Eastbourne United back in BN6 for second time this season
Eastbourne United visit the Hassocks Hotel Beacon Ground for the second time this season having already knocked the Robins out of the Sussex Principal RUR Charity Cup last month.
It means Hassocks will be seeking revenge alongside the three points which would set a new club record of eight successive league wins in senior football.
Easier said than done. This is a fixture which United have enjoyed in recent years, with the Robins last victory coming nine games ago back in 2019.
Antony Storey’s side are also in good form. Four consecutive wins makes this a meeting between two of the most in-form teams in the Premier Division, who were separated by only one point and one place last season.
All the ingredients are there for an entertaining 90 minutes of football, the only Saturday afternoon home game at the Hassocks Hotel Beacon Ground in October.
Eastbourne United this season
United were slow starters to the current campaign and did not secure a Southern Combination Premier Division victory until mid-September; the last team to put three points on the board other than Little Common, who still remain winless.
Since getting that maiden league win on the board over Bexhill United, however, there has been no looking back.
A run of four successive league victories has seen United start climbing the table back towards the top six – their finishing position for the past three seasons.
With places secured in the third round of the Peter Bentley League Cup and quarter finals of the RUR Cup – plus the club set to return to the new-look Oval with its 3G pitch in the not-too-distant future – it could end up being quite the season for United.
Hassocks v Eastbourne United head-to-head
The Robins just about lead the head-to-head with 19 wins to United’s 16, leaving 15 draws from the 49 meetings between the clubs.
It tends to be that one side dominates the fixture for a period, followed by the other. Take the 2010s for example.
Hassocks won six times in a row at the Oval, despite finishing above United in the Premier Division standings just once in that time.
That has now been flipped on its head. The Robins have not tasted victory in the fixture since that most recent success at United in the 2018-19 campaign.
Last time Hassocks played Eastbourne United
It was that aforementioned disappointing night for the Robins in the RUR Cup at the Hassocks Hotel Beacon Ground in mid-September.
A penalty from Arron Hopkinson and Trevor McCreadie scoring his normal goal against Hassocks secured a 2-0 win for United and a place in the last eight of the competition.
Matchday information
Kick off is at 3pm and admission is £8 adults, £4 concessions and free for under 16s. Both card and cash payments are accepted on the turnstiles and in the Clubhouse.
The T Bar will be open serving hot food and drink, and the Dave John Lounge has a wide selection of craft beer from local breweries along with other alcohol. Dogs are welcome and a printed programme will be on sale for £1.
If using Google Maps to walk from Hassocks Station or the village, please do not take the footpath into Butcher’s Wood. There is no crossing point over the railway line or way of entering the Hassocks Hotel Beacon Ground.
Instead, follow Keymer Road towards Hurstpierpoint, turn left at Stonepound crossroads and walk down London Road towards the ground.
