MAGIC MILES HELPS HASSOCKS TO DERBY DAY DELIGHT
St Francis Rangers may have come into Easter Monday’s Mid Sussex Derby with far superior form compared to Hassocks but it counted for nothing as the Robins picked up another three points with a 3-2 win at Colwell Road.
You now have to go back eight games to Boxing Day 2009 to find the last time local bragging rights went Rangers’ way. They won 2-1 at the Beacon on that occasion, their only success in the 13 previous meetings between these two rivals.
Rangers came into this one with confidence sky high following a blistering run of 10 wins and three draws in their past 14 matches. Hassocks in contrast had won only two in eight, so Rangers had every right to believe that they could land a rare blow on the Robins.
And they might well have done had Hassocks not had the best player on the pitch in Nathan Miles. The striker ultimately proved to be the difference in what was a close affair, scoring two of Hassocks’ goals and giving the home defence a torrid time all morning.
There was talk of offside when Miles raced onto Elliott Butler’s ball through the middle on 20 minutes. There was no doubting the calibre of Miles’ finish however as he produced a controlled effort on a difficult, uneven surface with his supposedly weaker foot for his 23rd of the season.
Number 24 arrived 14 minutes later to put Hassocks 2-0 ahead. Neither side looked particularly comfortable dealing with set pieces and when James Westlake swung a corner over from the left, Phil Gault glided off his marker with remarkable ease to head the delivery downwards.
It fell to Miles, who needed to find a way through the mass of bodies between himself and Rob Gordon’s goal. He duly did that with an ingenious little flick with his back to goal, beating Gordon all ends up.
Rangers faced a long way back from there but they gave their supporters hope when pulling one back five minutes later. Ashley Marsh’s attempts to shepherd a ball out of play went awry as Daley Clark picked the Hassocks defender’s pockets before crossing to Brannon O’Neill who tapped in.
Miles nearly had a first half hat-trick when another moment of magic pulled an excellent save from Gordon. The second half took a little time to get going, sparking into life once Geoff Pitcher made a double change with Andy Mott and Sam Jeremiah entering the proceedings.
It took them just five minutes to combine for Rangers’ equaliser. This time it was Hassocks’ turn to produce some suspect defending from a set piece, Mott’s corner from the left being headed home by Jeremiah for a goal against his former club.
Hassocks had done well to shackle the usually lively pairing of Josh Perry and Kieron Pamment and both sides looked like they would be happy with a draw until the visitors won it late on with another goal from a corner.
Westlake sent over another excellent delivery and this time it was Nathan Cooper who rose unchallenged to head home. Some home fans were incensed that Westlake had placed the ball well outside the semi circle, but their ire would have been better directed at their side’s marking which was non-existent.
Cooper meanwhile hardly lost a header all game. He is fast becoming a major influence for Mickey Jewell in midfield since becoming a first team regular in the wake of Spencer Slaughter’s move to Worthing.
It was the other Nathan though who took all the plaudits. While most of the other players on the pitch struggled to get control of the ball on a bobbly, hard, end-of-season pitch, it appeared at times as though possession was glued to Miles’ foot.
Miles took his leave with three minutes remaining as Nick Pitcher came on to help Hassocks see out the game to further improve their impressive record against Rangers.
The host’s frustrations resulted in O’Neill, Pamment and Aaron Walsh all entering the book. After picking up seven cards on Saturday, further disciplinary woes were the last thing that Rangers needed.
As for Hassocks, Jewell will be hoping that this result can give them a boost going into the final five games of the campaign.
Equalling last season’s fourth placed finish is mathematically beyond the Robins, but seven points from their remaining fixtures will see them pass 70 Division One points for only the second time in their history.
Hassocks: Simon Lehkyj; Rob South, Ashley Marsh, Stuart Faith, Lee Bryant; James Westlake, Nathan Cooper, Elliott Butler, Jamie Weston; Nathan Miles, Phil Gault.
Subs: Nick Pitcher (Miles 87), Stuart Brown, Lee Cooper (unused).
Starman: Two goal hero Nathan Miles.
