Mavericks prove too sharp for Hassocks in first defeat of the season
Following a week off out of respect for the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Hassocks Under 18s returned to action with a tough game at home to Worthing United.
The Mavericks finished third in the Southern Combination League Under 18 Central Division last season and had started their campaign with a 5-3 win over Shoreham.
United had also played twice in the FA Youth Cup, beating Newhaven on penalties before bowing out against Bexhill United.
That gave them three competitive games under their belts whereas Hassocks only had one, their opening day 3-1 comeback win over Steyning Town at the Beacon.
Steyning themselves were runners up in 2021-22, so the Robins still felt confident of their chances having already picked up an impressive victory over the Barrowmen.
You can sometimes read too much into how a team did the previous year in Under 18s football where there is so much change from season-to-season.
Where United undoubtedly had the advantage was in match sharpness thanks to their additional two games. That showed as they ran out 2-1 winners.
Hassocks made two changes from their side who had beaten the Barrowmen a week earlier. Last season’s top scorer Oliver Parker-Williams was available for his first start of the campaign, replacing Cam Mitchell who dropped to the bench as he continued to recover from his exploits at the Reading Festival.
The other change saw George Gladding make his debut for the Robins in place of the absent Will Varley. Two more players made their Hassocks debuts from the bench.
Will Matthews and Eden Thompson were both introduced as substitutes as the Robins sought to take something from the tie.
When Hassocks last met United back in January, it had resulted in one of the craziest Under 18s games for many years. An 11-goal thriller was edged 6-5 by the Mavericks.
There was not quite as much entertainment on this occasion, but it was still 90 minutes of high quality football from two sides who wanted to play the game the right way.
Goals from Liam Appleton and Callum Noyce secured the three points for United, moving them second in the early table behind free-scoring leaders Burgess Hill Town.
Hassocks struck through Alex Brewer, who is enjoying quite the start to life at the Beacon. This was Brewer’s third goal from two games and he looks like one-to-watch, along with Sam Fernley who has already established himself as a regular in Neil Parker’s Under 23s squad.
Hassocks face their first away game and local derby of the season next, travelling to Colwell Road to take on St Francis Rangers this coming Sunday. As always, any support you can give up at the Hospital will be very much welcome.
Hassocks: Jack Thomas, Sam Dean, George Gladding, Ed Tobias, Sam Fernley, Alex Wintle, Harry Carter, Oliver Goswamy, Jack Duckett, Oliver Parker-Williams, Alex Brewer.
Subs: Ryan Goss, Will Matthews, Cam Mitchell, Eden Thompson (used).
