Defender was in fine form during a tough set of December games for Hassocks
Dan Turner has been named Hassocks December Player of the Month for a set of strong performances at centre back… and donning the gloves on one occasion.
The defender found himself undertaking the thankless task of taking over in goal during the Boxing Day Mid Sussex Derby against Haywards Heath Town after Jordan Brown was dismissed for doing a passable impression of Tyson Fury.
Turner had been outstanding at the heart of a Robins back line who had, up until that point, kept Heath at bay and were on course for a 1-0 win entering the final 10 minutes.
A dramatic finish saw the top of the table clash at the Home Smart Energy Stadium finish 2-2, which still represented a good result for Hassocks as they claimed a first point from the Bluebells since the 1992-93 season.
Prior to the Heath game, Turner helped the Robins to a clean sheet when they picked up a 6-0 home win over Lingfield in their opening game of December.
He also delivered a good performance dealing with a dangerous and quick Roffey front line in the final fixture of the month.
The Boars showed their counter attacking prowess by running out 3-1 victors at the Hassocks Hotel Beacon Ground, becoming the first opposition side to leave BN6 with three league points this season.
Winning the award meant Turner improved from his runners up place in November – and it was a similar story for last month’s third as Harvey Enticknap finished second behind Tutner for the December accolade.
Enticknap has been in excellent form since re-joining the Robins from Crawley Down Gatwick in October.
He gave dominant midfield displays against both Lingfield and Haywards Heath Town before being rested for the visit of Roffey, one of several changes head coach James Westlake was forced into by that game coming just 48 hours after Boxing Day.
Tall striker Jamie Wilkes took third place. The rangy Wilkes scored twice in the win against Lingfield and was only denied a hat-trick by a superb second half save from visiting goalkeeper Sammie Saward.
His brace saw Wilkes named Robins Starman and he went onto dazzle in the Heath and Roffey games wearing a lovely new pair of bright yellow boots, rumoured to be a Christmas present from father-in-law and Hassocks legend Steve Spies.
Spies once scored two own goals, gave away a penalty and got sent off inside of 20 minutes playing for Hassocks IIIs away at Wisdom Sports in 2007.
