Hassocks Fatboys Reserves v Woodingdean Wanderers Reserves

Sussex Sunday League Division Four
Sunday 29th September 2019
 

Hassocks Fatboys Reserves finally had their first home match five weeks into the season and to say the weather wasn’t friendly for the visit of Woodingdean Wanderers Reserves would be an understatement.

A monsoon greeted both sides as they arrived at Clayton Rec for Division Four action. So bad were conditions that Bruce Bignell turned up in a Bear Grylls outfit looking like he had spent the weekend camping in the middle of Dartmoor, whereas he had actually only walked from the car park. It was not a great day for Reece Wickwar to lose his car keys either, ensuring he was late on parade and leaving the two teams waiting outside in the rain as he also had the keys to the changing rooms.

Once Reece had arrived, he named his starting lineup. Nick Jones was in goal, with a familiar back four of Nick Davie on the right, Stuart Young on the left and Glen Clayton and Ali Jenkins in the middle. Luke Vick and Bruce were the two holding layers, Reece returned in the number 10 role after naming himself on the bench last week and the front three was El Bod through the middle, Ando on the left and Gregg Chappell on the right.

Gregg was happy to be back with the reserves following his demotion to the first team last week and in a week in which there has been much debate over how you spell his name, he was very keen to make sure everyone knows that it has two G’s. That left a bench of Kevin Ticehurst, Mark Potter, Simon O’Brien, Jules Clay and Des Balderdash.

The Fatboys went out for the warm up and took the tactical decision to do so at the top end of Clayton, hoping that they would therefore start the game shooting downhill with the wind and rain behind them. Of course, this relied on Jones winning the toss which he duly did. He then decided that it would actually be much better to start the game shooting uphill facing the strong wind and rain. Cheers Jonsey.

The early stages of the game were slow, with both teams battling the conditions as well as each other. There was some good football trying to be playe but the rain sodden floor and the slightly long grass made passing difficult. Woodingdean subsequently looked to use the wind to their advantage by playing the ball in the air, and the Fatboys were forced into doing the same to try and relieve some pressure.

Despite battling against the slope and the conditions, it was the Fatboys who looked the most dangerous. Stu and Davie were dealing well with the Wanderers’ wingers who were keen to get on the ball and Glen and Ali were untroubled by the forwards who were forced to drop deep to get involved. When Wanderers did manage to break through the defensive line, 22-year-old Jones was on hand to stop the attacks.

On one occasion, he picked up a nasty injury following a collision with the forward after diving bravely at the attacker’s feet to claim the ball. Going forward, Bod was winning everything in the air which was vital kicking into the wind and Gregg and Ando were giving their full-backs all kind of headaches whenever they got the ball, beating them with ease.

Despite that great start from the Fatboys, it was actually Woodingdean who made the first breakthrough. After deciding they weren’t going to find a way through the back line, they instead saw shooting from range as their best chance of scoring. This ended up being an inspired change in approach as a shot from 25 yards got caught by the wind. In fairness to Jones, it did look to be sailing well over the goal before it suddenly dropped just under the crossbar and in. Sadly for the young goalkeeper, it counts as another lob for the collection.

The Fatboys did not let their heads drop however and straight from kick off they attacked down the left through Ando, forcing a throw deep into the Woodingdean half. As every Fatboy player knows, Reece has a big one, and he launched the ball into the box where a number of players from both teams jumped to meet it at the same time. Bod used his entire 6’6 frame to jump slightly higher than the defenders, flicking the ball into the box (although Bod’s involvement in the build-up is argued by Reece).

Luke was chasing after the flick on, but it looked to be too far ahead of him as the keeper came out to claim what should have been a fairly simple catch. Luke wasn’t about to give up though and he bravely threw his head at the ball to flick it into the bottom corner and pull the Fatboys level.

The game settled down for all of two minutes after this before Woodingdean again started using the conditions to their advantage to give the Fatboys defence plenty to do. A series of corners were defended well by the team in green, which began to frustrate the visiting attackers as they failed to create the chances they probably felt they should have been given that everything was in their favour

Despite all this pressure, the Fatboys were still managing to put together attacks of their own though and it wasn’t long before they scored again. A corner from Reece was flicked on by El Bod, falling perfectly to Gregg inside the six yard box. Amazingly, Gregg didn’t send the ball halfway down Clayton Tunnel but instead smashed it into the net to give the Fatboys their first lead of the game to make it 2-1 with a little over 20 minutes gone.

