Hassocks’ final game of 2018 will take place against Shoreham at Middle Road where they will be looking to inflict more misery on a Musselmen side who will be glad to see the back of the year.
If you think that Hassocks have endured a difficult time of it, then spare a thought for Shoreham for whom nothing seems to have gone right since they won the Southern Combination League title in 2017.
Their planning for their first campaign at the higher level could only begin once their promotion was confirmed late in the day when Haywards Heath Town were stripped of the championship for playing an ineligible player, leaving them to play catch up in the recruitment stakes.
Shoreham then lost manager Bryan O’Toole and most of their title winning squad, with new boss Sammy Donnelly having to rely on young players to make the step up.
Relegation followed in May and things haven’t been much better this season, Donnelly stepping down recently with the Musselmen sitting 17th in the table, just two points outside of the relegation zone and with no win since October.
Shoreham’s new boss is Curtis Foster who has left Worthing United to take up the position at Middle Road. He will have a watching brief for the visit of the Robins before taking full charge against Horsham YMCA in the club’s first game of 2019.
Foster will have a talented squad to work with, a couple of whom will be familiar to Hassocks fans. Goalkeeper James Broadbent left the Beacon for the chance to play Bostik League football in the summer of 2017 and has remained with the Musselmen for this season.
Broadbent was outstanding in the nine months he spent with the Robins, playing 39 times and saving four penalties along the way to take a clean sweep of Player’s Player, Manager’s Player and Supporter’s Player of the Season awards at the end of the 2016-17 campaign.
Shoreham can also call upon the services of young defender Josh Tuck who played 19 times for the Robins last season and forward Michael McCormick who netted four times in 15 games for the Under 21’s across the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.
The Musselmen have been one of Hassocks’ most frequent opponents in the Southern Combination League with 49 meetings to date. Hassocks have won 21 and Shoreham 17 while there have been 11 draws with the only senior football competition the two sides have never met in is the FA Vase.
The last meeting between the two saw Hassocks put in one of their best performances for many years when Shoreham came to the Beacon in February 2017.
The visitors were top of the table and Hassocks in a relegation battle but the Robins blew their visitors away to win 4-1 through a Liam Benson brace and goals from Jack Rowe-Hurst and Michael Death. Rob O’Toole had opened the scoring for the hosts.
Hassocks will be hoping for a similar result this time although that won’t be easy against a Shoreham side with a point to prove to their new boss. Kick off is 3pm at Middle Road and admission is priced at £6 adults, £4 concessions and Under 16s go free.
