HASSOCKS BOUNCE BACK BY TAMING THE BEARS
Following their previous week’s 3-0 defeat away at Burgess Hill Town in the Sussex Dennis Probee Youth Cup second round, Hassocks Under 18s were tasked with the challenge of bouncing back as they returned to Central Division action against Broadbridge Heath.
Losing isn’t something that this group of young players are used to. Their only previous defeat of the campaign had come on the opening day when early league leaders St Francis Rangers had run out deserved 3-1 winners at Colwell Road.
The visit of the Bears to the Beacon provided Brad Sweetman with an opportunity to see how his side could respond to a setback.
Hassocks’ answer to that particular questions was an impressive one as they hammered Heath 4-2 to maintain their pursuit of Rangers who continue to lead the way.
Sweetman made two changes from the previous Sunday’s loss at the Green Elephants Stadium. Top scorer Lewis Beebee was suspended following his red card against the Hillians with Charlie Jones the other player who was missing. Oliver Charlesworth was promoted from the bench while there was a Hassocks debut for recent arrival Fraser Mears.
Mears wasn’t the only new face in the Robins’ squad either with Sweetman handing a first appearance to Jayden Dunkley from the substitutes bench.
The wealth of attacking options available to Hassocks was underlined by the fact that even without the talents of Beebee, who has plundered nine goals in six games, they still had more than enough firepower to tame the Bears.
Forwards Alfie Loversidge and Harrison Lees were both on target, taking their totals for the campaign to 10 and three respectively.
Those goals mean that Lees now tops the scoring charts for the Robins while Loversidge has five in total having notched two for the Under 23s as he continues to impress for Dave John’s side too.
Charlesworth marked his promotion to the starting line up with the Robins’ third while the fourth came from substitute Yahya Azizi, who is continuing to work his way back to match fitness after missing the first few months of the campaign – this was his second goal in three recent appearances from the bench.
Heath’s consolations came from Leo Anderson and Thomas Edevane but in truth this was a comfortable morning for the Robins, who go to Mile Oak in the first round of the Southern Combination Youth League Cup next Sunday.
Oak are yet to taste defeat in the Central Division this season and so that looks like a tough assignment for Hassocks, who have also had to surrender home advantage having seen the game postponed twice already when scheduled to be held at the Beacon.
Hassocks: Toby Fisher, Luke Marshall, Harry Meredith, Fraser Mears, Alex Crawford, Freddie Gamblin, Lewis Reep, Harrison Lees, Alfie Loversidge, Finlay McDermott, Oliver Charlesworth.
Subs: Yahya Azizi, Jayden Dunkley (used).