Woodingdean’s heads dropped a little after this but they needn’t have worried too much as they were soon back on level terms. Another ball over the top was collected inside the box by the forward, who then threw himself to the floor in a dive that Tom Daley would have been proud of. The referee waved play-on and after the Fatboys defenders failed to clear the ball, it fell to another attacker who took a touch before Davie came flying in to foul him. No theatrics needed this time. For the second week in a row the Fatboys have given away a needless penalty, and only had themselves to blame as Jonsey was sent the wrong way for 2-2.

The Fatboys were not to be stopped though. Their performance in the first 30 minutes had given their confidence a huge boost and following another Woodingdean attack coming to nothing, Bruce picked up the ball deep in the his own half and and started running forward to start a counter attack. From there, he went left to Ando, who drove inside before finding Reece with a beautifully weighted through ball which split two Woodingdean defenders. As the keeper came rushing out, Reece slid to reach the ball and he managed to prod it past the keeper into the empty net. It was 3-2 to the Fatboys and no-one could say that they didn’t deserve to be back in the lead.

Not content to rest on their laurels, the Fatboys continued to press for another goal. Young was having another solid morning at left back and he collected the ball before heading up the line. Spotting Gregg making a run on the other flank, Young played a lovely cross field ball to Uckfield’s finest rugby player. Really, the Woodingdean left back should have dealt with the situation but he had a moment of madness which somebody later described as being so terrible that it made Davie’s performance look like Cafu. Gregg took full advantage, steaming into the box and slotting home for his second of the morning and the Fatboys fourth. And all with just 35 minutes of the first half played.

Unsurprisingly, neither side could keep playing at such breakneck speed which had delivered six goals in just over half an hour and the rest of the game was much less eventful, particularly the final 10 minutes of the first half where nothing happened other than a welcome change in the weather. That gave some vindication to Jones’ inspired choice to kick into the wind and rain in the first half, as did the scoreline.

The break was was spent with half of the team pouring water out of their boots and draining their socks. The other half meanwhile were trying to catch their breaths after a tough 45 minutes. Reece elected not to make any changes at the break and so the Fatboys went out for the second 45 hoping for more of the same, as well as believing it should be a little easier with the slope in their favour and much less testing conditions.

Woodingdean were clearly determined to make inroads into the Fatboys two-goal lead and they threw players forward in a search for goals from the first whistle. The back four were more than up for the challenge though and they thwarted virtually every one of the visitor’s attacks despite the mounting pressure. Reece decided that fresh legs were needed to try and break Woodingdean’s dominance and so he made a raft of changes on the hour mark.

In no particular order, they were Jules on for Davie, Des on for Gregg which cruelly denied the forward the chance of a hat-trick, SOB on for Ando, Kev on for Bod and Potter on Bruce, a like-for-like switch in terms of running ability. There was one slight tactical adjustment too as Reece moved himself into the central strikers role with Kev taking up the number 10 position.

So many substitutions in such a short space of time meant that the Fatboys lost their shape a little and this encouraged Woodingdean to pour further forward but once again, the back four stood firm. The Woodingdean defence were doing an equally effective job and that meant the Fatboys’ forwards were restricted to long range shots, all except for Des who had the best chance to score of the second half when he embarked on a powerful run forward.

This being Des, the style was more charging bull than Lionel Messi but it was no less effective and soon he found himself on the edge of the box having bulldozed his way through three defenders. From here, he employed the toe punt technique with the shot flying just wide of the top corner.

With 25 minutes left, Jones decided he was no longer able to continue following that nasty collision with a Woodingdean attacker in the first half. Now, the most sensible thing to do here would be for the manager, a man who has played regularly in goal at County League level for Hassocks, to take the gloves and put someone else on up front. Reece didn’t fancy this though and so instead opted to chuck Gregg back on in goal, his thinking being, “Gregg plays Rugby, so he must be able to catch the ball”.

This proved to be a wise move as Gregg was a more than capable deputy for the young Aussie/Welsh keeper, even keeping the first clean sheet from a Fatboys goalie this season. The Rugby comparisons did not stop with Gregg’s ball handling ability though. Coming out to claim a ball over the top, the stand in keeper picked up the ball before diving head first at the onrushing forwards knees. He then seemed rather annoyed that nobody else jumped into the ruck to keep driving the ball forward.

