Hassocks arrived at Nyetimber Lane in second place in the league table and unbeaten in their first three games. The Robins were on top from the off dominating possession but without troubling the Lions goal. Unfortunately, Pagham centre half Daryl Wollers received a nasty facial injury after only 10 minutes and not for the first time during the evening, Pagham found themselves a man short. Wollers had treatment for about five minutes with Phillips deputising in his position. But just as he returned, Hassocks scored when a corner was whipped over and Pat Harding headed home unchallenged. Pagham then had a short period of pressure forcing four corners but only one bought an attempt on goal when a clearance found Alfie Davidson on the edge of the box but his shot went straight to the keeper. By the time 30 minutes were up, Pagham had already had two players booked, which was surprising considering there had been no significant incidents. In the 33rd minute a long ball upfield found the Hassocks centre forward clear down the middle and though Connor Kelly made a good save from Benson, his strike partner, Kyle Woolven, coolly netted the rebound. Pagham, no doubt frustrated by their poor performance and inconsistent refereeing, were beginning to lose their heads and just before half time Dan Simmonds was the first Lion to be sinbinned for a rant at the referee after being penalised for a tug of the shirt. At the half-time interval, Wollers, probably suffering from a broken nose, was substituted along with Phillips. The second-half began with Pagham still with 10 men and Hassocks did nearly score again. Frustratingly no sooner did Simmonds return but Lucas Micevicius talked himself into 10 minutes in the sin bin. Not surprisingly, Hassocks were dominating possession, but Connor Kelly was dealing easily with any attempts on his goal. In the 67th minute, totally against the run of play, Pagham were back in the game when the two Hassocks centre halves collided and gifted Simmonds with a one-on-one, which he tucked home. This did perk up the Lions and for the first time they started putting passes together and took control, though without troubling the opposition's goal. The possibility of a surprise equaliser, was snuffed out in the 84th minute when Jamie Ford received a second yellow for an innocuous challenge and he was joined in the early bath two minutes later by Kardos getting a straight red for a tackle which this referee was always going to punish to the maximum. There was time for a strong appeal for a Pagham penalty when Kazlauskas appeared to be pushed over in the box, but Mr Alli waved away the appeals. The game finished 2-1 to Hassocks which they deserved. Overall it was a poor team performance by the Lions whether they had 11, ten or nine players on the field. Pagham: Kelly, Hauxwell, Micevicius, Phillips, Ford, Wollers, Davidson, Woolston, Simmons, Jefkins, Kazlauskas. Subs Used, Kardos, Thorne, Howard and Carroll.
