Hassocks victorious at Varndeanians for four wins and five clean sheets in a row
There is no stopping Phil Johnson at the moment. Two goals at Withdean Stadium made it 10 from his past 10 appearances, 23 for the season and 99 in a Hassocks shirt as the Robins ran out 3-0 winners over AFC Varndeanians.
At the other end, James Westlake’s side recorded a fifth clean sheet in a row. James Shaw and his defence have condemned the keeper of the statistics to an evening pouring through the annals to see if that is a club record; the likely answer being yes.
Shaw remained relatively untroubled against a Varndeanians side with not an awful lot to play for over the remaining eight games of the season.
The Vs are already destined to finish in lower mid table, currently 16 points clear of the two relegation spots and the same number behind Little Common in 11th.
Nobody connected with Varndeanians will mind that, especially after the dramas of last season when they failed to win any of their opening 25 matches and yet managed to avoid the drop following a stunning turnaround post-Christmas.
Hassocks were one of the sides who fell victims to the Vs during that greatest of great escapes, losing 1-0 at Withdean in February.
The Robins showed very early on there was going to be no repeat this time around, taking the lead with the first attack of the game on two minutes.
Josh Bradley took a snapshot which home goalkeeper Jordan Hawkins could only parry. The ball fell kindly to Leon Turner to strike home at the start of a man-of-the-match performance down the left.
Bradley on the other flank meanwhile was making first start since completing a four-match ban. He replaced Alfie Loversidge in the only change Westlake made from last week’s 2-0 win over Loxwood.
The former Steyning Town man certainly made the most of the opportunity, being at the heart of a lot of the good stuff Hassocks did to threaten a Varndeanians defence including ex-Robins favourite Luke Akehurst.
Hassocks almost added a second before the clock had even reached five minutes. Liam Benson flashed a ball across goal which defender Sam Smith could not quite get on the end of. The Robins were wasting no time in laying bare their attacking intent.
Not content with creating chances for Hassocks, Bradley momentarily decided he wanted to help out Varndeanians too on 21 minutes.
An attempted back pass to Shaw was way too short, forcing the Hassocks number one into his only meaningful save of the afternoon to deny Mark Goldson.
Five minutes later and Hassocks doubled their advantage. Turner slid in Johnson and with the red-hot form the Robins’ leading scorer is in, there was only going to be one outcome as he went one-on-one with Hawkins.
Johnson rifled home with aplomb and you sensed Hassocks were already on easy street with half hour yet to be completed.
The Robins performance subsequently became professional more than spectacular. Nobody could blame Hassocks for easing up and saving themselves for the challenges ahead.
Their next six Premier Division matches are against teams above them in the table and they have a Sussex Principal RUR Charity Cup third round tie with fifth placed Steyning Town slotted in for Tuesday 21st March.
With a potentially season-defining next few weeks to come, it is little wonder than Westlake is keeping his cards close to his chest about where he and his players are aiming to finish the campaign.
Just before half time and Bradley came close to scoring one of the goals of the season, hitting a strike on the volley without breaking stride which flew just wide.
The second half was all Hassocks in terms of possession although chances from open play were few and far between. So much so that the Robins third and Johnson’s second came from a 69th minute penalty.
Job done for Hassocks, who know sterner tests lie ahead. But when Johnson cannot stop scoring and with a defence which has now not been breached for more than 450 minutes, no other team in the league will fancy playing Hassocks either.
Hassocks: James Shaw; Harvey Blake, Sam Smith, Alex Bygraves, Jack Troak; Josh Bradley, Mike Williamson, James Westlake, Leon Turner; Phil Johnson, Liam Benson.
Subs: Alfie Loversidge (Turner 72), Pat Harding (Johnson 74), Jamie Wilkes (Williamson 80), Joe Bull (Bradley 82).
Bedlam Brewery Starman: Leon Turner.
