Hassocks head coach spoke to Steve Bone at the Mid Sussex Times about the Robins’ flying form through November
The way Hassocks have responded to their FA Vase exit at Tunbridge Wells by moving top of the Southern Combination Premier Division has pleased head coach James Westlake.
An 85th minute equaliser scrambled home by Wells took the second round tie at Culverden Stadium to penalties at the start of November.
Hassocks put all three of their spot kicks in the shootout over the bar, missing out on making the third round of the competition for the first time in their history.
But since that crushing afternoon across the Sussex-Kent border, the Robins have won all five of their subsequent league matches to overtake local rivals Haywards Heath Town at the head of the table.
Speaking to the Mid Sussex Times, Westlake said: “Whilst it was disappointing to exit the FA Vase, it was the first time in 10 years the club had reached that stage of the competition.”
“It certainly shows the progression the club have made on the pitch in the last few seasons. In the game itself, we performed well on what was a terrible playing surface and scored a good goal.”
“We should have held out for the win but conceded late on and then wasn’t good enough from the spot to progress.”
Three days later and the Robins bounced back with a 3-0 win away at Loxwood. Without the brilliance of Magpies goalkeeper Andy Barr, the margin of victory would have been even greater.
Yet in a sign of the high standards Westlake and his players are setting this season, they felt they should have done better at the Nest.
“We didn’t feel we were at our best against Loxwood and put it down to a big effort on the Saturday,” said Westlake. “The players showed enough quality to win the game comfortably in the end.”
Next came a dramatic afternoon back at the Hassocks Hotel Beacon Ground against Midhurst & Easebourne.
The Robins trailed 1-0 going into the break. Morgan Vale levelled the tie before Dan Turner crashed home an 87th minute equaliser to spark wild scenes of celebration amongst the biggest home league crowd of the season so far.
Westlake praised his side for finding a way to get over the line against the Stags, saying: “Credit to Midhurst who came and made it really difficult for us on Saturday.”
“We knew it would be tough to break them down and we needed to be patient in our approach. The character showed after going 1-0 down just before half time to then go on and win the game late on was pleasing to see.”
Hassocks followed up with two more victories from difficult away games; the first a 2-1 success in freezing temperatures at Saltdean United and the second a 3-0 win at Pagham in the middle of Storm Bert.
December could potentially have a huge bearing on the promotion race. The Robins visit sixth placed Crawley Down Gatwick on Saturday 21st, take on Haywards Heath in a Boxing Day Mid Sussex Derby at the Home Smart Energy Stadium and then host third place Roffey on Saturday 28th.
“No question that we want to remain where we are in the league but we are making sure that we take each game as it comes,” said Westlake about the month ahead. “Every game brings its own challenges that we need to find different ways to overcome.”
