Five in first half ease Hassocks to seven goal rout of Ringmer
The second round of the Sussex Dennis Probee Youth Cup awaits Hassocks Under 18s after they eased past Ringmer with a comfortable 7-0 victory.
Five of the goals came in the first half at the Hassocks Hotel Beacon Ground as the Robins continue to bring their free-scoring pre-season form into the competitive action.
Hassocks have plundered 12 goals in two matches so far, also thrashing Mid Sussex rivals Haywards Heath Town 5-1 at the Home Smart Energy Stadium in their Southern Combination Under 18 Central Division campaign opener seven days earlier.
The Young Robins have a deep and powerful squad for this season which they will be hoping allows them to compete on three fronts; putting up a Central Division title challenge and going far in both the League Cup and this County Cup.
Their reward in the next round is a home tie against Eastbourne Town, to be played at the Hassocks Hotel Beacon Ground on Sunday 6th October.
Underlining the point about squad depth, Hassocks made five changes from the team who beat Haywards Heath and yet there was no drop off in quality.
Last season’s number one Theo Bradley returned in goal, taking over from George Lythgoe. Ben Foster came in at the back, Ethan Brasier out wide and Nye Sim in attack.
Leo Charman, Oliver Goswamy and captain Oscar Kemp were the three players who dropped out due to unavailability.
Ringmer ply their trade in the East Division and were something of an unknown quantity to Hassocks.
The clubs had not met at Under 18s level in a competitive game since the original Ringmer folded back in 2018, with the new incarnation stemming from a merger between the old club and AFC Ringmer in 2020.
They proved a tough nut to crack initially but once the Robins opened the scoring on 18 minutes, goals came in quick succession.
Charlie Bonwick-Adams claimed the first. Four minutes later he added the second and then the third just 120 seconds after, giving him a six-minute hat-trick with the game just 25 minutes old.
Sim justified his promotion into the starting XI by making it 4-0 on 32 minutes with Bonwick-Adams adding his fourth and Hassocks’ fifth on 35.
Ringmer were unable to repeat their trick of holding out from kick off at the start of the second half. Sim needed less than a minute to move the Robins 6-0 ahead.
Fletcher Fane completed the rout with his first goal in Hassocks colours on 57, after which the Robins eased up whilst making the most of rolling subs to heavily rotate with the job done.
Hassocks: Theo Bradley, Harry Hammond, George Drake, Ben Foster, Kai Birchley, Charlie Bonwick-Adams, Scott Smith, Wilf Jenkins, Ethan Brasier, Nye Sim, Fletcher Fane.
Subs: Liam Deere, Will Hartley, Evan China (used), Toby Munt (unused).
