WINLESS RUN NOW STRETCHES TO TEN FOR HAPLESS HASSOCKS
It’s now 10 games without a victory for Hassocks as a 5-3 defeat away at high flying Loxwood condemned the Robins to their worst winless run in over a decade.
This defeat at Plaistow Road was an all too familiar story. Hassocks were going well and deserved led 2-1 as the clock ticked into the 40th minute. But by the time the teams were trudging off at the break, Loxwood had scored twice to flip the game on its head.
Of the 38 goals Hassocks have conceded in the league this season, 12 have come in the last five minutes of either half.
It is this alarming ability of capitulating after 40 minutes work that is really harming their cause in a season that is again beginning to look like a desperate struggle against the drop into Division One.
Mark Dalgleish and Phil Wickwar have been busy on the transfer front in the last week in an attempt to shake their side out of this slump.
Midfielder James Westlake and goalkeeper Alex Harris have both returned to the club from Haywards Heath Town and Metropolitan Police respectively and they both started here.
The Robins could have been forgiven for looking rusty given that this was their first full game in 17 days. Their weekend encounter with Worthing United was abandoned at half time after an electrical problem in the village knocked out the Beacon’s power supply and with it, the floodlights.
Yet any concerns about a lack of match practice were dismissed as they went ahead with just three minutes played, Bradley Bant’s corner sailing straight in despite the call of “safe” from Loxwood goalkeeper Sam Smith.
The lead lasted just nine minutes, Michael Death being desperately unlucky to deflect a Josh Courtney cross past the returning Harris for an unfortunate own goal.
Smith obviously wasn’t content with simply playing his part in giving Hassocks their opener as he did his level best to hand Spencer Slaughter a golden opportunity to make it 2-1.
The Loxwood number one came charging out of goal when it appeared fairly obvious he wasn’t going to make it to the ball before Slaughter. Luckily for Smith, Slaughter’s effort rolled just wide of the empty net.
Smith was again involved when Hassocks did retake the lead on 35 minutes. This time, he tried to claim a Dan Jacques cross but failed to get anywhere near it after a strong challenge from Phil Gault with the ball dropping in at the far post.
Then came those two quick fire goals from the hosts. The impressive Ollie Gill was the architect of both, firstly slipping in Jon Nurse after a rapid counter attack from a Hassocks corner and then teeing up Michael Wood to give Loxwood the lead.
Gill himself made it 4-2 five minutes after the restart with a low drive from distance and the game was up on the hour mark when Nurse added his second of the evening and Loxwood’s fifth, rounding off another counter attack despite everybody in the ground expecting the goal to be ruled out for what was a blatant offside.
Hassocks added a late third when substitute Josh Hawkes ended a goal mouth scramble from a free kick by firing home with the last kick of the game.
That was of course nothing more than a consolation, but to score three times against a side who came into the game with the joint third best defensive record in the division will at least give the Robins some hope ahead of what is a massive six pointer on Saturday away at the side immediately above them in the table, Wick & Barnham United.
Hassocks: Alex Harris; Tom Barnes, Ashley Marsh, Nick Pitcher, Dan Jacques; James Westlake, Bradley Bant, Spencer Slaughter, Jonno Melia; Michael Death, Phil Gault.
Subs: Luke Akehurst (Pitcher), Josh Hawkes (Bant), Bradley Tighe (Slaughter), Rowan Wallis, Mark Price (unused).
