Spot kick success sees Hassocks overcome United and the weather
It was a bit of a case of after the Lord Mayor’s Show for Hassocks as they headed to the Oval to take on Eastbourne United in the second round of the Southern Combination Under 18 League Cup.
The Robins were nowhere near their best following last Sunday’s spectacular 4-1 win over Worthing in the quarter finals of the County Cup.
Yet they still managed to get the job done in horrific conditions down at the Oval Arena, winning through on penalties after a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes to book a third round home tie with Billingshurst.
The exertion needed to shock those Isthmian League Rebels last week had clearly left a mark on Hassocks. But it was the weather which appeared to prove the ultimate leveller.
With a brand new 3G pitch at the Oval, no amount of rain was going to cause this one to be postponed.
More problematically, the non-stop deluge was accompanied by a howling wind blowing off the sea, across Princes Park and straight over the ground.
Anytime the ball left the floor, it was impossible to predict what would happen to it. Said wind also made temperatures feel like –10C.
By the time the shootout concluded, both sets of players were so cold that they ran back into the changing rooms without so much as a handshake being exchanged.
The travelling Robins officials watching on from inside the warm, cosy new hospitality box installed right next to the pitch were left wondering what all the fuss was about!
Hassocks made three changes from the starting XI against Worthing to try and freshen things up a little.
Theo Bradley took over in goal from George Lythgoe. Harry Hammond replaced Wilf Jenkins and Fletcher Fane came in for Oliver Goswamy.
Conditions ended up frustrating both teams, leading to an unusually high card count. Ethan Brasier and Evan China were both booked for Hassocks with Regan Davis shown red on the hour mark after accumulating two bookings.
That was the Robins’ third sending off of the season by far, having gone over seven years without a red card before this campaign.
Whilst the previous two were stonewall dismissals, Davis could feel incredibly hard done by with even the referee admitting afterwards he had probably made a mistake.
Oscar Kemp struck the Hassocks goal right on the stroke of half time with the Robins going onto win 4-3 on penalties.
There is more cup action to come next weekend with the small matter of the County Cup semi final at home to Shoreham.
Kick off is 11am at the Hassocks Hotel Beacon Ground and any support would be massively appreciated.
Hassocks: Theo Bradley, Scott Smith, Kai Birchley, Charlie Bonwick-Adams, Leo Charman, Regan Davis. Harry Hammond, Fletcher Fane, Evan China, Oscar Kemp, Ethan Brasier.
Subs: Will Hartley, George Drake (used), Nye Sim, Liam Deere, George Lythgoe (unused).
