Hassocks will face Southern Combination League Premier Division rivals Pagham in the second round of the Sussex Principal RUR Charity Cup on Tuesday 17th September.
The tie will take place at the Beacon with a 7.45pm kick off, giving the Robins a run of four consecutive home games. They host Horley Town in the FA Vase on Saturday 14th, the Lions now visit three days later with back-to-back league fixtures following against Lingfield and Loxwood on Saturday 21st and Saturday 28th.
This will be Hassocks’ first game in the RUR Cup of the season having been given a bye in the first round. Pagham meanwhile had been due to face Isthmian League side Chichester City, but their local rivals decided to pull out of the competition to hand the Lions their place in round two.
It will be the first meeting in the RUR Cup between the two sides since the 2003-04 season when Dave John’s side went 4-2 away at Nyetimber Lane.
That’s one of three previous clashes in the competition and ominously for Hassocks, it’s Pagham who have won every one so far.
The Lions denied Hassocks a first ever appearance in a senior final when winning 2-0 in extra time at the semi-final stage in 1994 and a year previous to that it had been a similar story in the last eight where Pagham were 2-1 victors.
Bob Paine’s side are currently below Hassocks in the Premier Division table, but they’ll be buoyed by the early season league fixture between the two.
That took place on Tuesday August 20th at Nyetimber Lane and saw the Lions run out 1-0 winners. Lewis Jenkins scored the only goal of the game nine minutes from time to end the Robins’ resistance with the three points being Pagham’s only maximum haul so far this season.
Likewise, Hassocks only have one league win to their name and that came against East Preston in the second game of the campaign. They have however been excellent in the cup competitions so far, defeating Langney Wanderers and Meridian Valley Park and taking Isthmian League side Chipstead to an FA Cup replay, where only a couple of controversial refereeing decisions denied them giant killing headlines.
The winners will go onto face either high flying Division One outfit Mile Oak or another Premier Division side in Newhaven in the third round.
Entrance will be at the normal prices of £6 adults and £3 concessions with a portion of the gate receipts going towards charities chosen by the Sussex County Football Association.
