CROWS CRACKER MEANS NO HAPPY RETURN TO ALDERBOOK
Hassocks Under 23s became the first Robins side to travel to Crowborough Athletic since 2014 but it was an evening to forget as they suffered a 1-0 defeat.
Edmund Lewis scored the only goal of the game with a superb first half strike which maintained the Crows unbeaten start to the Southern Combination League North Division season, ending Hassocks’ mini winning run in the process.
The last time Hassocks made the long journey west had been for a first team game when Crowborough were members of the Sussex County League before the FA controversially moved them into the Southern Counties East League six years ago.
It finished 4-0 to the hosts on that occasion, a 2013-14 end-of-season game when Hassocks were riddled by injuries and manager Mickey Jewell had to field a number of players from the Under 18s who would go onto win the Central Division title a few weeks later. Most of the Hassocks squad that returned to the Alderbrook in 2020 were barely in secondary school when that previous meeting take place.
It may have been a young team which headed to Crowborough but it was also a strong one. Several first team players supplemented the Under 23s regulars who had won their previous two outings, beating Oakwood 2-1 a fortnight ago and the Crows’ local rivals Jarvis Brook 3-2 in a humdinger at the Beacon a week previously.
Of those senior players on show, Louis Pittock’s return after six weeks injured would have been the most pleasing for Hassocks. Pittock had not been seen since limping out of the Robins’ 3-0 FA Vase defeat to Peacehaven & Telscombe after only two minutes.
Young Jack Gardner has made the number 2 shirt his own whilst Pittock has been on the sidelines and those two now look set for an intriguing battle going forward – the sort of healthy competition for places that Hassocks have been sorely lacking in recent seasons.
Harvey Enticknap came in for his first Under 23s start of the season with Dan Turner rounding off the first team contingent, although he had to settle for a place among the substitutes.
Pittock and Enticknap were not the only two changes to the starting XI from last week’s victory against Brook – Shay Leahy came in for his full debut with Connor Bradley, Tom Jupp and Marshall Smith all dropping down to the bench.
As good as Hassocks’ line up was, Crowborough were equally talented. That led to an enthralling, end-to-end tie which could have gone either way. What made the entertainment more impressive was the conditions it the game was played out in, the first half taking place in driving rain and a swirling wind which were no fun for anyone.
Lewis’ goal arrived during that opening period when he beat Jayden Dunkley with 23 minutes on the clock and despite plenty of hard work after that, the Robins could not find a way back into the tie to draw a blank for the first time in the league this season.
Hassocks: Jayden Dunkley, Louis Pittock, Ben O’Leary, Luke Marshall, Harvey Ransome, Harvey Enticknap, Ben Hicks, Jamie Wilkes, Shay Leahy, George Galbraith-Gibbons, Lewis Beebee.
Subs: Marshall Smith, Jay Hudson, Dan Turner, Connor Bradley, Tom Jupp (used).
