10 MAN ROBINS PUSH CHAMPIONS HEATH CLOSE
Hassocks Under 18’s Southern Combination League Central Division title may now be Haywards Heath Town’s but the Robins gave a good account of themselves as the newly crowned champions visited the Beacon.
Heath have lost just one game all season and are worthy successors to the Hassocks side who swept all before them last season.
With all of that all-conquering Robins team bar Kieran Dimlow having passed 18 at the end of the campaign, it’s been a season of transition as new manager Brad Sweetman has had to knit together an entirely new squad comprising of mainly 16-year-olds.
That they could yet finish third in the table says much about the talent there and Sweetman will no doubt be hoping that this season can prove to be the stepping stone to a concerted challenge for honours next year.
This provided Hassocks with an opportunity to test themselves against the best and Heath were never comfortable until the final 10 minutes when they managed to get into a two-goal lead.
You’d have got long odds on that being the case early on as a long morning looked in prospect when the Blues took the lead inside of six minutes.
Ben Caiden whipped in a vicious free kick which Toby Fisher could only watch onto the bar and nobody in red could react quick enough to the loose ball with Aaron Raymond tapping home for 1-0.
They were ahead for only nine minutes before Tristan Hayes scored a spectacular equaliser for the hosts. Hayes has enjoyed quite a first season at the Beacon, very quickly earning a berth in the Under 23s squad and he notched his 17th of the season in some style.
Heath weren’t particularly alert to a quick Dimelow throw which found Hayes who showed great strength to hold off the challenge of Bejamin Rakabopa to get to the by-line from where he hit a stunning effort which bent over the head of Heath goalkeeper Leigh Batchelor and into the back of the net from the most impossible of angles.
Heath retook the lead on the half hour mark through the Central Division’s leading marksman, Ollie Broad showing why he has plundered over 30 goals by latching onto a header and lifting an excellent cushioned volley over the head of the advancing Fisher.
Hassocks levelled things up once again before half time and once again it was Hayes who was on target. The visitors failed to deal convincingly with a corner after Alex Moulvogny sent the delivery goal wards and Hayes eventually pounced on the loose ball to rifle home from 12 yards out.
Moulvogny saw red early in the second half after he’d pulled back Broad although the card did seem a little harsh as there was little chance of it being a clear goal scoring opportunity given that Fisher was quick off his line to snuff the danger out.
Playing shorthanded ultimately proved to be a bridge too far for the Robins as Heath went onto win the game thanks to two goals from Alfred Barnes.
Broad was the architect of the first, playing a clever through ball with the outside of his boot which left Barnes one-on-one with Fisher and he showed a cool head to step around the Hassocks goalkeeper and roll into the empty net.
The second saw Ethan Carrick swing over a perfect cross from out on the right which Gardner showed great technique to bring down on the chest before beating Fisher.
Hassocks: Toby Fisher, Ross Pedley, Kieran Dimelow, Harvey Ransome, Alex Moulvogny, Jack Gardner, Archie Funnell, Jack Baden, Yahya Azizi, Tristan Hayes, Finlay McDermott.
Subs: Sam Herd, Luke Marshall, Brandon Sheppard, Charlie Jones (used).
