Hill hit Hassocks late to take all the points in seven goal thriller
A crazy and chaotic Mid Sussex Derby just about went the way of Burgess Hill Town Under 18s as they edged out Hassocks 4-3 at the Beacon.
Twice the Robins came from behind against last season’s Southern Combination Under 18 Central Division runners up, only to be undone by a late goal which gave Hill local bragging rights.
Three games into the current campaign and it is already pretty clear that watching this Hassocks side is going to be entertaining this season.
One week earlier and the Robins came out victorious in another high-scoring Mid Sussex Derby, against Haywards Heath Town on that occasion.
Hassocks thought they were on easy street until four second half goals from Heath ensured a final scoreline of 5-4 to the Robins.
All of which makes the opening day 6-1 win at home to Shoreham seems an oasis of calm in comparison.
Player rotation at Under 18s level is normally commonplace, so it was surprising to see Hassocks make just one change from that victory at Hanbury Park last Sunday.
Ben Foster dropped to the bench with Alex Brewer returning. Last season’s leading scorer had missed the win over Haywards Heath having scored four of the six Robins goals against Shoreham.
That gave Hassocks a scary amount of firepower. Cavan Chedzey and Josh Nandhra have already found the back of the net for the Under 23s whilst Kian Nandhra has a first team appearance from the bench under his belt.
Burgess Hill though are also capable of scoring goals, as shown by the 6-0 hammering they dished out in their only previous league match against Haywards Heath at the Home Call Carpets Community Stadium two weeks ago.
It did not take Hill long to get into their stride, sauntering into a 2-0 lead with just 12 minutes played. At that point, a long morning looked in store for Hassocks. But credit the Robins, who recovered from that nightmare start to go into the break level at 2-2.
Burgess Hill moved 3-2 ahead early in the second half. Hassocks levelled again as the game continued to ebb and flow in a superb advert for Under 18s football.
It looked like the Robins were going to claim what would have been a very good point until Hill struck with five minutes remaining to move 4-3 ahead.
Despite throwing the kitchen sink at the visitors in what little time remained, Hassocks were unable to find a third leveller. A cruel defeat in the end.
Brewer provided two of the Robins goals with Chedzey the other. That was Chedzey’s first for the Under 18s to go with three in three appearances for the Under 23s.
Burgess Hill had a brace scorer of their own as Billy Sale bagged a double. Dan Burbulis and Hugo Dalley were the other scorers.
Hassocks travel to Mile Oak next Sunday, where everyone will be hoping for a much more serene 90 minutes than the past two weeks.
What chance of that?
Hassocks: Theo Bradley, Charlie Fogden, Ed Tobias, Oliver Goswamy, Sam Fernley, Kian Nandhra, Sam Dean, Evan China, Josh Nandhra, Cavan Chedzey, Alex Brewer.
Subs: Toby Munt, Will Hartley, Ben Foster (used).
