Hassocks put five past third place Oak to warm up for Hillians clash
Mile Oak has never been the easiest of places for Hassocks Under 18s sides of the past to visit.
The Class of 2025 made light work of their trip to Chalky Road, however, scoring all five of their goals in the first half in what turned out to be a 5-1 victory.
It enabled the Robins to make the most of their rolling substitutes, getting game time into the legs of fringe players whilst resting those who have played a lot of football recently.
One eye was very much on next Sunday’s clash with league leaders and reigning champions Burgess Hill Town at the Hassocks Hotel Beacon Ground.
With things so tight at the top of the table and the Hillians unlikely to drop many points, it has the potential to be a crucial morning in the race for the Southern Combination Under 18 Central Division title.
But back to the here and now. Oak started the morning sitting third in the standings, just two points behind Hassocks and with only one defeat to their name so far.
The Robins therefore had a much more familiar look to their squad compared with the group taken to Nevill Playing Fields to play rock bottom Whitehawk last time out.
Hassocks handed debuts to a number of players from the Juniors side against the Hawks. An 8-0 win underlined the depth available across both teams.
There were seven changes to the starting XI from the Whitehawk victory in total. George Lythgoe came back in goal as his rotation with Theo Bradley continued.
Also returning were regulars Kai Birchley, Scott Smith, Oliver Goswamy, Charlie Bonwick-Adams, Fletcher Fane and Wilf Jenkins – fresh from scoring an important goal on his Under 23s debut on Thursday night in a 1-1 draw with Horley Town.
George Drake and Ben Forster were rested to the bench. There were no Ethan Brasier, Will Hartley, Evan China or Archie Handford in the squad.
Hassocks took the lead with 15 minutes on the clock through Fane, which both ended a good resistant start from Oak and opened the floodgates.
Harry Hammond added the second from full back five minutes later, followed by top scorer Nye Sim bagging his first of the morning on 24 minutes.
The game was already pretty much done by this point but the Robins remained relentless until the break. Kai Birchley added the fourth with Sim rounding off the scoring on the stroke of half time.
It was a much more sedate affair through the second 45, Hassocks managing the game sensibly ahead of that huge fixture with the Hillians in seven days time.
Hassocks: George Lythgoe, Harry Hammond, Kai Birchley, Liam Deere, Leo Charman, Scott Smith, Charlie Bonwick-Adams, Wilf Jenkins, Nye Sim, Fletcher Fane, Oliver Goswamy.
Subs: Ben Foster, George Drake, Charlie Clayton, Joe Hooper, Archie Burns (used).
