Keepers on top in Beacon stalemate
Goalkeepers came out on top at the Beacon where fourthplaced Hassocks and fifthplaced Eastbourne United shared the spoils in a 0-0 stalemate.
Really,theoutcomeshould not have come as a surprise. UnitedaretheSCFLPremier’s drawspecialistswith11nowto their name from 29 matches.
Having lost just three games, Anthony Storey’s side would be well in the title race if they had managed to convert just a couple of those onepointers into three.
WhyUnitedhaveprovenso hard to beat is thanks to their mean defence, providing another reason as why a goalless encounter was no shock.
Ex-Robins number one James Broadbent has concededonly29goalsforUnited,the second-lowesttotalafterEastbourne Town.
Broadbent both reminded the Hassocks faithful of his talents and showcased why his current club have such an impressive defensive record with two outstanding second halfsavestosecurecleansheet number 10 of the campaign.
At the other end, Fraser Trigwell proved equally important as the Robins shutout a United frontline including the Premier Division’s leading scorer, Callum Barlow.
Dan Turner in particular did a fine job in keeping Barlow quiet, meaning that United’s most dangerous player throughthefirsthalfwaslively midfielder Ed Ratcliffe.
Twice Ratcliffe went close togivingthevisitorstheleadin the opening 15 minutes. Trigwell denied him first when narrowing the angle from a one-on-one and saving with a cricket-style long barrier.
When Barlow then timed his run to perfection to spring theoffsidetrap,Hassockswere somewhat fortunate to see his attemptedlobovertheadvancingTrigwelldropontotheroof of the net.
A slow start for the Robins was reminiscent of their previous outing when Steyning TownlefttheBeaconwitha4-0 victory.UnlikeagainsttheBarrowmen, however, Hassocks grew into the game and soon began to create opportunities of their own.
Harvey Blake chose the wrong option on the half hour markwhenattemptingtodink Broadbent after good link up between Jack Troak and Sean Stephenson but the ball sailed harmlessly wide.
The second half was something of a slow burner. Tighe cleared away a low Barlow cross in similar fashion to
Headland earlier, preventing UnitedforwardOllieHullfrom having his own tap in.
But from the 75th minute onwards, the game suddenly came back to life - starting with Broadbent’s first outrageous stop.
Troak laid off to tall striker Jamie Wilkes, whose powerfuldrivefromsixyardsseemed destinedforthetopcorneruntil Broadbent somehow reacted with a strong enough hand to turn it around the post. Broadbent next used his legs to save from Stephenson oneon-one after a Tighe through ball sprung the offside trap.
Quite where referee Paddy O’Reilly got 10 minutes of injury time nobody seemed to know. The action though ebbed and flowed through the additional with neither side wanting to settle for a point.
Pat Harding picked out Troak, leaving the Robins forward to gallop from inside his ownhalf55yardsintotheUnitedbox.ButwhenTroakpulled thetriggeronafiercenearpost drive,Broadbentflunghimself to his left and turned the ball over the bar for his second stunning save of the day.