Our second attempt to get Little Common’s visit played takes place this Tuesday night as Russel Eldridge brings his side on the long journey to Mid Sussex.
The original tie had been scheduled to take place on Saturday 2nd November but was lost to a waterlogged pitch. This could well turn out to be bad news for Hassocks as since that day, Common have been on a barnstorming run of form which means they will arrive at the Beacon in good spirits.
Common have won four of their past six Premier Division fixtures, leaving them sitting in fourth place in the form table. Eldridge’s men have their eyes firmly up the table now as they look to continue their steady rise up the footballing pyramid.
Last season was their first ever game in the top flight of the Southern Combination League, although they had seen destined to make it to the Premier Division for some time.
They came close to promotion on several occasion since entering Division One in 2009 and were only denied a top flight place at the end of the 2016-17 season due to a controversial ground grading ruling after finishing as runners up.
A relaxation in ground sharing rules saw them become tenants at Eastbourne United’s Oval ground and that coupled with a barnstorming 2017-18 season in which they were crowned Division One champions saw them play Premier Division for the first time in their history.
Understandably, consolidation was the name of the game last time around and they had a solid campaign, never really being dragged into the dogfight at the bottom of the table and eventually finishing in 16th spot, eight points clear of the relegation zone.
Player-manager Eldridge will be keen for progress to be made in 2019-20 and they’re going reasonably well so far, sitting in 12th spot with six wins, two draws and seven defeats coming from 15 games so far.
They also claimed the notable FA Cup scalp of Isthmian League side Three Bridges on a run to the first qualifying round of the competition, their best ever performance.
All this continues a remarkable upward journey for a club who were playing in the East Sussex League as recently as 2004. Over the past 15 years, they’ve climbed three divisions through the Southern Combination League and are no beginning to establish themselves as a Premier Division club.
What’s helping in that regard is the firepower that Eldridge has at his disposal, with a host of names that will be familiar to seasoned SCFL watchers for their past goal scoring exploits.
Sam Cruttwell, Jamie Crone, Lewis Hole and Wes Tate are all regular goal-getters with Crone and Cruttwell leading the scoring charts for Common with 11 each. Stopping those two will be crucial to Hassocks’ chances of success.
The Robins will know that this is a game that they really need something out of. Saturday’s defeat against Newhaven combined with victories for Pagham and East Preston saw them slip to second bottom in the table, some six points now adrift of safety.
As one of their games in hand, three points against their in-form opponents would be very welcome. Any support that you can give would Mark Dalgleish and his players would therefore be greatly appreciated.
Kick off is at 7.45pm and entrance is priced at £6 for adults, £3 concessions with Under 16s going free. The Robins Bar will be serving alcohol throughout the evening and the T Bar will have all your hot food and drink needs covered. There’s a raffle with money-can’t-buy prizes and our award winning matchday programme is available for just £1.
