FIVE STAR GAULT GOES GOAL CRAZY TO FIRE HASSOCKS TO FOURTH
Phil Gault went goal mad at Oaklands Park as he hit all five Hassocks goals in the Robins’ 5-1 win away at Chichester City on the final day of a record-breaking County League season for Mickey Jewell’s side.
The victory lifted Hassocks into a final finishing position of fourth, their highest ever in Division One. Their points haul of 72 was the most achieved in a top flight season, 22 victories surpassed last season’s 19 and the 89 goals scored was also a record.
No player had netted five times in a senior game for the Robins before Gault’s salvo either. It was enough to take him past the 30 mark and into second in the Division One scoring charts for the campaign.
Hassocks have outperformed many sides with big budgets this season and put a lot of doubters in their place, not least when they won only one of the first eight games in all competitions.
Since that slow start to the season, the only way has been up. A rare disappointment came in February’s Sussex Principal RUR Charity Cup semi final defeat to Selsey when Hassocks missed arguably the best opportunity they’ve ever had to make a first senior final.
The lowly Blues won 3-1 to advance just one month after the Robins had hammered them 5-2 at the High Street Ground. Jewell was without the services of Gault at Culver Road that evening and after watching another stunning individual performance in this one at Oaklands Park, you can’t help but wonder what might have been had Hassocks had their talismanic striker available for that big semi.
It took Gault just six minutes to open the scoring, tapping in a Nathan Miles shot from close range. He then doubled the lead from the penalty spot on 33 minutes when Miles was felled in the area by Tom Chaplain.
In between those two Gault goals, Chi goalkeeper Matt Winter denied Miles twice in one-on-one situations as the Robins striker looked to break the 20 goal barrier for the first time in his career.
Kieran O’Callaghan put a powerful header just wide of the post and Gault and James Westlake were also off target as Hassocks dominated.
Chi never gave up though. Their young side may have finished the campaign rock bottom, but they continued to encourage each other and they came close to scoring two first half goals of their own which might have given the tie an entirely different complexion.
The impressive Scott Dormer headed against the top of the crossbar and then 18-year-old Reece Wickwar, making his league debut for Hassocks in place of the cricketing Jack Simpson, made a superb stop low down to his right to deny the same player.
Hassocks began the second half back in the ascendency as they went hunting for more goals. It was 3-0 on 50 minutes, Gault converting his second spot kick of the afternoon to wrap up his hat-trick after Paul Stevens was penalised for handball.
Miles saw a delicate chip drift just over from 18 yards and was then denied again by the feet of Winter. It was clearly going to be one of those frustrating days in front of goals for the young Hassocks forward.
Not so his strike partner Gault. He tapped in his fourth on 62 minutes after O’Callaghan’s header had been well saved by Winter.
Number five arrived on 74 via a diving header following excellent work down the flank and a perfect cross from Miles.
Gault now had 15 minutes to complete a double hat-trick and rarely can he have worked harder in a Hassocks shirt. He demanded the ball at every opportunity, chased down everything and generally looked like a man possessed.
Unfortunately, there was only one more goal left in it and that fell to Chi. Dormer was the scorer, capping a fine performance of his own with a magnificent 30 yard effort to cruelly deny Wickwar a clean sheet in the 88th minute.
The Robins had a couple of chances before that to add to the score, Hibbert and substitute Spencer Slaughter both flashed efforts wide while Rowan Wallis received a nice reception from the home crowd when he replaced O’Callaghan on 66 having previously played for Chi.
Hassocks coach Harry Millyard received a similar response from the travelling contingent afterwards. It was Millyard’s final game before moving to pastures new in Spain. A record-breaking season rounded off with a 5-1 victory being the perfect send off for a popular figure at the Beacon.
Hassocks: Reece Wickwar; Nick Pitcher, Ashley Marsh, Kieran O’Callaghan, Jamie Weston; James Westlake, Nathan Cooper, Anthony Hibbert, Phil Johnson; Nathan Miles, Phil Gault.
Subs: Spencer Slaughter (Cooper 60), Rowan Wallis (O’Callaghan 66), Luke Pearce (Westlake 73).
Starman: Can’t look beyond Phil Gault for his five goal salvo.
