts. Jordan Badger hit the bar and was just wide with a crisp 30 yarder after striding forward from centre back with purpose. Joe Bull and Josh Short also went close.
Things did not get any easier when Little Common were next to visit the Beacon. Common were the Premier Division’s surprise package at the time, sitting third in the table after a blistering start to the campaign.
Again, Hassocks created opportunities but struggled to take them – unlike Common, who scored three times on their way to a 3-0 win. Jack McLean netted twice before the interval with Lewis Hole rounding off the scoring three minutes into the second half.
On a more positive note, Bradley Tighe and Wes Tighe started a game in senior football together for the first time against Common, leading to older brother Brad posting on social media saying their granddad would have been proud.
That touching message was a reminder that whilst results may not have been going the Robins’ way, the family ethos and spirit underpinning the club remained.
And Sweetman and his players summoned plenty of that famous Hassocks spirit in their next fixture away at Littlehampton Town.
Few would have given the Robins a hope travelling to opponents who had begun the season every bit as well as you would expect the eventual Southern Combination League, Peter Bentley and Sussex Principal RUR Charity Cup treble winners to start.
All was going to the formbook when the Marigolds were 2-0 to the good inside of 13 minutes through George Gaskin and Dave Herbert.
There was every chance it could have turned into a cricket score. The Robins though rallied and shocked the St Flora Sportsfield by levelling the tie just part the hour mark.
Jack Gardner chose an opportune moment to score his first senior goal for Hassocks on 54 minutes, before Sweetman’s decision to use Badger as striker rather than his normal centre back berth paid dividends with a shock equaliser on 62.
Unfortunately, parity only lasted six minutes. Littlehampton top scorer Joe Benn scored his 18th goal of the season – a reminder we were still only in mid-September – with a superb strike from distance.
Hassocks kept plugging away and the Marigolds were not home and dry until three minutes before the end when player-manager Mitchell Hand bent a free kick into the top corner of Harris’ goal.
One week later and the Robins went from facing the future Southern Combination champions to the future Combined Counties League champions when Beckenham Town visited in the FA Vase.
The Combined Counties is considered a stronger league than the Southern Combination, so for Hassocks to give Becks such a fright in only losing 2-1 was a reason to be cheerful for the Beacon faithful.
Junior Kaffo gave Town the lead with 30 minutes played and Tunde Aderonma doubled it on 65. Bull pulled one back within two minutes via his first of the season and the Robins threw the kitchen sink at Beckham after that.
The visitors were holding on by the end, needing a brilliant full length save from Mason Whitnell to repel a 30 yard effort from Andy Whittingham following a marauding run forward from the Hassocks captain.
Those results and performances against Littlehampton and Beckenham left optimism that Hassocks could turn a corner in October, helped by Sweetman seeking reinforcements for his young squad.
Bradley Bant returned from AFC Varndeanians, making the first appearance of his third spell with the Robins in the FA Vase game.
A serious recruitment drive would see a mixture of new and familiar faces come through the door going in October, although the departure of Mitchell-Phillips after three goals in nine games to Saltdean United was a blow.
Whilst September results may not have gone well for the first team, both the Under 23s and Under 18s enjoyed excellent second months of the campaign to continue their unbeaten starts.
The Under 23s won three games from three without conceding a goal. Jay Hudson’s fifth of the campaign and an own goal secured a 2-0 win at Oakwood.
Connor Bradley then scored twice in a 2-0 victory at Steyning Town before Sean McSwiney got the only goal of the game as Roffey were beaten 1-0 at the Beacon.
The Under 18s started September with a big Mid Sussex Derby win over Haywards Heath Town. The Blues were beaten 5-0 by two goals from Oliver Parker-Williams, one from Sam Geard and one from Alfie Beck. Heath pulled out of the Central Division shortly afterwards.
A measure of revenge was gained against Steyning a week later, a 2-1 win at the Shooting Field coming four months after the Barrowmen had ended Hassocks’ Supplementary Shield hopes by inflicting a crushing 7-1 defeat at the semi final stage.
Parker-Williams and Beck again got the goals in a really impressive result against opponents who had been one of the dominant forces in Sussex youth football in recent seasons.
A crazy game followed against Burgess Hill Town in which 10 goals were scored. It finished 5-5 at the Beacon as the Young Robins dropped their first points of the campaign.
The hosts’ goals were shared between five different scorers; Parker-Williams, Beck and Geard joined on the scoresheet by Archie Russell and Abir Chowdhury.
For Hill, Max Johnson enjoyed a dream start by scoring twice inside the opening 16 minutes. Louis White was on target four minutes before half time and Alex Thompson five minutes into the second half.
The Hillians scoring was rounded off by substitute Noah Fewtrell with just 60 seconds of normal time remaining to earn the visitors a point.
A trip to AFC Varndeanians ended the month and it was another relatively high scoring game as Hassocks came away from Withdean Stadium with a 3-2 success.
Russell, Geard and Beau Howard were on target to send the Young Robins to the top of the early table. For Varndeanians, Toby Samrah and substitute Kiran Mahapatra scored the consolations.
2021-22 saw Hassocks field a Veterans side for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign and they got off to the perfect start, winning 7-1 at South Godstone.
The Robins were able to call upon the services of Burgess Hill Town striker Pat Harding, who scored two of the goals.
Harding was partnered up top by Steve Spies, a man who once netted two own goals, gave away a penalty and got sent off in 20 minutes for Hassocks IIIs against Wisdom Sports, before going on a pub crawl of Haywards Heath with the opposition.
Spies though proved every bit as effective as Harding, also scoring a brace. Dave Juniper got two more with Elliott Butler rounding off the scoring.
September saw the Ladies start their competitive season in a new league, playing in the Sussex County Women’s Premier Division.
The Robins’ first game ended in a 1-1 draw against Montpelier Villa with Jess Craig the scorer. Two weeks earlier and their FA Cup dreams had come to an end at the qualifying round hurdle after a 4-0 defeat to Eastbourne United.
