NINE MAN HASSOCKS PICKED OFF BY IMPRESSIVE YMCA
There was plenty of drama as Hassocks resumed their Southern Combination League Under 23 North Division campaign with a 2-0 home defeat against title chasing Horsham YMCA.
This was a tough fixture for the Robins to return to action in. YM have been one of Sussex’s best Under 23 sides for a number of seasons now and they arrived at the Beacon two points behind leaders Alfold with a game in hand.
The Gorings Mead outfit were top when the 2019-20 season was declared null and void having pipped Hassocks to the title in the 2018-19 campaign thanks to an excellent end-of-year run of form which saw them overhaul Nigel Pearce’s side at the head of the table.
Hassocks knew all too well that they were in a difficult evening after six weeks off. The Robins gave a good account of themselves but ultimately, two red cards proved to be too much of a hurdle to overcome as they fell to defeat.
Before lockdown, the Beacon was the place to be if you wanted to see goals. Since football resumed for December, it appears that red cards are all in vogue.
On Tuesday night, Hassocks’ Andy Whittingham and Broadbridge Heath’s Alfie Jones were both sent off as the Bears picked up a 1-0 Premier Division win in Mid Sussex.
Referee Daniel D’Urso flashed a further six yellow cards on a pretty spicy evening in which the action on the pith was in stark contrast to the temperatures off it.
Fast forward 48 hours and there was a straight red card for Hassocks goalkeeper Conor Evento with Shay Leahy finding the time to pick up two yellows after his introduction as a substitute.
Evento’s dismissal led to 45-year-old Phil Wickwar coming off the bench to take over in goal for his Under 23 debut, an important mark in the career of a young shot stopper who Hassocks have high hopes for.
Giving players like Wickwar the chance to bridge the gap between youth team football and first team football is exactly what the development league was designed to do and it shows the clear pathway in place at the Beacon.
It also meant that Wickwar wrote a little bit of Hassocks history as the only man to have played first team, reserves, Under 23, Under 18 and veterans football for the Robins.
Hassocks were 1-0 down by the time he entered proceedings early in the second half. The Robins looked like they were going to make it to half time on level terms until Ronnie Burchell gave YM the lead a minute before the break.
Evento saw red not long after the restart and once Leahy joined him in the early bath club 25 minutes later, any hopes Hassocks had of getting back into the tie were gone. 10 minutes after that second dismissal and YM made the game safe through substitute Ronnie Burchell.
There were at least a couple of positives for Hassocks, other than Wickwar’s debut. Former Shoreham youngster Charlie Tuck made his first appearance in Hassocks colours and Joe Bull and Alfie Loversidge both returned to action after struggling with injury pre-lockdown.
Hassocks: Conor Evento, Charlie Tuck, Thomas Jupp, Connor Bradley, Harvey Ransome, Harvey Enticknap, Ben Hicks, Jamie Wilkes, Alfie Loversidge, George Galbraith-Gibbons, Joe Bull.
Subs: Lewis Beebee, Alex Crawford, Shay Leahy, Brad Sweetman, Phil Wickwar (used).
