Hassocks Under 23s return to action looking to bring their impressive cup form into the Southern Combination League West Division as they make their first ever trip to Oakwood.
That won’t be easy though as the Oaks are enjoying a decent debut campaign. They currently sit sixth in the table having won four and lost four of their eight games so far.
They also have among their ranks the division’s leading scorer. Josh Neathey has 12 goals to his name already this campaign for Oakwood and he has taken that sparkling form into the first team at Tinsley Lane, notching the Oak’s senior squads scoring charts too with five in 13 Division One appearances.
Neathey set his stall out for the season ahead when Oakwood came to the Beacon on the opening day of the campaign. He scored in the 57th and 72nd minutes that evening, giving the visitors all three points via a 2-1 win. George Galbraith-Gibbons hit Hassocks’ consolation.
Result aside, it was a memorable occasion for several of Dave John’s squad. Nine of the 15 players that Hassocks used were making their full debuts for the Under 23s with Matt Denyer, Jack Gardner, Joe Tatford and Dan Turner all having played their youth team football for the Robins.
Goalkeeper James Earl and first team duo Nick Pitcher and Joe Bull also made their first appearances for the side while there were further debuts from the bench for Thomas Jupp and Connor Weir.
Given the young nature of the Hassocks team, it’s perhaps not a surprise that inconsistency has dogged them so far. They’ve been excellent in cup competitions, eliminating Isthmian League side Three Bridges and West Division leaders Horsham YMCA from the Sussex Under 23 Challenge Cup in the six weeks.
The challenge now is delivering those sorts of performances week in, week out in the league. John and his players will look to do that at Tinsley Lane, where no Hassocks side has played below first team level since February 2008, when Mickey Jewell oversaw a 1-0 defeat for the Reserves in the old Reserve Premier Division.
Kick off at Tinsley Lane on Thursday night is at 7.45pm.
