BATTLE AND SPIRIT BUT STILL NO POINTS AS HASSOCKS FALL AGAIN
For the second weekend running, Hassocks put in a relatively good performance in going down to a single goal defeat against one of the Southern Combination League Premier Division’s big boys.
And yet for the second week running, results elsewhere deepened the Robins woes at the bottom of the table as they found themselves cast further adrift of safety.
Last Saturday, Mark Dalgleish’s side pushed Newhaven close before losing 3-2. This week’s showing was even better as Peacehaven & Telscombe were forced to battle every inch of the way for the 1-0 win that took them second in the table.
The positivity around the Beacon though in wake of the hosts’ performance didn’t last long after the final whistle however as news filtered through that Pagham had won at home to Horsham YMCA and East Preston had picked up three points at Broadbridge Heath.
Those two results extended the gap between Hassocks and fourth bottom to six points, with the Robins set to visit EP next Saturday in what is already looking like a pivotal game, despite the fact that we haven’t yet reached Christmas.
If Hassocks lose at the Lashmar they will find themselves nine points adrift; a huge gap for a side with just two league victories to their name so far this season.
It’s hard to win games when you’re conceding as many goals as Hassocks have over the past few months, so to restrict a Peacehaven outfit who are the division’s second highest scorers to only one looks to be a step in the right direction.
So bad has the Robins’ recent defensive record been this was in fact the first time in 15 matches that they’d conceded one or less in a game, a run stretching right the way back to September 1st and a 2-0 FA Vase win away at Meridian Valley Park.
Charlie Pugh in goal was excellent and he was a deserved winner of the Supporters’ Man of the Match Award afterwards, although it could have feasibly gone to any of the back four with Harry Mills, Arni Kublickas, young Luke Marshall and Jack Troak – playing out-of-position at left back – also having fine games.
Peacehaven may have dominated proceedings, but it was Hassocks who had the first chance of the afternoon when Blagomir Mastagarkov forced a corner inside the opening five minutes of his full debut.
Ben Bacon was inches away from connecting with the subsequent delivery but he couldn’t quite get a head on it, leaving Conor Morley to clear.
Peacehaven responded to that with a sustained period of pressure on Hassocks goal, Tyler Capon firing wide and then being denied by Pugh.
Charlie Lambert’s effort was blocked by Mills and Cam Wiltshire’s distance strike after the Robins only half cleared their lines suffered the same fate.
Some desperate defending in a goalmouth scramble saw Marshall this time hack clear and then Troak cleared a Jack Brocklebank header off the line from a Josh Marshall free kick.
Marshall then drew the save of the game from Pugh with a curling effort 25 yards which the Hassocks goalkeeper somehow managed to tip around the post at full stretch when most of the ground were expecting the net to bulge.
Liam Benson and Ben Bacon combined to launch a rare foray into the Peacehaven half with 10 minutes of the opening 45 remaining as Pugh and his defence enjoyed a brief respite, Peacehaven being restricted to harmless long range efforts from Capon.
Half time gave Hassocks a chance to catch their breath, knowing that it would take another monumental effort to keep the visitors out in the second half.
Sadly for the Robins, they lasted just 120 seconds before Capon struck, bundling home from close range after Pugh was unable to gather convincingly.
Peacehaven might have expected Hassocks to crumble at that point as they far too often recently but the Robins kept plugging away, continuing to frustrate the visitors who were eager to put the game to bed.
Pugh pushed another long range effort over the bar, this time from Marshall. Capon fired just wide and substitute Curtis Ford had only been on the pitch a matter of minutes when his header was superbly kept out by Pugh.
There were kind words from the Tye afterwards about how Hassocks’ spirt and resilience will give them a chance of getting out of the mire, but plaudits don’t win you points. The Robins have to start doing that themselves – starting next week at EP.
Hassocks: Charlie Pugh; Luke Marshall, Harry Mills, Arni Kublickas, Jack Troak; Alex Spinks, Harvey Enticknap, Ben Bacon, Dan Stokes, Blagomir Mastagarkov; Liam Benson.
Subs: Phil Johnson (used), Joe Bull, Sam Cash, Phil Wickwar (unused).
