Frantic February threw up seven games in four weeks for the Robins
After the famine, came the feast. Having played just eight times in three months since the start of November, Hassocks faced a fixture backlog leading to seven matches crammed into four February weeks.
It proved to be a defining month of the campaign. Five wins, a draw and a single defeat providing the foundation from which the Robins would go onto secure their first top 10 finish in nine years come the end of the season.
James Westlake was busy on the transfer front at the beginning of February, bringing in goalkeeper James Shaw from Tooting & Mitcham and winger Josh Bradley from Steyning Town.
Both made an instant impression, Shaw keeping a clean sheet on his debut and Bradley scoring in the second half as Hassocks kicked off the month with a 2-0 win over Alfold.
The Robins had taken the lead two minutes before the break when the unfortunate Finn Bishop turned a Jack Troak cross beyond his own goalkeeper.
They say the sign of a good side is one which ones when not playing well. Hassocks did exactly that in their next match away against a Roffey side rock bottom of the table and yet to taste a Southern Combination League Premier Division victory all season.
Kelvin Lucas gave the Boars a first half lead and despite Morgan Prill receiving a harsh red card two minutes after the break, the Robins were unable to make any inroads against the 10 men of Roffey.
Right up until the 87th minute, it looked like Roffey were going to break their duck. Then Hassocks earned a penalty and despite the best efforts of young Boars goalkeeper Jasper Sheik to put off Phil Johnson, the Robins top scorer duly equalised from the spot.
Problematically for Roffey, Sheik had now poked the bear with his antics. A fired-up Johnson duly won it for Hassocks in the 94th minute with a powerful effort drilled across goal and into the bottom corner from what had appeared an impossible angle.
That brace was the start of a superb run of form for Johnson. A week later and he grabbed the only goal of the game at Eastbourne Town as the Robins won at the Saffrons for the first time in 17 years.
Johnson again scored in the only defeat of February, equalising on the hour mark after Sam Ellis had given Little Common an early lead at the Beacon.
Hassocks had the better chances over the course of the game, only to be undone when Sam Cruttwell drilled a free kick from 28 yards in the 10th minute of injury time under the wall with virtually the last kick of the game.
The Robins followed up their 2-1 defeat to Common by drawing 0-0 at home with FA Vase quarter finalist Peacehaven & Telscombe. Shaw’s shutout would be the start of a club-record sequence of five consecutive clean sheets.
Saltdean United provided the penultimate opposition of February and it was the introduction of Troak from the bench which won Hassocks another three points from their trip to Hill Park.
The substitute was heavily involved in two Robins goals in the final 15 minutes through brilliant link up play down the left flank with Leon Turner, helping to secure a first league double over the Tigers since the 1994-95 campaign.
Turner fed the overlapping Troak and his pull back from the by-line was swept home by that man Johnson for the first. Six minutes later and the Robins made the game safe when Turner again released Troak. This time, the cross was turned in by a Saltdean defender for an own goal.
Hassocks rounded off their month with an excellent 4-0 home win over Horsham YMCA. Liam Benson gave the Robins a 42nd minute lead with three goals following in the second half from Benson again, Johnson and tall striker Jamie Wilkes with the best of the lot.
The rangy Wilkes took possession 40 yards from goal, used his long gazelle-like legs to skip past two desperate YM challenges and drilled home a low shot from 20 yards via the left hand post to gasps from around the Beacon.
Hassocks Under 23s rattled through four matches of their own. Charlie Broad, Wes Tighe, Marshall Smith and Jude Wallis secured a hugely impressive 4-1 win over a Roffey side who were charging into the championship picture.
Elimination from the League Cup followed on penalties away at East Preston following a 1-1 draw in which Broad again scored.
The Robins bounced back from that in impressive style in their top-of-the-table clash away at Horley Town. The Clarets had easily beaten Hassocks 3-0 at the Beacon earlier in the campaign and led going into half time on this occasion through Ryan Brown.
Hassocks though rallied after the break and Tom Frankland, Wallis and Tighe all struck to secure a 3-1 victory in one of the defining matches of their title winning season.
A biggest win of the campaign completed February when local rivals St Francis Rangers were swatted aside 8-0. Young prospect Phil Gault scored twice, as did JJ Minty. Other players to net in the rout were Will Broomfield, Sam Geard, Wallis and an own goal.
Two of the Under 18s four February fixtures came in the Sussex Bluefin Dennis Probee Youth Cup. A 4-0 victory over Worthing United in the third round with goals from Oliver Goswamy, George Gladding, Ed Tobias and Oliver Parker-Williams set up a quarter final home clash with Newhaven.
A ding-dong encounter eventually went the way of Hassocks at the Beacon as the Dockers were eliminated 3-2.
Goswamy was proving rather fond of the competition as he scored twice. Gladding got the other as the Robins advanced to the semi finals of the County Cup for only the second time ever.
In the Central Division, Matt Mongardini scored his first goal follow a year of injury problems in a 1-1 draw with Worthing United one week after the sides had met in the cup.
Hassocks were then undone by a controversial refereeing performance against league leaders Burgess Hill Town.
A brace from Alex Brewer and one from Toby Munt had the Robins 3-1 ahead and on course to inflict a first defeat of the season on the Hillians until a late rally saw the hosts win 4-3.
The Ladies suffered their first loss in any competition of 2022-23 at the beginning of February, exiting the Sussex County Women’s League Cup in a 4-1 quarter final defeat at Saltdean United. Jodie Johanson scored the consolation.
A 3-1 win over second placed Shoreham returned Hassocks to winning ways, Katherine Chappell, Claire Stevens and Kirsten Mair with the goals before a nine goal thriller at home to Pagham.
Hassocks led three times but the Lions kept coming back, levelling on each occasion. The Robins eventually got the job done 5-4 with five different players on the scoresheet. They were Johanson, Chappell, Mair, Mia Pordage and Jess Craig.
One Veterans game took place when a threadbare squad made the long journey to Rotherfield. It proved worthwhile as two goals from Adam Waller secured a 2-0 victory.
