Hassocks welcome back two fan favourites
Two former Hassocks favourites are back at the Beacon with the Robins swooping to sign Spencer Slaughter and Bradley Bant.
The duo have made over 400 appearances between them for Hassocks and will bring experience and leadership to Brad Sweetman’s young squad.
Slaughter became one of the most popular players in Hassocks history over three previous spells with the club, racking up 290 games and scoring 47 goals.
He made his first team debut as a 17-year-old towards the end of the 2004-05 campaign. The following season, he was part of the title winning Under 18s of 2006 and a year later played a key role in helping the reserves to their first ever Reserve Section Cup.
Slaughter established himself as one of the first names on the team sheet in the 2007-08 campaign and won a clean sweep of Players’ Player, Manager’s Player and Supporters’ Player of the Season awards in 2008-09.
He eventually got a deserved shot at Isthmian League football as part of the Burgess Hill Town side which won the South Division championship and embarked on a memorable FA Trophy run in 2014-15.
A short spell at Haywards Heath Town followed before Slaughter returned ‘home’ to the Beacon in September 2015.
After serving as player-coach under Mark Dalgleish in the 2018-19 season, Slaughter moved to Loxwood for 2019-20 and soon found himself taking over the manager job.
He led the Magpies to the final of the Premier Division Supplementary Shield in May, where they were beaten by Isthmian-bound Lancing.
Slaughter left Plaistow Road in September and the Robins have wasted no time in making their move, bringing Slaughter back to the Beacon in a signing that is sure to delight and excite Hassocks fans.
Bant meanwhile returns having moved to AFC Varndeanians at the start of the current campaign, playing five times and scoring once during a brief stay at Withdean Stadium.
This will be Bant’s third spell with the Robins. He first arrived midway through the 2014-15 season from Lancing and stayed until moving to Peacehaven & Telscombe in August 2018.
Bant was brought back to the Beacon last summer and installed as captain, leading the Robins through 2020-21 until the season was curtailed by the pandemic. He has made 150 appearances for the club so far, scoring 12 times.
On the departure front, George Mitchell-Phillips has left Hassocks to sign for Saltdean United. Mitchell-Phillips scored three times in nine appearances after arriving from Lewes in the summer.
