Bring an item for donation in exchange for reduced entry to Hassocks v Newhaven
Hassocks will be using Non-League Day 2023 and their home game with Newhaven to support the Hassocks Community Food Bank.
Non-League Day is held annually on a weekend where the Premier League and Championship are put on hold due to an international break, helping to put the focus on grassroots football.
It normally attracts big crowds to matches with the Robins opting to combine the appeal of the Day with the opportunity to support those struggling in the local area.
Any supporter who brings a donation for the Food Bank can watch the match against the title chasing Dockers for reduced admission.
Adults with an item will pay £4 and concessions £2, down from the normal prices of £7 and £3 respectively.
The Food Bank are currently in need of sugar, microwave puddings, oil, sweetcorn, clothes washing liquid, soup, toothbrushes and ketchup ahead of the Newhaven game.
Items will be collected at the turnstiles and then sent to the Food Bank. Now is a particularly crucial time at the end of a long, hard winter when many more people in Hassocks and the surrounding areas relying on the service.
As for the football, Non-League Day pits two of the in-form teams in the Southern Combination League Premier Division against each other.
Hassocks are unbeaten in seven league matches, winning five and drawing two. The Robins have just set a club record of five clean sheets in a row and are eyeing up their first top six finish in over a decade.
Newhaven meanwhile were within one game of promotion to the Isthmian League last season, losing out in the playoff final against Lancing.
The Dockers are aiming to go one better this time around by securing the automatic promotion which comes with being crowed Southern Combination champions.
They sit two points behind leaders Broadbridge Heath with six games left to play in what is shaping up to be one of the closest-run title battles the league has seen for many years.
Hassocks and Newhaven also met on Non-League Day a year ago at the Trafalgar Ground. A bumper attendance of 287 saw the Robins pull off a huge shock, drawing 1-1 to all-but end Newhaven’s hopes of catching eventual champions Littlehampton Town.
Lucas Franzen-Jones gave the Dockers a 43rd minute lead, cancelled out just two minutes later by Jack Troak.
Kick off at the Beacon this time around is at 2pm. The Robins Bar and T Bar will be open serving alcohol and hot food and drink respectively and entry is free for all under 16s. Printed matchday programmes are available and dogs are welcome.
