The Beacon hosts its first game under lights in 2023
FA Vase quarter finalists Peacehaven & Telscombe provide the first opposition under the Beacon floodlights for Hassocks in 2023.
This will be the third attempt to get the game between Robins and Tye played. The plummeting temperatures of December and then January saw the match postponed twice in the space of a little over six weeks because of a frozen pitch.
Hassocks will be looking to bounce back from Saturday’s 2-1 loss at home to Little Common. The Robins dominated but took just one of their countless opportunities on their way to defeat.
Peacehaven meanwhile have bigger fish to fry with Wembley just two wins away. That is not to say they have taken their eye off the ball when it comes to the Premier Division, however.
The Tye have won three of their past four league matches as they seek to charge into the promotion picture.
There also remains the prospect of silverware in the Peter Bentley League Cup, where Peacehaven will face either Steyning Town or Crowborough Athletic in the semi finals.
Peacehaven & Telscombe this season
Feast or famine is probably how best to describe the 2022-23 campaign so far for Peacehaven with two really good sequences of results bookending a pretty disastrous spell.
The Tye began in impressive fashion, topping the early Premier Division table with four wins from four. That fed into a record over their opening eight league and cup games of seven victories and one draw, leaving Peacehaven to rightly be labelled title contenders.
In mid-September however, the wheels came off slightly. Peacehaven lost five, drew one and won just once from a run of seven matches with that sole victory being a less-than-convincing 1-0 success over struggling local rivals Saltdean United.
That run was ended with a superb Sussex Senior Cup win over then Premier Division leaders Broadbridge Heath, sparking the current impressive form which has included their memorable run to the last eight of the Vase.
Hassocks v Peacehaven & Telscombe head-to-head
It is not a fixture which has brought Hassocks much joy through the years. Peacehaven have won 22 of the 39 meetings with eight wins for the Robins and nine draws.
Hassocks can at least take solace from the fact this one is at the Beacon – trips to the Window Workshop Sports Park have been even more harrowing.
The Robins have won just one league game in their history at Piddinghoe Avenue. That came under Mickey Jewell in the 2011-12 season when Hassocks went onto claim their highest ever Premier Division finish of fourth.
Last time Hassocks played Peacehaven & Telscombe
Significant rebuilds of football clubs often take time to gel and that was something Peacehaven hammered home in James Westlake’s first competitive game in charge of his new-look Robins.
Goals from Max Hollobone and a Callum Edwards brace secured a 3-0 victory for the Tye on the opening day of the campaign, setting them up for that impressive early season form.
Matchday information
Kick off is at 7:45pm and admission is £7 adults, £3 concessions and free for under 16s and dogs. Both card and cash payments are accepted on the turnstiles.
The T Bar will be open serving hot food and drink and the Robins Bar has a wide selection of craft beer from local breweries, along with other alcohol.
