After Storm Dennis claimed Hassocks’ previous two Southern Combination League Premier Division fixtures, the Robins will be hoping to get back to action when they make the short trip to the Oaks to face AFC Uckfield Town.
Uckfield are a club that have been on the up for several seasons now. Ever since they received a relegation reprieve at the end of the 2016-17 campaign, they’ve been slowly climbing the Premier Division table.
Last season they finished in seventh spot – which represents their highest ever placing – reached the final of the Peter Bentley League Cup and were the last Southern Combination League team standing in the FA Vase, going as far as the fourth round.
This time around and Anthony Storey’s side have ambitions to set another record breaking position and pick up a first piece of senior silverware.
The Oaks are in with a shot of winning both the Peter Bentley League Cup and the Sussex Principal RUR Charity Cup.
In the former, they face Eastbourne United in the last eight. In the latter, Peacehaven & Telscombe stand in their way in the semi finals.
In terms of the Premier Division, Uckfield are currently eighth but have games in hand on all the sides around them.
The top five have started to break away from the rest in recent weeks, but if the Oakmen pick up maximum points in their rearranged fixtures then they will find themselves in pole position to finish sixth.
They’ll have to overcome a packed fixture list to do so. The Oakmen haven’t played since beating Little Common 3-0 at the Oval on Tuesday 4th February, nearly three weeks ago.
Hassocks will be hoping that leaves their hosts a little rusty at the same time as they arrive at the Oaks full of confidence.
The Robins produced a stunning comeback in their last outing against Horsham YMCA, rallying from 2-0 down inside of seven minutes to win 3-2 through goals in the final five minutes via Phil Johnson and George Galbraith-Gibbons.
A similar battling performance will be needed by Hassocks this weekend as they go looking for revenge following Uckfield’s 4-0 victory last time the teams met at the Beacon in November.
It was a strange evening. The visitors ended up winning 4-0. Liam Baitup scored twice with Bailo Camara and an own goal also on target.
Despite that, Hassocks dominated the final 15 minutes and saw five or six scoring opportunities either wasted or kept out by the outstanding Phil Hawkins in the Oakmen goal – including a fine penalty save from Ben Bacon.
That result saw Uckfield move ahead in the head-to-head record with nine victories to Hassocks’ eight. In 17 games, there has never been a draw so this is one that you won’t want to include on your coupon.
The Robins have two former Oakmen in their current squad with Harry Mills and Andy Whittingham both having played for Uckfield earlier in their careers.
Kick off is at 3pm. If you’re planning on making the journey to the Oaks, then please keep an eye on both ours and AFC Uckfield’s Twitter feeds for updates regarding any possible postponements.
