Benson bags on Beacon return to send Hassocks FC past Rayners Lane in FA Cup
The Emirates FA Cup extra preliminary qualifying round draw handed Hassocks a taste of the quality of opposition to come in their first ever campaign as an Isthmian League club.
Rayners Lane finished 11th in the Isthmian South Central Division last season before a sideways move into the Southern League for 2025-16.
Meaning the Robins were hosting a solid, mid table outfit from step four at the Hassocks Hotel Beacon Ground. A deserved 1-0 victory should therefore provide plenty of encouragement for the nine months which lie ahead.
James Westlake has spent most of the summer attempting to persuade his Southern Combination League and Peter Bentley Cup double-winning squad to stay with the Robins and take on the challenge of Isthmian League football.
Hassocks paying players for the first time as a result of the extra commitment needed at step four has helped. Although Jack Troak will have to wait a little longer to benefit from extra cash in the pocket.
“There go my wages,” said Troak after he was shown a yellow card in a strange incident where the referee and assistant disagreed over where a throw should be taken from.
Troak was moved from one place to another and then back again by officials seemingly unaware they were handing out contradicting information, resulting in him being booked for not following instructions.
As for new acquisitions, four signings have arrived - Liam Benson, Matt Gunn, Rob Malila and Lewis Finney.
It was Benson who notched the only goal of the game here early in the second half on what was a livewire first home appearance since re-joining the Robins from Haywards Heath Town.
The opportunity came via a well-worked move, starting with a throw from Raging Joe Bull on the left flank. Josh Mundy, Bull and Shay Leahy all combined to move play into the middle where Big Alex Fair had arrived from the right.
Fair dinked a deft scooped pass over bamboozled Lane defender Tom Chiabi to put Benson in one-on-one. He made no mistake, firing past advancing visiting goalkeeper Charlie Patmore with aplomb.
Benson had gone close twice to breaking the deadlock in the first half. The striker displayed some classic hold up play in the build up to his first sight of goal, bringing down a Fair clearance on halfway before laying off to tall striker Jamie Wilkes.
The rangy Wilkes lobbed a first-time pass forward which Benson raced away to latch onto. He outmuscled Zak Brown, only to be denied by an excellent flying save from Patmore at the near post.
Rayners Lane almost took the lead in response via a clever short corner routine between Kean Graver and Qasim Khan.
Graver went for goal from 25 yards with an effort which initially appeared to be sailing harmlessly over, only to dip significantly at the last moment and smash onto the top of the bar.
Benson ran clear of the Lane defence again on the half hour after Matt Gunn won a towering header and Fair sent another ball over the top. Patmore saved this time using his feet.
Hassocks passed up another chance on the stroke of half time when Fair and Benson led a break. The angle though proved too tight for Fair, whose shot flashed across the face of goal and wide.
Almost immediately after the Robins went ahead on 51 minutes, Rayners Lane missed a big opportunity to equalise. Frankie Bircham escaped from Gunn and advanced one-on-one, shooting straight at James Shaw.
The game ebbed and flowed through the final 30. Malila fired over after charging forward from right back. Shaw did well to hold a blistering shot from Junior Pavia and Patmore used his feet once more, this time to keep out a low Troak effort.
Lane substitute Youell Emmanuel looked the most likely individual to salvage a replay for the visitors. Two lively runs took him past several Hassocks players, only for the final shot to fly inches off target.
The Robins’ reward is a preliminary qualifying round home tie against fellow Isthmian South East side Beckenham Town in two weeks time. But before that - the small matter of Hassocks’ historic first ever league game at step four when Herne Bay visit Mid Sussex next Saturday.
Hassocks: Shaw; Malila, Gunn, Hendy, Bull; Mundy, Leahy; Fair, Wilkes, Troak; Benson. Subs: Finney (Mundy), Furnell (Bull), Pitcher (Benson), Enticknap (Wilkes), Vale, Farrell, Allen (unused).