Robins back to winning ways with comfortable Shoreham success
After suffering back-to-back Southern Combination League defeats for the first time this season, questions were asked over whether the Hassocks bubble was beginning to burst.
The Robins answered those by getting back to winning ways with a comfortable 3-1 victory at improving Shoreham.
Last season’s Division One champions had made a slow start to life on their return to the Premier Division after a five season absence, failing to win any of their opening 11 matches.
An upturn in form since the start of October has not only taken the Musselmen from rock bottom of the table, but hauled them three points clear of the relegation zone.
Travelling to the Edgar & Wood Stadium therefore represented no easy task for the Robins as they looked to bounce back from Mid Sussex Derby Day defeat against Haywards Heath Town.
Judging by the reaction at full time at Shoreham amongst Hassocks management, players and fans, that close-run Boxing Day reversal to their big-spending local rivals is now providing plenty of fuel to fire the Robins in their surprise bid for a playoff place.
Hassocks started brightly with young Josh Nandhra and tall striker Jamie Wilkes both firing just wide inside the opening quarter hour.
Harvey Blake too came close following a blistering run up the right flank and Josh Mundy put a shot a little too close to Musselmen goalkeeper Leo Anderson.
The pressure on the Shoreham goal eventually told on 18 minutes when the Robins took the lead via former Middle Road favourite Big Alex Fair.
Nandhra was sent galloping away down the right hand channel by a clipped ball up the line from Blake. Tall striker Wilkes and Fair were both arriving in the box, providing plenty of options.
The rangy Wilkes made a clever decoy run to the near post, dragging two Shoreham defenders with him.
That created space in the middle for Fair drifting in from the left. Nandhra hit the right pass low and hard towards the penalty spot and Fair did the rest, picking out the bottom left corner via the inside of the upright.
Fraser Trigwell made his first save of the afternoon four minutes later from a pretty outrageous Curtis Gayler effort.
Mundy conceded a free kick some 35 yards from goal, which the world and his wife assumed Gayler was going to clip into the box.
Shoreham were certainly set up to suggest that would be the case, their big players all husting and bustling on the edge of the area.
Gayler though had other ideas. Instead, he drilled a shot with speed and accuracy straight for the near-hand top corner.
Gasps from the crowd at the audacity soon transformed into gasps at Trigwell flying across his goal to somehow claw the ball out.
Further quick reactions were immediately needed from the Robins number one as he also denied Max Howell from the follow up.
The game lacked intensity after that with neither side creating a chance of note until Hassocks doubled their advantage on the hour mark.
A long ball over the top caught the Shoreham defence square and Nandhra took full advantage, racing clear to go one-on-one with Anderson.
Although Anderson managed to pull off a good save from the initial effort, the ball looped up into the air and straight back to Nandhra.
The 17-year-old was calmness personified in dealing with the rebound, first bringing it down on his chest and then smashing a volley into the far corner for his third goal in as many starts.
Nandhra almost had another two minutes later when rattling the post after good work from Mike Williamson and Wilkes opened up the Shoreham defence.
The final two goals of the game came in the last 10 minutes and were both as spectacular as each other.
Substitute Tom Frankland had only replaced Fair seven minutes earlier when he left Anderson grasping at thin air by curling into the top corner from 25 yards to move Hassocks 3-0 ahead.
Shoreham left wing back Martin Bayo went better three minutes later, beating Trigwell from 30 yards to deny the Robins a clean sheet.
That was the only disappointing aspect of an otherwise professional afternoon on the south coast which rounded off an excellent 12 months of progress.
2023 has been some year for Hassocks. Could 2024 become even better?
Hassocks: Fraser Trigwell; Harvey Blake, Bradley Tighe, Matt Gunn, Joe Bull; Sean Stephenson, Josh Mundy, Mike Williamson, Alex Fair; Jamie Wilkes; Josh Nandhra.
Subs: Tom Frankland (Fair 73), Jack Troak (Stephenson 76), Alfie Loversidge (Nandhra 81), Pat Harding, Alex Bygraves (unused).
Starman: Harvey Blake.
