In form striker wins his second Player of the Month award of the season
Liam Benson scored four goals in three games to help Hassocks navigate November unbeaten and earn the striker his second Robins Player of the Month award of the season.
Benson also took the crown back in September and has now scored 11 times in 23 appearances, leaving him just two short of his most prolific campaign in a Hassocks shirt with the season only at its halfway point.
November got off to an excellent start for Benson when he bagged a brace in a 2-0 win over Bexhill United at the Beacon.
He opened the scoring with 62 minutes played, expertly finishing a one-on-one after being sent clear of a Pirates defence who were left all at sea by a JJ Minty through ball.
Benson’s second of the afternoon came via a poacher’s finish in the final minute of normal time, enabling the Robins to leapfrog Bexhill and climb to sixth in the Premier Division standings.
With Phil Johnson and Pat Harding absent for Hassocks’ next fixture a fortnight later at home to Lingfield, Benson shouldered the responsibility of leading the line alongside Under 23s top scorer Danny Reid.
The Lingers had taken an early lead when Benson struck his third goal of November, firing a rebound home clinically after an Alex Bygraves header from a Joe Bull corner had somehow been blocked on the line.
Benson rounded off his excellent November by scoring the third Hassocks goal in the 5-1 demolition of Saltdean United, volleying home after a clever short corner routine involving Bull and Harding.
He also put enough pressure on Josh James to force the Tigers goalkeeper into punching into his own net for the Robins’ fourth as Hassocks went about scoring five times in the space of 24 first half minutes.
Harvey Blake was another player who enjoyed himself against Saltdean with the strength of his showing pushing him into second in November Player of the Month.
Blake assisted the opener on six minutes with a beautiful floated cross met by a Harding diving header, setting the tone for an afternoon in which he caused no end of problems for the Tigers defence charging forward from right back.
A performance worthy of the Bedlam Brewery Starman award against Lingfield was Blake’s first outing of November having missed the Bexhill win at a wedding.
Sam Rogers makes his first appearance in a Player of the Month top three having taken the opportunity to establish himself in the midfield engine room during November.
The absence of Jamie Wilkes gave Rogers a chance to start against Lingfield and he impressed with a neat and tidy performance in possession.
When Mike Williamson then missed the win over Saltdean, Rogers excelled with a mature display as a holding midfielder, giving the rangy Wilkes the freedom to get forward and score Hassocks’ second of the afternoon.
