Mother nature and red card cannot stop Robins racking up six in a row
Six consecutive wins are in the bag for Hassocks with this latest 2-1 success over Little Common the hardest-fought and arguably most satisfying of the lot.
The second half was a battle for the Robins against Mother Nature, a numerical disadvantage and a Common outfit determined not to lose an unbeaten record at the Beacon stretching back to the 1993-94 season.
Horrific wind and rain was blowing towards Fraser Trigwell at the railway end of the Beacon. And When young Josh Mundy was red carded on the hour, Hassocks found themselves having to defend it for the most part with only 10 men.
Given the circumstances, a point seemed like an increasingly good result as the game headed towards its conclusion. But then Hassocks did what all the best sides do and found a way to win against the odds.
86 minutes were on the clock when Bradley Tighe – on his 200th appearance for the Robins – launched a long free kick down the pitch and into the Common box.
Alex Bygraves headed down to the lesser-spotted Dan Turner, on as a substitute for only his third first team outing of the season.
Showing the sort of footwork you associate with a tricky winger rather than a centre back, Turner danced past two opposition players before firing beyond Common goalkeeper Tommy Searle at the near post.
Seasons can hinge on such moments and especially on victories ground out through sheer bloody-mindedness.
As Hassocks assistant manager Tom Hughes said afterwards, this Robins side have a spirit “money can’t buy.” And goodness knows there are other clubs in the division doing their best to try and buy it.
15 minutes before Turner struck and there was an equally important intervention at the other end from Fraser Trigwell.
Common stalwart Lewis Hole collected the ball on the left flank, cut inside and hit a shot from 30 yards which had enough power by itself without needing the additional help provided by the wind.
So destined for the back of the net did it look that half the visiting bench were already on their feet when Trigwell somehow pushed it around the post at full stretch.
It was a magnificent piece of goalkeeping. The full time result would almost certainly have been different had Hassocks fallen 2-1 behind so soon after seeing Mundy dismissed.
There could be few complaints about the red card. A bouncing ball fell on halfway between Mundy and Common defender Josh Turner.
Whereas Turner went in with his head lowered, Mundy challenged with a raised boot. The result was Turner taking studs to the face.
It was misguided rather than malicious from Munday and something the teenager will undoubtedly learn from. He looked crestfallen and apologetic as he walked off.
Prior to that, Mundy had been enjoying a fine game. He was the first to let a wind-assisted shot go from distance, forcing Searle into a one-handed save onto the crossbar every bit as good as Trigwell’s later in the evening.
The resulting corner was taken short between Mundy and Raging Joe Bull. When Bull delivered, the wind again caused chaos to prevent Common from clearing their lines.
In amongst the scramble, Julian Durand managed to poke the ball over the line to justify his selection up front with Jack Troak rested.
Common levelled the game 18 minutes later from a Sam Crutwell free kick. Jack McLean came ghosting inside from the right flank to be taken out by Mike Williamson with a late tackle on the edge of the D.
Crutwell opted to shoot low and hard, the ball flying underneath the jumping wall to catch Trigwell unawares as it sped past the Hassocks number one diving right.
Big Alex Fair was next to have a crack from range after being found by a Mundy cushioned volley pass. Searle though was equal to Fair’s effort, parrying away. Lewis Parsons just beat Durand to the rebound, turning it behind for a corner.
After the sides switched ends at the break, Common followed the Robins’ gameplan of peppering the goal with long distance drives in the hope conditions would lend a helping hand.
Soon after the restart and Adam Smith slipped just as he was about to shoot from 30 yards, meaning the ball dribbled harmlessly to Trigwell.
Hassocks almost defied the weather to retake the lead on 55 minutes. Mundy sent a free kick into the box, Super Pat Harding could not quite get a shot away but the loose ball fell to Turner. A clean, powerful strike with the left foot whistled just past the post.
The final 30 minutes then brought the red card, Trigwell’s save, the Robins rearguard and eventually, Turner’s winner which moved Hassocks up to second in the Premier Division standings.
Hassocks: Fraser Trigwell; Harvey Blake, Alex Bygraves, Bradley Tighe, Joe Bull; Leon Turner, Josh Mundy, Mike Williamson, Sean Stephenson; Alex Fair; Julian Durand.
Subs: Dan Turner, Pat Harding, Jack Troak, Faris Khallouqi (used), Jamie Wilkes (unused).
