Broadbridge Heath edge win at Horsham YMCA – Hassocks and Little Common maintain fine form

Horsham YMCA 0 Broadbridge Heath 1

Horsham YMCA, struggling at home this season, welcomed their title-chasing near neighbours Broadbridge Heath to Gorings Mead on Saturday, with the visitors edging the hard fought game by the single goal after the hosts had enjoyed much of the first half possession.

YM survived an early scare before their new signing, Luke Robertson, challenged the Heath defence. And, in culmination of another YM move,Tom Tolfrey blazed over ahead of Heath breaking through to no avail. Four YM corners followed in quick succession, but Heath responded with a set piece of their own, with Alex Barbary bursting through to no avail ahead of Adrian Todd going too aerial, the first half finishing goal-less courtesy of staunch defending at either end.

But, straight after the resumption, a goal came – through a free kick looped across for Heath skipper Ryan Brackpool to head into the corner of the net from the far post. Heath then had two corners, with Jamie Rice booting over for YM in between. Outrushing YM keeper Aaron Jeal then dived heedlessly to snuff out a dangerous-looking Heath attack. YM, though, kept pressing with sub Alfie Maguire and Stan Berry both pushing for an equaliser in the dying moments, only to be thwarted.

Post match Heath manager Chris Simmonds told the County Times: “This wasn’t the greatest game of football, local derbies often aren’t, but we’ve learnt to scrap things out and the three points keep us in the hunt.”

Disappointed YM boss Dean Carden said: “After all those corners, we were really buzzing at half time with high hopes of at least a point, so, yes, it was frustrating, but I can’t fault my players for the effort they put in.”

On Saturday, with the business end of the season fast approaching, in a top of the table clash, Heath entertain Newhaven, with YM travelling to upper table Crowborough Athletic.

- MARTIN READ

Hassocks 2 Loxwood 0

Another win and a fourth clean sheet in a row means Hassocks are moving almost unnoticed into the ever tightening battle for a Southern Combination League Premier Division top six finish.

Second half goals from Alex Bygraves and the in-form Phil Johnson secured a rare 2-0 success over Loxwood at the Beacon, opponents who they had only defeated at home once before.

The Robins remain 10th in the table but are now just four points behind Steyning Town in fifth and with a game in hand on most of the six teams separating them from the Barrowmen.

And Hassocks should expect to make progress up the standards all the while they keep recording shutouts.

You have to go back more than 20 years to find the last time the Robins went on such a mean streak of not conceding.

The difference James Shaw has made since his arrival from Tooting & Mitcham last month cannot be understated, especially in terms of the organisation he has brought to the Hassocks backline.

To secure this latest clean sheet, Hassocks had to withstand a lot of Loxwood pressure during a first half in which the visitors were the better team.

Kieron Joseph should have done better with a back post header from a free kick early on which he needed to get on target at the very least.

There was precious little else to report from the opening 20 minutes until opportunities at either end came almost from nowhere in the same passage of play.

Jack Troak’s attempted back header to Shaw lacked the required power and when ex-Robin Jake Lindsey got their first to round the Hassocks goalkeeper, Loxwood looked certain to score.

That was until a remarkable piece of defending from Sam Smith, coming from nowhere to get back and produce a stretching block which kept out Lindsey’s effort.

From there, Troak collected the loose ball and hit a long pass forwards. Liam Benson beat Brendan Millborrow in the air with a flick on which sent Leon Turner racing into the box.

Millborrow showed a decent turn of foot to catch up with the speedy Turner before using both hands to push the winger in the back and to the ground.

With no official close enough to the action, Hassocks found themselves missing out on one of the most blatant penalties you will see.

Chances began to come after that. Alfie Loversidge placed a weak effort straight at Loxwood goalkeeper Jordan Brown and Magpies left back Shane Saunders joined an attack to bend a high shot just wide of Shaw’s post.

Harvey Blake had a couple of opportunities to mark his 100th Hassocks appearance with a goal, being denied twice by Brown.

A crunching Benson tackle then turned over possession, James Westlake fed Johnson but again Brown stayed big and made the save.

Loxwood started the second half strongly. Callum Dowdell tried his luck from 30 yards with the ball last seen hurtling towards the 16.02 Southern service to Brighton.

Jay Popham was much closer with a free kick which skimmed the top of the net with Shaw scrambling before the Magpies had strong penalty appeals of their own turned down.

A miscommunication between Troak and Westlake allowed Lindsey to nip between the two and take the ball.

In his attempts to retrieve the situation, Troak appeared to trip Lindsey. Unlike with Hassocks’ first half spot kick claims, referee Paul Ransome had a perfect view of this one and waved played on.

That proved to be a crucial moment in the course of the game as the Robins took the lead shortly after.

Westlake swung a corner into a dangerous area at the back post where Bygraves arrived to power a towering header past Brown.

Loxwood almost equalised immediately from a corner of their own. Lindsey delivered and substitute Terrell Joseph did everything right with his header, only to see Mike Williamson clear off the line.

The second Hassocks goal arrived eight minutes after the first and was well crafted.

Blake skipped around Saunders after a throw was returned to him by Pat Harding and crossed low and hard.

Loversidge got a deft touch at the front post, Westlake in the middle of the box dummied and it was left for Johnson to tap in his seventh goal from his past seven appearances to double the advantage.

Loxwood seemed deflated after that and the final 20 minutes was dominated by the Robins searching for a third.

Westlake was too high from a Troak cross and Brown produced further good saves from a Turner one-on-one, a close range Johnson header meeting a lovely delivery from Joe Bull and a Josh Bradley piledriver.

Hassocks: Shaw; Blake, S Smith, Bygraves, Troak; Loversidge, Williamson, J Westlake, L Turner; Johnson, Benson. Subs: Harding (Benson 57), J Bradley (Loversidge 64), Bull (Turner 78), Wilkes (Johnson 87), B Tighe (unused).

- SCOTT McCARTHY

Saltdean 0 Little Common 5

Little Common made it five wins from six matches with a comfortable 5-0 victory against Saltdean United on Saturday.

The hosts had failed to win a match since the end of October, a run stretching back fifteen matches but they almost took the lead within the opening two minutes when Common failed to clear a cross into the box and a shot from the edge of the area cannoned off the crossbar.

Common took the lead in the 9th minute when a Sam Cruttwell corner was chested over the line by Lewis Parsons and doubled their lead three minutes later when Cruttwell released Freddie Warren who volleyed home the second.

Common were now in total control and looked menacing at every attack, Parsons saw a header tipped over the bar and a Sam Ellis cross just eluded Lewis Hole. Common’s third came in the 19th minute when Alvin Scott chased a loose ball in the area and lifted an effort beyond the keeper and into the far corner of the net.

Warren saw an effort parried to safety and Ellis drew a low stop from the home keeper. A nice spell of football saw Cruttwell release Scott for his second in the 29th minute to give Common a commanding 4-0 lead at the interval.

The fifth and final goal of the game came three minutes after the restart when Russell Eldridge’s free kick found Jamie Bunn in the area who swivelled and sent a dipping shot across the keeper and into the net.

Common could have added to their lead with Paul Feakins seeing a close range effort smothered by the keeper and Cruttwell seeing a long range effort dip just over the crossbar.

Subsitute Ashley Latuske saw an effort clear the crossbar from close range and a Cruttwell free kick in the dying minutes of the match was turned around the post.