Hassocks haunted in Halloween shootout defeat to Heath
On a horrendous wet and windy Halloween night, Hassocks endured the horror of exiting the Peter Bentley League Cup to Haywards Heath Town on penalties at the Beacon
It was a game which had it all. High quality, pulsating football. The Robins racing into a 2-0 lead. Heath rising from the dead like a zombie to level the tie.
Seven yellow cards across Hassocks and Bluebells for those on the pitch, plus referee Perry Hart taking the names of Robins head coach James Westlake and his assistant Tom Hughes.
And then a shootout in which Heath scored all five of their spot kicks to progress to a quarter final meeting with either Midhurst & Easebourne or Dorking Wanderers B.
The booking count might make this sound like a nasty match, but it was nothing more than fiercely competitive between two local rivals meeting for the first time in five years.
Conditions did not help; the relentless rain had left the surface incredibly slippery before kick off. By the end, it was sodden.
Both teams deserve a huge amount of credit for some of the football they produced at times despite the weather.
An early sign of the challenges players would face in staying upright came when Liam Benson went crashing into Elliott Bresciani inside of five minutes.
The Heath defender required lengthy treatment before limping from the field, his place taken by Liam Hendy.
Matt Gunn was next to go sliding in, ending a lightning quick Bluebells break with a superbly timed last man tackle on Cameron Dobell.
Chances were at a premium until some Pat Harding magic helped give Hassocks the lead on 20 minutes. Harding collected a half-cleared Sean Stephenson cross on the left, bewitched his way to the by-line and then hung the ball back into the box.
Benson ghosted past his marker and met the cross with a powerful header directed beyond Heath goalkeeper Alfie Jones.
Four minutes later and Hassocks doubled their lead. Tall striker Jamie Wilkes was brought down on the edge of the box, giving the Robins a free kick in a dangerous position.
Harding stepped up. His low free took a heavy deflection as it passed under the wall to trick Jones and treat Hassocks to a second.
The Robins had chances to hammer what could have been a decisive nail into Heath’s coffin after that by making it three.
Benson bent one over, followed by Mike Williamson dispossessing Mitch Hewens and testing Jones with a shot the Heath goalkeeper grabbed at the second attempt.
Heath pulled their first goal back nine minutes before half time when Hassocks were caught out by a lightning quick counter attack.
It left Byron Napper one-on-one with Fraser Trigwell and when the Bluebells captain cleverly opted to square rather than go for goal himself, Dobell was left with a tap in.
The best Hassocks player on the night was young Josh Mundy, who shone like a Jack O’Lantern. Mundy was inches away from capping his performance with a deserved goal when a distance effort driven like a spike through the heart of a vampire kissed past the post on the stroke of half time.
The Bluebells introduced two former Robins at the break, young duo JJ Minty and Sam Geard replacing Lewis Finney and Mitch Hewens.
It was Heath’s third ex-Hassocks player who came back to haunt his former club on the hour mark by levelling the tie.
Charlie Pitcher hit a shot which Fraser Trigwell looked to have covered, only for the ball to escape the Hassocks goalkeeper and find the back of the net.
Heath dominated possession after that but neither side had a serious opportunity of note until the final five minutes, when they mustered one apiece.
On 87, Pitcher put a spell on Hassocks when skipping past three red shirts on a run from left flank to centre of goal. Pitcher let loose a low right footed effort which whistled just wide.
Benson was then left unmarked by Heath some 10 yards out from goal but he could only head over to leave penalties looming larger than Frankenstein’s monster.
Hassocks took first with Jones plunging to his right to keep out Benson. Every other spot kick was converted, meaning Heath went through 5-4.
On a positive note for the Robins, the closeness and competitiveness of the tie was a far cry from the previous five meetings from Heath’s last stint in the Southern Combination League; the Bluebells won all five by an aggregate score of 18-2.
Boxing Day at the Beacon for the next instalment has the potential to be a Christmas cracker.
Hassocks: Fraser Trigwell; Harvey Blake, Bradley Tighe, Matt Gunn, Joe Bull; Sean Stephenson, Josh Mundy, Mike Williamson, Pat Harding; Jamie Wilkes; Liam Benson.
Subs: Alfie Loversidge, Tom Frankland, Sam Smith, Josh Nandhra (used), Dan Turner (unused).
Starman: Josh Mundy.
