Centre back passed a century of appearances in Robins recent 3-0 win at Horsham YMCA
Dan Turner made his 100th appearance for Hassocks in the recent 3-0 win away at Horsham YMCA, becoming the 43rd youth team product to pass a century of games for the Robins.
Turner was part of the Under 18s side who won an historic treble of Southern Combination Under 18 League Overall Champions, Central Division title and League Cup during the 2017-18 season.
He spent the 2018-19 campaign in the Mid Sussex Premier Division with Lindfield, before returning to the Hassocks Hotel Beacon Ground for 2019-20.
Initially brought back to play Under 23s football, it did not take Turner long to force his way into the first team picture.
He made his senior debut on August Bank Holiday Monday in a close-fought 2-1 defeat against Lancing. A certain Alex Fair scored both the Lancers goals from the bench.
Turner went onto make 13 appearances, scoring twice before Covid-19 brought the season to an early conclusion.
He also played 13 times for the Under 23s, registering three goals and going viral thanks to that penalty video where he hits the ball as hard as possible, only for it to fly over the bar and disappear into the darkness behind the children’s playpark.
Turner played more first team matches than anyone else in the 2020-21 season, racking up 22 games in another season heavily hit by lockdowns.
After struggling with injury at the start of 2021-22, Turner’s return to fitness was a major reason in the Robins turning a season in which relegation was a real threat around.
Hassocks only had five points on the board from the opening two months of the campaign without Turner.
His comeback led to a much improved defensive record as the Robins pulled clear of the bottom three, earning Turner the double of Players’ Player and Supporter’s Player of the Season Awards.
Turner missed the 2022-23 season playing cricket down under. When he returned for 2023-24, he spent the first seven months of the campaign in the Under 23s thanks to the form of Alex Bygraves, Matt Gunn and Bradley Tighe at centre back.
Having waited patiently for his opportunity, there has been no looking back. Turner crashed home an 86th minute winner to beat Little Common from the bench last February, since when he has become one of the first names on the team sheet.
His 100 games have returned eight goals, the most recent of which was an outrageous distance strike away at Wick.
After tackling a Dragons player inside the Hassocks half, Turner glided past three opponents before picking out the top corner with an absolute rocket from 35 yards.
As well as spectacular goals, Turner has also contributed his fair share of assists thanks to his trebuchet of a throw.
Congratulations, Dan – here is to the next 100.
