Hassocks kick off 2019 looking to bring their impressive festive form into the new year as East Preston visit the Beacon.
The Robins picked up seven points out of a possible nine either side of Christmas. Their 3-3 draw away at Chichester City looks even more impressive in light of Chi’s hammering of Arundel and their victory over Pagham and Mark Dalgleish’s side followed that up with wins against Lancing and Shoreham.
Despite that form, Bob Paine’s young EP side will provide a stern test on their visit to Mid Sussex.
It’s been a whirlwind couple of years for everybody involved at the Lashmar since EP’s all-conquering side from the start of the decade broke up.
Dom Di Paolo had led them through a trophy-laden period which saw EP lift the Sussex RUR Charity Cup, the Peter Bentley League Cup and their first ever Southern Combination League title in the space of two glorious seasons.
Di Paolo’s departure a few months into the 2014-15 season saw most of his title winning squad leave with him and EP had to endure a couple of years of struggle which culminated in relegation to Division One at the end of the 2015-16 campaign.
Their committee made an extremely clever move at that point in time, turning to former Worthing Development Squad manager Bob Paine to take the reigns and he built a squad of talented young players who won promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt.
They more than held their own in the Premier Division last time out, ending up in 13th spot, some 17 points clear of Hassocks in the final relegation place.
It looks like being a similar story this time around. EP currently sit in 13th position, one place and four points ahead of the Robins but with games in hand on virtually every side around them in the table.
On their day, EP can be a match for any team in the division as evidenced by the fact that they have victories over title challengers Chichester City, Newhaven and Saltdean United to their name – suggesting that with a little more consistency, they could aim even higher up the table.
There have been 41 meetings between the two sides with Hassocks winning 13, 10 draws and EP tasting success on 18 occasions.
EP are normally good for a goal or two in the fixture as well, having scored 80 times against the Robins, the majority of those coming during their domination of the league between 2013 and 2014.
If they are to add to that total, then Daniel Huet will probably be the man to do it. He’s netted seven times this season and will be a familiar face to the members of Mark Dalgleish’s squad who also play Under 23 football having scored twice for EP when the two sides met three weeks ago.
Kick off is at 3pm and entrance is priced at £6 adults and £3 concessions with Under 16s going free. Both the T Bar and the Robins Bar will be open for those looking for hot food and drink and alcoholic refreshment.
For those travelling by train, there are no engineering works scheduled on the Brighton Mainline, meaning that you’ll be able to reach the Beacon by rail – not withstanding the normal poor service provided by Southern, of course.
