|
HasSocks and SandalsNewhaven FC away to Hassocks FC at The Beacon Ground |
|
Where are we and what's going on?
It’s a lovely sunny evening in West Sussex. The Dockers ⚓ are away to the Robins 🐦 in the first away game of the season. We haven’t seen the new away kit yet. Hope it’s nice. And the first game on grass for a while. Hope it’s not too hard. The pitch does look OK if a little lumpy and the grass is green due to some recent rain in Hassocks.
The teams are out and the Dockers are in light blue with white shorts. We like it. Leo is in goal. In front of him are Matt and Max. Out wide are Rudy and Shay. In the middle are Blunty, Joe and Billy. Up front is Captain Lee with Ezra and Tyler. Strangely, George is on the bench. We expected him to be banned for today's game after his red card. Maybe Andy Burnham had a word and got it suspended 🤣.
The Robins are much taller than Shoreham. We recognise the keeper. He was at Steyning at the end of last season when we played them in the cup. He’s Mitch Bromage whose Dad, Russell, we met at that game.
We have left the dark clouds in Newhaven and it’s nice and sunny in Hassocks. Were sat on a park bench with a good view and we have hot chocolate. The Robins won 5-1 at the weekend so have the advantage of knowing where the goal is.
There is a change of ends before the start. The Dockers must have won the toss as the Robins are now starting facing into the low sun ☀. Oh dear, what a pity, nevermind. Anyone want to borrow a cap and some shades 🧢🕶. Come on you Dockers ⚓.
Off we go..
The sides are feeling each other out. It might take the Dockers a while to get the feel of the pitch.
We get a corner, then another but the soft header is easily caught.
On 20 minutes, the Robins unveil their secret weapon. The No. 6 Kyle Sim, has a long throw. He can easily reach the near post. It’s easily caught this time.
A great cross from Robbo find Tyler who's shot bounces down off the bar and Billy is on hand to tap it home on 21 ⚽. 0-1.
Ezra cuts in after a run down the left and puts in a good cross but it just evades Lee on 27.
There is a pause in the play as Max is down injured on 28. The Dockers use it as an impromptu hydration break 🚰 while the Robins just stand around having a nice chat 🗣. Max goes off and it seems like he has to wait a couple of minutes to come back on. Ref must have been busy.
It looks Tyler is playing as the 10 with Billy in the 9 and Lee on the right.
A long Robins throw into the Dockers box, it’s headed a few times by both teams before one of the Robins lobs it way over the goal. Glad we parked at the other end.
A thundering shot from the edge of the Dockers box is clearly stopped by a light blue clad elbow. The ref doesn’t (can’t) see it and neither does the lino on the far side. We have a clear view and sit back quietly watching the Robins players and fans venting their frustrations at the ref 😶.
A good run by Billy down the left ends in a poor cross that is easily caught by the keeper. The Dockers falling short on quality again tonight.
Tyler makes a good break away on 45+3 but he’s hacked down in the centre circle. It would appear that the ref doesn’t want to own up that he has forgotten his cards as that is a clear yellow.
It's 45+4 when the whistle goes and it’s a 0-1 lead for the visitors.
The Dockers are back in action as Billy’s deep run sees him cut the ball back to Lee but it’s intercepted. Billy was in a good place for a shot. Just HIT IT. Too much time spent trying the perfect goal.
A long ball from Lee finds Billy who crosses to Joe. Joe goes for power and the ball flies way over and heading for the car park.
Leo is needed to make a good save on 62. The ball runs loose in the box and the Robins forward throws himself into a sliding tackle . He gets to the ball and prods it towards the goal. Leo anticipates it well and makes the stop.
Robbo runs on to a ball down the right and knocks it past the defender who then flattens him. An easy yellow . But apparently, it’s a dropped ball for the Robins. How bizarre 🤪.
Ezra goes down in the centre circle on 60. Didn’t see what happened but it’s another hydration break. Ezra hobbles off and is replaced by Jesse Lambert.
Tyler makes way for Dan Allen on 70.
Some good play by Jesse and Joe gets the ball to Lee at the edge of the box. He makes himself the space and slots it into the bottom corner on 75 ⚽. Classic Robbo. 1-2. Back in the lead.
Leo is being kept busy now as he makes a good catch after a cross is flicked on by a Robin head.
The ref is counting down every time Leo has the ball. It’s not exactly speeding things up as he knows exactly how long he can waste now. 5-4-3-2-1-kick.
The Robins are starting to push more now. Leo slices a goal(miss)kick and it slams into the home bench. Hope no-one was hurt.
There is a cheer from the crowd on 88 as they think the Robins have equalised but somehow Rudy Jones clears it off the line. There is dismay in the Robins. The ref checks with the assistant. No goal ❌. Try again boys.
It’s so close again but the Dockers head it off the line twice on 90+2. It’s getting nervy at the back. The Robins are desperate for an equaliser and might get it yet.
The shot from range on 90+6 is a desperate and easy catch for Leo.
The Dockers get one more chance as Jesse gets clear but his shot is tame. He is harassing the keeper though, which is helping to run down the clock.
It’s finally over on 90+8. And breath. Time for a quick photo of the posh scoreboard (🦃1-2⚓) before we head home.
We think it’s all over..
That was a difficult watch at times. I’m not sure that the best team won but the most stubborn one did. Some very last ditch defending kept us in the game. Neither team played well and the result flattered us but Lee found a bit of quality to get it and us over the line. Reliable Robbo.
The subs did seem to help this time, adding energy. Jesse was a great threat chasing and harassing giving Billy a rest. It helped to run down the clock as they put us under pressure in the dying minutes.
The opponents provided very little threat in the first 45. Their goal came out of nowhere. The biggest threat they had came was the long throw. They kept using it but never got the better of the Dockers’ defenders.
It was nice of our host to provide a nice big scoreboard to take selfies in front of. Thanks for that. And it makes it easier to tell “How Much?” time the man in black has added on. It did seem to go on and on ⏱.
It’s 3 points on the board for the Dockers and that moves them up to 5th just behind the teams with 2 wins.
It’s been an enjoyable evening, sitting on our bench on a bank with a good view. Up next is Forest Row away in the FA Cup on Friday. See you there.
The Other Bits
POTM: He’s back and in some style. A goal and an almost assist to Lee (big) Robbo 🏅. Well done Lee.
Officially Opinionated: We have more than a little (oops) to say about the ref tonight. He was very pedantic (and we do like a pedantic ref) making sure all the free kicks were taken from the correct spot. He also counted down every time Leo had the ball. It did seem to slow things down because he waited as long as he could. He made the delay inevitable. Every time. He did miss the handball that the Robins claimed. But he was unsighted by a crowd of tall players. He did wind up both sets of players and staff but he was at least consistent. We have seen and will see much much worse officiating.
The assistants got their calls mostly right. It’s easy to criticise when you are level with the line and he is running to keep up. So well done. Thanks.
Programme perusal: The programme is great. It’s not shiny but here is great content. A bargain at £2.
The Scran’O’meter rated the hot chocolate at 7.5. The bench we drank it on added +1 so it’s 8.5 tonight.
See you soon.
Love Tranmerekat 🐾
 |
| Blue sky at Hassocks |
 |
| Nice new scoreboard 😉 |
