Hassocks and Haywards Heath keep up challenges with home wins

Hassocks 4 Loxwood 0

by Scott McCarthy

Temperatures at the Beacon may have been touching freezing but the action on the pitch was pretty heated as Hassocks ran out 4-0 winners over Loxwood in a feisty encounter.

Two Magpies’ staff were sent from the dugout in the second half, including former Robins number one and current Loxwood goalkeeper coach Alex Harris. With a meltdown and a couple of banishments, it was all a bit like watching an episode of The Traitors.

What sparked the chaos was the Magpies’ belief that Hassocks were being overly theatrical and referee Tazlim Ali was buying it. The reality though was the Robins were just too good for their visitors in wide areas, earning foul after foul.

To prove the point, goals one and three arrived from enterprising wing player. Goal four came from a corner and goal two when Loxwood found themselves horrifically out of formation as Hassocks countered.

In fact, Loxwood were lucky not to concede two penalties. The Robins should have had their first spot kick on six minutes when Kieran Britland tripped Leon Turner just inside the box. Mr Ali instead ruled the foul had taken place outside the area and awarded a free kick.

Turner was an absolute livewire throughout. On 10 minutes, he breezed past two Magpies players cutting in from the left and hit a shot from outside the box which drew a fine low save from Jacob Bennett.

With Alex Fair frequently drifting left from his number 10 role, Loxwood had their work cut out down that flank. Fair made the opening goal on 16 minutes but he had already shown before that he was in one those moods which make him pretty much unplayable.

His first trademark Cruyff turn arrived with six minutes on the clock. Fair then outrageously went for goal direct from a corner, swerving a right footed delivery with vicious bend against the face of the near post.

Loxwood could only half clear back towards Fair. He picked up the pieces, a second Cruyff Turn of the afternoon bamboozled Shay Matthews and created space to reach the by-line. From there, Fair crossed low and hard to leave Alex Bygraves with a tap in from a matter of yards.

Fair could have scored himself nine minutes later. Sean Stephenson swung over a perfect cross from the right into the gap between the Loxwood defence and Bennett. All it needed was Fair to connect and steer home. Unfortunately, it hit the back of his leg and the chance was gone.

Not that it mattered. Fair made the scoresheet on the half hour as Loxwood went from almost equalising to falling 2-0 behind inside 30 seconds.

Magpies captain Harry Law was left unmarked at the back post from a corner but could only head straight at Fraser Trigwell. Straight up the other end Hassocks went, Trigwell launching a quick attack through Turner and Stephenson.

Loxwood seemed to have no idea how to transition back, to the point where striker Tim Bennett ended up as last man trying to defend Stephenson’s long ball over the top. Needless to say, this did not end well. Bennett only succeeded in heading directly into the air under pressure from Jack Troak. Fair collected and rounded the goalkeeper before rolling into the empty net.

The third Hassocks goal arrived five minutes before the break. Turner again proved unstoppable on a charge inside from the left, playing a square pass straight into the path of Jamie Wilkes after Troak dummied. Without breaking stride, the rangy Wilkes picked out the bottom left corner with aplomb.

Into the second half and Loxwood started the better side. Bennett drew a superb tip over from Trigwell and Kaiden Hummerston put a looping header onto the roof of the net.

The end of the Magpies’ brief spell on top coincided with the head loss from the bench, sparked initially when Turner was brought down in front of the dugout. When the same happened to Raging Joe Bull, Harris was the first to go. The second red card was bizarre in the extreme, Loxwood complaining too vehemently after Hassocks were denied their second clear cut penalty when a Stephenson cross hit the hand of Matthews.

By now, Hassocks were starting to get riled by the antics of the Magpies bench. Unlike their visitors directing their ire at Mr Ali, the Robins channeled the frustration in the right manner by adding a fourth with 10 minutes remaining. Bull swung over a corner and Pat Harding rose to score with a header; something of a collector’s item for Super Pat’s 10th of the season.

Hassocks remain third in the league, just four points behind leaders Newhaven.

Hassocks: Trigwell; B Tighe, Bygraves, Gunn, Bull; Stephenson, Wilkes, Williamson, L Turner; Fair; Troak. Subs: Mundy (Fair 61), Harding (Wilkes 70), Miles (Turner 78), Durand (Troak 82), Blake (Stephenson 92).

Goals by Hayden Skerry and Lewis Finney gave Haywards Heath Town a 2-0 victory over Peacehaven and Telscombe at the Hanbury and meant they leapfrogged their visitors in the table to move into fifth place.

Heath are back in action on Tursday night, with a visit to Horsham YMCA.

See pictures by Ray Turner from Haywards Heath v Peacehaven in the slideshow in the video player at the top of the article.