With minutes remaining in the second half, Reece decided to slow the clock a bit more by making a couple more changes. Bod came back on to replace the player/manager who still didn’t fancy a stint in goal while Bruce replaced Glen in defence. These changes had the desired effect, and the game wound to a close.

This was another important win for the Fatboys, which sees them climb up to fifth in the table with a game in hand on some of those above. It has been a really promising start to the season, especially compared to a year ago when we lost our first eight games in a row. As a result, there is a real optimism in the group that we will be at the right end of the table this season.
 

Fatboys Reserves (4-3-3)

Nick Jones
Could do nothing to stop the wind-assisted first, nor the penalty for the second goal. Everything else he dealt with comfortably until having to go off injured.
Nick Davie
Solid first 20 minutes of the game but gave away a silly penalty for Woodingdean’s second. Lost his head a little but rallied after that to put in a solid performance before being subbed for Jules halfway through the second half. Controversial moment after the game when he told Reece he was going to “make myself get hard” in the shower. Strange person.
Glen Clayton
Another brilliant performance from Glen in defence. If he carries on this form then it surely cannot be long before the first team look to poach him?
Ali Jenkins
Organised the back four well and was constantly trying to encourage his teammates in the awful weather during the first half. Enjoyed getting stuck into tackles in rain, perhaps a little too much on occasions.
Stuart Young
Mr Dependable had his winger in hispocket for most of the game. Eager to get involved in the attacks when he could which resulted in an assist.
Luke Vick
Showed bravery to challenge the keeper for his goal. Put in a solid performance to help out the defence when Woodingdean’s forwards dropped deep looking for the ball. Kept the midfield going despite the changes in the second half.
Bruce Bignell
As you would expect from Bruce, another game full of running. Never gave the Woodingdean central players a moment on the ball when he was hunting them down. Came back on late in the second half to add some mobility to the defence.
Reece Wickwar
Involved in the build-up for two goals as well as getting himself on the scoresheet. Constantly looking to get the ball under control and make something happen for the forward players. Probably should have gone in goal though.
Gregg Chappell
Two goals out pitch and a clean sheet in goal – and he only played for an hour. Gregg finally delivered on the great promise that he has shown in previous games with his brace and he was a very capable deputy for the injured Jones. Despite this, his greatest contribution to the morning was singing along to Bonnie Tyler in the changing room post game. Deserved Man of the Match.
Chris Clayton
There are some things that you can always rely on in life. Death, Mark Potter’s haircut and Chris Clayton winning headers all morning. This was proved true again as Bod was excellent at holding the ball up and winning his flick-ons, earning two assists in the process. Not bad for someone who was at a gig in London the night before and ‘enjoyed’ a very hungover train journey to the game in the morning.
Ando Knott
The Woodingdean right-back will be having nightmares about facing Ando in the return fixture. He had the beating of his opponent all morning, looking a constant threat while doing so. Provided a lovely through ball for Reece to score and yet his greatest contribution was still supplying the McDonalds breakfast before the game.
 

Subs

Mark Potter
Tough ask to replace Bruce but he actually did it very well, adding some more defensive nous to central midfield.
Kevin Ticehurst
As we’ve come to expect from Kev, there was the usual amounts of high energy and getting about the pitch. Playing in the creative ‘10’ role allowed him to get forward more and one long range effort almost went near to the goal.
Simon O’Brien
Another good game from SOB. Came on for Ando on the left to start with and then moved into the lone striker role later on. Deserves a goal from the effort put into the last two games.
Des Balderdash
Unusual position of right wing for Des this week, but just as he did with being put up front last season, he looked comfortable in his new role. One destructive run saw the best chance of the second half go just wide.
Jules Clay
Replaced Davie at right back and gave the Wanderers winger no chance to make an impact. Another impressive display from Clay and most importantly, we managed to keep him away from the linesman’s flag this week.
 

Goals

Vick, assist C Clayton
Chappell, assist C Clayton
Wickwar, assist Knott
Chappell, assist Young
 

Man-of-the-Match

Gregg Chappell. Two goals, a clean sheet and a great performance of Bonnie Tyler in the changing rooms afterwards.