The group stage of the Southern Combination League Premier Division Supplementary Shield comes to a close on Tuesday night with Hassocks knowing that a second victory away at Horley Town in the competition could see them into the semi finals.
For the Robins to progress, they will need a favour from Crawley Down Gatwick who take on leaders Lingfield. The Lingers are two points ahead of Hassocks at the top of Group C, so should they fail to win against Down then Hassocks have a chance of securing an unlikely spot in the knockout stages.
Hassocks came into the Supplementary Shield as the lowest ranked side based on Premier Division standings when the season was curtailed. The Robins have exceeded the expectations of most people to find themselves in a position whereby they may qualify for the final four.
Horley meanwhile will want to end on a high and avoid taking the wooden spoon, meaning that there is a lot for both sides to play for at the New Defence.
Unfortunately, no supporters are currently allowed to attend in line with current government and FA guidelines. We hope to be able to keep you up-to-date with proceedings at Horley through our Twitter account.
Horley Town this season
The Clarets were absolutely flying in the regular season, sitting second in the table with eight wins, two draws and two defeats from their 12 matches.
They were four points adrift of leaders Saltdean United but had two games in hand and the best goal difference in the division, putting them in a very strong position in the title race in only their second season as a Southern Combination League club following a sideways move from the Combined Counties.
Unfortunately for Horley, they have not been able to rediscover that sort of form after four months of lockdown. Anthony Jupp’s focus is now on building for next season, when they could be promoted to step four football as the FA considers results from the past two incomplete seasons for moving clubs up as part of the reorganisation of the non-league pyramid.
Hassocks’ record against Horley Town
Hassocks’ victory against Horley Town two weeks ago was the first time that the Robins had ever beaten the Clarets in a competitive match.
Although the sides have been regular friendly opponents throughout the years, they did not meet in serious competition until the FA Vase paired them together in the 2016-17 season. Since then, there have been six matches with Town winning five and plundering 23 goals along the way.
Included in that record was an 8-0 Horley win at the Beacon back in October, Hassocks’ heaviest ever home defeat in senior football on an afternoon when most of the Robins faithful were convinced they had seen the 2020-21 season’s eventual champions.
Last time Hassocks played Horley Town
Hassocks have a long and proud tradition of veering from the ridiculous to the sublime, but even by their high standards a 10-goal swing against opponents in six months was impressive.
That is what they managed versus Horley, turning their 8-0 defeat back in the autumn into a 3-1 success at the New Defence a fortnight ago.
Two goals in the first five minutes from Charlie Pitcher seemed to shock the Clarets and although they pulled one back via Russell Harvey nine minutes before the break, Pitcher completed his hat-trick four minutes into the second half to give the Robins their most impressive win of the season.
