Hassocks pick up vital point at Dockers

In there recent slide into the relegation zone, Hassocks have lost four times, conceded 15 and scored only one. The lack of fight has been marked.
Phil WickwarPhil Wickwar
Phil Wickwar

They certainly got their fight back at Newhaven's Trafalgar Ground, a venue their record previously read played six, lost six.There was the fight to come back from two goals down to take a point, the fight that saw Hassocks goalkeeper Nathan Stroomberg sent off for choke slamming an opponent, the fight to hold on for the point with joint boss Phil Wickwar in goal for the last 10 minutes.Hassocks made a raft of changes from last weeks crushing 4-0 home defeat to Arundel with Wickwar saying he and Mark Dalgliesh "Wanted a side that want to play for this football club, are fully on board and desperate to keep us up." The most eye-catching selections were bringing Spencer Slaughter back in at centre half where he had his best game of the season and handing a full debut to youth team striker George Galbraith-Gibbons who took the man-of-the-match plaudits, scoring Hassocks' first goal and assisting the second. Hassocks began the game brightly, Bradley Bant drawing a good save from Jake Buss from a one-on-one and Galbraith-Gibbons making the wrong choice when he ignored the pressing run into the box of Harry Mills, instead hitting a tame effort at Buss after being teed up by fellow teenager Jack Wilkins.Newhaven took the lead from the penalty spot when Jordan Badger felled Robinson and the Dockers top scorer dusted himself down to convert from 12 yards. Hassocks felt that decision was harsh with Badger having won the ball but he had gone through the back of Robinson to do so. Kyle Woolven then rattled the bar from a full 25 yards as Newhaven laid siege to the Hassocks goal. Eventually, they added a second. Stroomberg was seemingly caught in two minds about whether to control the ball or clear it first time; the result being he did neither and it bounced off his foot and straight to Robinson who needed no further invitation to double the advantage. Given the Robins woeful record against Newhaven and the fact the hosts had scored 12 unanswered goals against Lancing in an RUR Cup Quarter Final just four days earlier, Hassocks connections could've been fearing the worse but they pulled one back almost immediately. It was a great counter attacking goal, a quick break going through Bant, Will Broomfield and Wilkins before eventually finding Galbraith-Gibbons who produced a stunning finish on the angle two minutes before the break. Newhaven's lightning quick front three began the second half by causing Hassocks problems but the defence of Joe Maskell, Ashley Marsh, Slaughter and Badger held strong while Galbraith-Gibbons was coming into the game more at the other end, delivering a delicious cross which somehow missed Broomfield and Bant piling into the box. It was from another great Galbraith-Gibbons ball in that the equaliser arrived. Newhaven thought they had done enough to clear their lines from a corner but they hadn't counted for James Westlake picking out Galbraith-Gibbons brilliantly and his first time cross was met by a sublime side foot finish from Slaughter who had remained in the box. It was after that that things got really heated. Robinson's attempts to win a best actor Oscar with a less-than-convincing dive in the box didn't impress referee Alexander Bradley who booked the Dockers striker for simulation. It didn't impress Broomfield either as he knocked the ball out of Robinson's hand, sending him into Marsh in the process who went flying as if hit by a bus. That sparked a melee and as handbags began swinging from both sides, Stroomberg arrived to do a passable impression of Jack the Ripper, throwing Robinson to the ground via the throat to earn a thoroughly deserved red card. That wasn't the end of the controversy either and again Robinson was at the heart of it when, into injury time, a free kick was pumped into the Hassocks box. With replacement goalkeeper Wickwar coming to claim it, Robinson beat him to the ball but only by producing his own 'Hand of God' moment to punch it into the back of the net. Robinson and Newhaven ran off celebrating what they thought was the winner only for joy to turn to despair as Hassocks' vehement appeals were backed up by the linesman who had seen the deliberate handball and from going from believing they had won the game, the Dockers found themselves down to 10 men as Robinson picked up his second caution of the game. "We're delighted with the point," Wickwar said afterwards. "We were on the end of a poor decision for the first penalty but then the officials got two big calls right with the second one not being awarded and the handball at the end." "There are some tough games coming up but that was much more like Hassocks today." The Robins are next in action on Boxing Day in an eagerly anticipated Mid Sussex Derby against league leaders Haywards Heath. Kick off in that is 11am at the Beacon.