Hassocks and Langney Wanderers are set to become familiar opponents over the next week as they will face off twice in the space of seven days.
The first of those meetings takes place on Saturday 5th October at Priory Lane. That one is a Southern Combination League Premier Division fixture while a week later, Wanderers make the journey to the Beacon in the second round of the Peter Bentley League Cup.
These won’t be the first clashes between the two sides in the 2019-20 season either. They’ve already crossed swords in the extra preliminary qualifying round of the FA Cup back in August, when Jack Rowe-Hurst and Matt Berridge goals gave Hassocks a 2-0 success.
With a further league meeting to come down in Eastbourne, that means there will be four Hassocks versus Langney games. Before the current campaign, the sides had only ever met twice at senior level.
Those games came in two Premier Division clashes last year, Langney’s first season in the Southern Combination’s top flight. Both of those ended in 2-2 draws thanks to late goals, Jordan Badger’s 89th minute header rescuing a point for Hassocks in the away leg with Tyler Capon doing the same at the Beacon in March.
That was part of a blistering final few months to the campaign for Wanderers as they easily avoided relegation in the end, finishing in 15th spot and some 10 points clear of the relegation zone.
The wily Kenny McCreadie remains at the helm and he’s built a squad who have every chance of continuing the remarkable rise of a club who were only founded as a Sunday League outfit in 2009.
They currently sit in 13th spot in the table with two wins, four draws and three defeats from nine games – a record that marks them out as being difficult to beat.
Among their most impressive results are a 5-1 hammering of Broadbridge Heath on the opening day and a 3-3 draw away at Newhaven in a game in which they were 3-0 down as late as the 68th minute.
That marks them out as being difficult opponents for Hassocks to face this weekend. And next weekend too. Kick off in this one as at 3pm at Priory Lane.
