Four league games and a big semi in final month for the Robins
The end is nigh – the final month of the Southern Combination Football League season is upon us with Hassocks facing four Premier Division fixtures and at least one Sussex Principal RUR Cup match to complete the campaign.
The visit of FA Vase finalists Littlehampton Town kicks off April. The Golds come to the Beacon on Saturday 9th, with the afternoon being used to raise money for St Peter & St James Hospice as Spencer Slaughter and his fiancée Megan prepare to take on the Brighton Marathon.
There will be a bucket collection and a raffle taking place. Megan & Spencer have already smashed through their target of £500 and the Hassocks faithful will be hoping to swell that total further.
April’s opening game may not be the only time that the Robins face Littlehampton this month either, as the smaller matter of a big semi in the RUR Cup is still to come.
Hassocks will host the winners of the remaining quarter final between the Marigolds and Isthmian League side Chichester City, set to be played on Tuesday 12th April.
No date has yet been set for the semi final. Please keep an eye on the Hassocks website and social media channels for details as soon as they are known. The victors of the semi will go onto face Saltdean United in the final at Culver Road.
On Saturday 16th April, the Robins hit the road to Steyning Town for a 3pm kick off at the Shooting Field. The Barrowmen were the first opponents who Hassocks beat in the 2021-22 campaign, winning 2-0 at the Beacon back in August through two George Mitchell-Phillips goals.
That was despite playing for over an hour with 10 men following the dismissal of Luke Marshall. Remarkably, both the goals came in the final 30 minutes when the Robins were playing shorthanded.
Less than 48 hours later and the final Premier Division home game of the season takes place at the Beacon against Crawley Down Gatwick on Easter Monday, kick off at 11am.
It will be the fourth meeting of the season between Hassocks and Down. The Anvils triumphed 2-0 in the Sussex Senior Cup followed by Hassocks winning 2-1 in the RUR Cup and 3-1 in the league. That Premier Division fixture was the only to take place at the Haven.
The league season is then completed away at Alfold on Saturday 23rd August. If that game can match the drama of the November meeting at the Beacon when a retaken Phil Gault penalty with the last kick of the game gave Hassocks victory, then it will be well worth making the trip to Surrey.
The Under 23s completed their season on March 31st, bowing out of the League Cup in a 2-1 semi final defeat against Alfold.
The Under 18s have been finished since January and the Veterans still have one game to play although as has been the case through most of their campaign, that will probably appear on the fixture list with little notice.
There is still plenty of football to come for the Ladies. On Sunday 10th April, they host Eastbourne Town at the Beacon. Admission is free and kick off is at 2pm.
On Sunday 24th April, Seaford Town visit in a double header. The Badgers then return to Mid Sussex on Sunday 15th May for a League Cup semi final.
