Big win over Division One opponents sets Hassocks up for the season ahead
Looking resplendent in their brand new home kit, Hassocks finished their pre-season friendly fixtures in style with a 5-0 win over Oakwood.
Sports Massage Brighton are the sponsors, Adidas the manufacturers and it might just be the best outfit the Robins have ever sported.
From beer to sausages to public transport which unlike the UK you do not have to sell a kidney to afford to use, the Germans really are better at everything.
But let’s talk about the football before this starts reading like either an article from Vogue or an essay on Das Varterland.
Hassocks were good against their Southern Combination Division One opponents. Very good. It was a timely, goal laden performance having gone three games without scoring and with the competitive Premier Division action now just four days away.
Tall striker Jamie Wilkes got the party started early on when seizing on a poor clearance out of defence from an Oakwood defender.
The rangy Wilkes danced sideways past two challenges before unleashing a low drive into the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
James Westlake has completed the signing of young duo Josh Mundy and Elliott Hanslow on dual-registration from Three Bridges and they were both heavily involved in the second Hassocks goal.
Midfielder Mundy switched play from right to left in delightful style to find Jack Troak scampering forward.
Troak flashed a ball across the face of the Oakwood goal which made it all the way to the back post where Hanslow arrived to clinically fire past the Oaks goalkeeper.
Oakwood threatened briefly, Troak making a superb clearance off the line to ensure the visitors did not pull one back.
Not long after the scoreline had almost became 2-1 and the Robins moved 3-0 ahead, Ben Bacon escaping the attentions of his marker with a clever run to head home.
Another Bacon header and a Mundy drive from distance drew two good saves as the first half came to a close with Hassocks firmly in control.
Westlake rang the changes after the break, including introducing Liam Benson and Pat Harding up top.
It did not take long for the new strike force to combine, Benson crossing for Harding to produce an acrobatic bicycle kick which flew just wide of the post. No man approaching his 40s as Super Pat is should be able to do something like that.
Goal four came when a game of pinball broke out in the Oakwood box. A Hassocks corner was not convincingly dealt with and there were touches for Tom Frankland, Alex Bygraves and the ball hitting the unaware Benson in the head before Sam Geard took control and slotted a nice finish through a gap.
Bygraves in particular was making the most of Hassocks’ dominance, pushing further and further into midfield from his centre back position as the game went on.
One such instance saw him turn a tackle 30 yards from the Oakwood goal into a clever pass out towards Frankland on the right.
Frankland exchanged a one-two with Harding and drilled a shot into the box which Benson diverted past the Oaks goalkeeper with the most nonchalant of back heels to round off the scoring.
