Hassocks and Steyning Town will lock horns in the league for the first time since the 1994-95 season in what is the final game of the decade to be held at the Beacon.
This is the Barrowmen’s first season in the Southern Combination League Premier Division since 1986 when they departed for the Wessex League.
A spell in the Combined Counties followed before their return to Sussex-based football in 1994, when they were placed in Division One along with the Robins.
Hassocks won promotion that year and have remained in the top flight ever since. Steyning meanwhile spent 20 of the next 25 years in the second tier with a brief five year spell in Division Two at the turn of the century.
All of which means that, bar four Sussex Senior Cup clashes, fixtures between Hassocks and Steyning have been few and far between.
Yet despite the lack of competitive action between the two clubs, there is a sense of familiarity due to the large number of players who’ve swapped between the Shooting Field and the Beacon in the past decade.
Current Hassocks manager Mark Dalgleish started the trend, departing the Barrowmen after many years of service to take up a role as Mickey Jewell’s assistant in the summer of 2010.
A number of players followed him from Steyning to Hassocks. It wasn’t long until Steyning themselves had an ex-Robin in charge, John Sutter taking over for the 2013-14 campaign.
The Robins could name three former Barrowmen in their side to face Gerry Murphy’s men with Andy Whttingham, Liam Benson and Ben Bacon all having plied their trade at the Shooting Field.
Bacon and Benson in fact began the campaign with Steyning before re-joining Hassocks for their second and third spells respectively. Steyning meanwhile have Alex Gathern and Jamie Weston among their number for this season.
And what a season it’s proving to be. Steyning have taken to the top tier of the Southern Combination League like a duck to water, occupying eighth place in the table and having lost just five times.
They could be even higher, too. The Barrowmen have developed a reputation as the division’s draw specialists having shared the spoils on eight occasions so far, including in five of their last seven outings.
Included among those stalemates are highly credible points against long-term leaders Eastbourne Town, in-form Eastbourne United and the formidable talents of Newhaven.
Being hard to beat looks certain to ensure that Steyning survive this season and with the income that their wonderful 3G pitch and the facilities that the Shooting Field provides, who knows how high they climb?
Presuming Hassocks survive relegation this season, you suspect we’ll be facing each other much more regularly than twice in the league in 25 years.
The last time these two clashed came in the Sussex Senior Cup in November 2015. Lower league Steyning pulled off a shock that night, beating the Robins 3-1 at the Shooting Field through Danny Gainsford, another player to have represented both clubs in Craig Knowles and Rob Clark. Hassocks’ consolation was netted by Phil Gault.
That game represents Hassocks’ only defeat to Steyning in seven previous encounters. The Robins have otherwise won four and drawn two of their meetings with the Barrowmen, scoring 17 times along the way and conceding seven.
Kick off at the Beacon is at 3pm and because it’s the last game before Christmas, we’re offering half price entry for anyone wearing a Christmas Jumper. Normal prices are £6 adults, £3 concessions and Under 16s go free.
The Robins Bar will have festive beers and spirits and the T Bar hot food and drink. There will be a bumper raffle and our matchday programme is available for just £1.
