Four first half goals see off Hassocks

In a match that lived up to the well worn cliché of football being a game of two halves, the Lions stormed into an unassailable lead within 38 minutes through goals from Jake Hawker, Lewis Hamilton and a Scott Murfin brace.

Dave John’s charges responded by being the better team after the break, winning the second half 1-0 in a performance that will have given great encouragement to the travelling Robins faithful ahead of a number of massive games against fellow sides towards the bottom of the Division One table to come in the next few weeks.

The diminutive Murfin has often proven to be a thorn in Hassocks’ side down the years and on this occasion it took him inside two minutes to give Pagham the lead, converting with aplomb after being fed by strike partner Rob Wimble.

The Lions continued to lay siege to the Robins goal with Jack Simpson facing shot after shot with the lead finally being doubled with less than ten minutes played thanks to Hawker’s run and shot.

Hamilton made it 3-0 with a quarter of an hour gone, tucking away the battling Liam O’Connors ball into the box.

Hassocks woke up slightly after that, Dan Stokes going close with a couple of drives from distance before Phil Johnson hauled them back into the game, home goalkeeper James Binfield and his defence getting into a right mess which allowed the Robins top scorer to fire home with ease for his fifth of the campaign.

The deficit remained two goals for all of sixty seconds, Murfin again the scorer as his run and shot left Simpson with no chance.

The visitors came out all guns blazing after the break and should have had a penalty on the hour mark, Johnson being hauled down in the box with everybody inside Nyetimber Lane expecting referee Ian Homewood to point to the spot and then just to compound the forwards misery he was harshly booked a minute later.

Having missed one blatant spot kick, Mr Homewood evened things up with five minutes remaining when substitute Ryan Collins went down in the area and after looking at his linesman, the official did award the penalty which Nick Pitcher struck home in trademark style despite the protests of the home team.

Hassocks: J Simpson; O’Brien, Marsh, Pitcher, Davess; Stokes, Bant, Price, Robbins, Williams; Johnson.

Subs: Jacques, Collins, S Brown (used), P Wickwar (unused).