EXTRA TIME TRIUMPH IN TURGID AFFAIR
There was nothing pretty or entertaining about Hassocks’ 2-1 extra time win over Midhurst & Easebourne as they progressed to the quarter finals of the Sussex RUR Charity Cup.
Being brutally honest, this was as a horrific game of football as the Robins have been involved in for some time at a pretty unwelcoming Rotherfield.
Neither team were helped by a terrible surface which limited the chances of anything remotely resembling a decent game breaking out over the course of 120 excruciating minutes.
The fact those who attended had an extra 30 minutes forced upon them after things finished scoreless at the end of the 90 was comparable to the sort of torture that you’d find in Guantanamo Bay.
Hassocks kept faith largely with the same side who had pushed Horsham YMCA all the way in the league three days previously, meaning that returning regulars Tom Barnes, Ashley Marsh and Jordan Badger all had to settle for spots on the bench.
Hopes had been high for the entertainment value before kick off. Rotherfield has only had floodlights installed for a month or so and the previous two games under them had yielded a 2-2 draw with Selsey and a penalty shoot out win over Oakwood in the Division One Cup.
Neither side was able to live up to the drama of those encounters though, with a dire first half being only slightly improved in the second 45 when there did at least appear to be a modicum of attacking intent.
Still, it took until five minutes into extra time for the Robins to finally break the deadlock through substitute Liam Benson.
Benson is the top scorer across the Southern Combination’s Under 21 section with 12 goals in 10 games and he was afforded a rare opportunity here when he replaced the tiring Michael Death as Hassocks desperately sought to change something.
And change something the young striker did, scoring his second senior goal with aplomb to set the Robins on the path to victory.
In games as devoid as quality as this, having somebody who knows where the back of the net is will always give you a chance and Hassocks had just that in their 174 goals for the club striker Phil Gault, now looking somewhere near match sharp after a month long injury lay off.
Gault managed to complete the 120 minutes on what was his 300th appearance for the Robins and it was he who added the second for Hassocks five minutes before the midway point in extra time.
Ben Kamplen pulled one back for Midhurst a couple of minutes after the interval to leave a nervy finish but much to the travelling contingents relief, the Robins were able to hold on which avoided the drama of penalties and an even later arrival back in Mid Sussex.
Hassocks will now face either Premier Division rivals Crawley Down Gatwick or another Division One outfit Mile Oak in the next round as they bid to make the semi finals of the competition for only the third time in the clubs history.
Hassocks: James Broadbent; Harry Mills, Nick Pitcher, Luke Akehurst, Bradley Bant; Josh Hawkes; James Westlake, Lewis Westlake; Mark Price; Phil Gault, Michael Death.
Subs: Liam Benson (Death), Tom Barnes (Price), Ashley Marsh, Jordan Badger, Phil Wickwar.
Starman: Bradley Bant.
