One of the unexpected bonuses of the Southern Combination League Premier Division Supplementary Shield was seeing Pat Harding back in a Hassocks shirt – with the striker’s six appearances in the competition taking him to 200 for the club.
Harding has dual-signed for the Robins every season since leaving in 2006 for Eastbourne Borough. He has made a couple of sporadic appearances over the past 15 years, but with Burgess Hill Town’s season finished after the Isthmian League opted not to run their own post-lockdown competition, it meant that Harding was free to turn out for Hassocks.
Six goals in six appearances followed as the Robins finished second in Group C, ahead of both Horley Town and Crawley Down Gatwick who had been in the Premier Division’s top six prior to curtailment. Having a player of Harding’s experience and class certainly helped Hassocks in their surprise quest for a semi final spot.
Harding came through the ranks at the Beacon as part of the Under 18s side who won the Sussex County Under 18 Cup in 2002, the only Robins youth side to ever be crowed County Champions. Hassocks also lifted the Southern Combination North Division title and the overall championship in a memorable 2001-02 campaign.
Over the next five seasons, Harding established himself as one of the most feared strikers in the Southern Combination League. He scored five times on his debut for the Sussex Representative side, broke Robbie Kitchen’s Hassocks scoring record of 123 goals and notched an astonishing 43 times in the 2005-06 campaign.
That proved enough to convince Eastbourne Borough to swoop, with Harding being a part of the Sports side who reached the National League Premier Division for the first time ever. After leaving Priory Lane, Harding went onto play for Horsham and Whitehawk before landing at Burgess Hill a decade ago.
He has since made over 400 appearances for the Hillians, becoming one of the most revered players in Hill history. Harding is equally loved by regulars at the Beacon for his goal scoring exploits over a decade earlier. The biggest shame about the Supplementary Shield is that no Robins supporters were able to see him back in Hassocks red again.
Harding becomes the 22nd player to pass a double century of games for Hassocks in senior football and he will return to the More Than Tyres Stadium for next season having extended his Robins record to 201 appearances and 137 goals.
