The Southern Combination League have released the opening month’s Under 23 fixtures for the 2019-20 season with Hassocks set to begin their campaign away at Oakwood.
The Oaks will visit the Beacon on Thursday 22nd August for what will be their first ever competitive game at Under 23 level.
You have to go back to October 2010 to find the last time the two sides met outside of senior football. Hassocks Reserves ran out 3-0 winners over the Oakwood counterparts in the first round of the Sussex Intermediate Cup with Logan Newington, Daley Clark and Stuart Brown on target.
The most recent league meetings took place in the old Reserve Premier Division in the 2007-08 season. A Calum Murray brace and a Chris Brown effort gave Hassocks a 3-1 win in the meeting at the Beacon with the Oakmen triumphing 1-0 up in Crawley.
There’s more history to be made a week later when the Robins travel to Broadbridge Heath for what will be the Heath Under 23s first competitive fixture at the new High Wood Hill Sports Ground on Thursday 29th August.
Hassocks took four points off Heath last season, winning 3-1 at the Beacon and drawing 2-2 on their final visit to the Broadbridge Heath Leisure Centre.
The Robins’ third game sees them host 2016-17 champions Pagham on September 5th while their fourth fixture comes against last year’s West Division winners, Horsham YMCA.
Kick off at Gorings Mead on September 12th is at the slightly earlier time of 7.30pm. Hassocks will be hoping for better than their 2-1 defeat from April which all but confirmed the title as being YM’s with the Robins finishing in second.
Selsey make the long journey to Mid Sussex on September 19th and the Robins rounding off their early season fixtures with a Friday night trip to Culver Road to face Lancing on September 27th.
The Robins’ full fixture list can be viewed here.
