The Beacon will reopen its turnstiles on Saturday 5th December as Hassocks host neighbours Burgess Hill Town for the Ann John Memorial Trophy.
It will be both teams first outing since England went into lockdown at the start of November. Kick off is at 1pm and entrance will be a pay-what-you-can-afford donation with all money raised going to St Peter & St James Hospice.
Based on the limited current information that we have, we are allowed a crowd of up to 300. At the moment, it looks as though the Clubhouse will have to remain shut so there will be no Robins Bar or T Bar, although we are still waiting for clarification from the FA.
The Ann John Trophy is traditionally played for between Hassocks and Burgess Hill in pre-season. Each year, the game helps to raise money for St Peter & St James in honour of Ann, who was a constant presence around the football club as the much-missed wife of Dave John.
Obviously, that was not possible in the summer due to the restrictions in place when grassroots football was allowed to resume in August. We are delighted to have found a way for the game to take place in 2020 and would like to thank Jay Lovett and Hill for making it possible, especially when the Hospice is in need of donations following a tough eight months in which fundraising has dried up considerably.
Aside from the charity aspect, the football is normally quite good too. Of the six previous occasions Hassocks and Hill have met for the Trophy, three have ended in draws with the silverware shared.
The games in 2014 and 2015 both finished 2-2. Phil Johnson and a Dan Jacques screamer were on the score sheet the first year. In the second, Hill led twice through former Hassocks favourite Pat Harding and Lee Harding, only for Jake Booth and Hillwood to complete a Robins comeback.
2016 saw Hassocks win the Trophy outright as goals from Jamie Hillwood, Liam Benson and Craig Knowles gave the Robins a 3-0 victory against a young side from the More Than Tyres Stadium.
The 2017 clash ended in a 3-3 draw and was arguably the best match so far. Hassocks had sauntered into a 3-0 lead inside of an hour through Michael Death and a James Westlake brace, only to see Hill produce a stunning comeback which was rounded off by another Robin in Sam Fisk, who grabbed a late equaliser for the visitors.
Hill have been victorious in the past two editions, winning 4-0 in 2018 thanks to a brace from Aaron Smith-Joseph, a Kieron Pamment penalty and a Billy Barker tap in.
In 2019, the Hillians edged a 3-2 thriller. Twice the Robins led, first through Phil Johnson and then Will Broomfield with Warren Mfula and Tom Cadman levelling things up both times. It looked like the Trophy would be shared again until Mfula notched his second of the evening with just two minutes remaining
