LAWMAN JOHNSON MAKES HIS CASE WITH A LATE DOUBLE
Two goals in two minutes from Phil Johnson transformed Hassocks’ afternoon at Mill Road as they came from behind right at the death to win 3-2 away at Arundel.
With 88 minutes gone, this looked like being another disappointing day on the road for the Robins, a fortnight after they had been on the end of a chastening 4-1 hammering at Sidley United.
On this occasion, they trailed 2-1 against a Mullets side who had been dominant up until that point and who must have thought they had the three points in the bag.
But by the time the clock ticked around to 90 minutes, Johnson had intervened with two sweet finishes to boost Mickey Jewell’s sides hopes of a top seven finish.
Johnson has missed large chunks of this season due to his ongoing law training, but his lack of game time clearly hasn’t affected his eye for goal.
In his sporadic appearances so far, he’s managed four goals in five appearances for the reserves and this double took him onto four in nine for the first team.
And he clearly has a liking for playing Arundel too. It was against the Mullets when he really announced himself in the Hassocks set up with a sensational hat-trick as the youth team defeated their Arundel counterparts 3-2 to liftthe Sussex County Under 18 League Cup back in 2008.
Two of Johnson’s team mates from that success over the Mullets were also in the starting line up here, Nathan Miles having firmly established himself in the first team while Nathan Cooper is enjoying a run of games as injuries and unavailability bite Jewell’s squad as the campaign comes to a close.
The Hassocks boss was without five key players at Arundel with Stuart Faith, Ashley Marsh, Anthony Hibbert, Phil Gault and Elliott Butler all missing.
That meant rare starts for Johnson and Stuart Brown who came in at right back with Rob South, captaining the club for the first time in the absence of Faith, Mash and Gault, switching to the left.
Jewell also called up the Robins’ record goal scorer James Laing, now a regular in the reserves, for his first start since January 2011.
The bench meanwhile was made up of youth teamers Ryan John and Aaron Czech and goalkeeper Reece Wickwar, who was used as an emergency striker in the closing stages for the second game running in a sign of just how stretched Hassocks’ resources are at the minute.
Despite the patchy look of their side, it was the Robins who took the lead with 20 minutes played.
Hassocks have been trying to make something of South’s relatively long throws all season and they finally did so when a huge toss into the box wasn’t convincingly dealt with by the Arundel defence, giving Jamie Weston the opportunity to produce a fine finish from outside the box.
Hassocks led for just 10 minutes before a quick-fire double from Grant Thetford took Arundel from 1-0 down to 2-1 ahead.
His first arrived 10 minutes after Weston’s opener when he took full advantage of a weak Hassocks clearance to beat Simon Lehkyj and his second was a rebound from a penalty after Lehkyj had brilliant kept out the initial spot kick.
Lehkyj was by far the busier keeper in the second half with a string of crucial saves that ensured Hassocks weren’t out the tie by the time Johnson conjured up his two minutes of magic.
The first of those came with 88 played, substitute John doing well to head a ball in down towards Johnson who was waiting to bring it under control before scrambling home.
Then just one minute later he latched onto a clever through-ball from Weston, outstripping home defender Ashley Hunter for pace before slotting past James Fernandes in the Arundel goal to complete a stunning comeback.
Hassocks: Simon Lehkyj; Stuart Brown, Lee Bryant, Kieran O’Callaghan, Rob South; James Westlake, Jamie Weston, Nathan Cooper, Phil Johnson; Nathan Miles, James Laing.
Subs: Ryan John, Aaron Czech, Reece Wickwar (used).
Starman: Has to go to the lawman Phil Johnson for his late double.
