Hassocks’ Southern Combination League Premier Division away game against Lingfield has been moved to the Shooting Field, Steyning and will now kick off at 5pm on Saturday 8th March.
The decision to switch the game to Steyning Town’s 3G pitch was taken in order to try and guarantee that it will go ahead, no matter what the great British weather throws at Sussex this coming week.
Lingfield’s Godstone Road home has been hit particularly hard by this winter’s rain with their last game there having taken place on Saturday October 26th, a 4-3 defeat to Horsham YMCA.
The Lingers still have 17 league fixtures left to play so sourcing an alternative venue has become vital to avoid falling even further behind.
As a result, they’ve become regular users of the Shooting Field since the turn of the year. The Lingers have also played home games at the Church Road ground of Isthmian League South East side Whyteleafe and the new Camping World Community Stadium in Horsham.
Hassocks will be grateful for the switch as it will go a little way towards helping them avoid a fixture backlog of their own.
The Robins haven’t played for over three weeks themselves since a dramatic 3-2 victory over Horsham YMCA on Tuesday 11th February.
Mark Dalgleish’s side now have up to three games in hand on sides around them in the Premier Division relegation zone and a packed March fixture list in which they face two matches a week for at least a month.
Lingfield are one of those teams just above Hassocks at the bottom of the table, which means that this game takes on extra significance even if the Lingers’ position may be a false one given that they’ve played considerably less games than the rest of the division.
The reverse fixture wasn’t a good afternoon for Hassocks under the final sun of the summer at the Beacon. Harvey Enticknap gave the hosts the lead but two goals in the final seven minutes of the first half from Jake Horn turned the game on its head.
Ben Connolly notched a third for the Lingers seven minutes into the second half and the Robins’ misery was complete when Will Broomfield missed a late penalty.
