The exit door at the Beacon has taken a bit of a hammering over the past couple of weeks with three players departing Hassocks for pastures new.
The first to go was forward Jack Rowe-Hurst who has left for Division One outfit Seaford Town after one goal in six appearances this season for the Robins.
Rowe-Hurst was in his second spell at the Beacon. He re-joined the Robins in February having already rattled through spells with Lancing, Pagham and Shoreham in the first six months of the 2018-19 season.
It was something of an injury hit return and he only played twice, giving him a total of eight games and one goal from his return.
Rowe-Hurst had first arrived from Three Bridges for the second half of the 2016-17 season. He made quite an impression on the Beacon faithful, scoring three times in 15 appearances as the Robins pulled away from the Premier Division’s relegation zone before leaving to join Ringmer ahead of the 2017-18 campaign.
Rowe-Hurst will team up with another former Robin at the Crouch, Bradley Tighe having made the switch from Hassocks to Hornets back in August.
Midfielder Matt Berridge is the second departure with the youth team product moving to title challenging Lancing. Berridge was part of the Robins’ 2016-17 Under 18s squad who finished third in the Southern Combination League Central Division behind Roffey and Burgess Hill Town, playing 18 times that season while also establishing himself as a regular in the Under 23s.
Berridge made his first team debut in the opening game of the following campaign, a 3-2 FA Cup defeat to Hollands & Blair and he went onto play 44 times for the club, scoring twice and becoming a hugely popular member of the team along the way.
The control he offered in the middle of the park could easily make you forget that he’s still only 20 years old and he will no doubt be a real asset to Lancing as they attempt to keep pace with Eastbourne Town at the top of the table.
Lewis Westlake is the third and final player to depart having signed for Mid Sussex League champions Cuckfield Rangers.
Westlake played 75 times for Hassocks over two spells with the club. The first of those began in the summer of 2016 when he moved to the Beacon from Lancing, spending the next two seasons with the Robins before returning to Culver Road ahead of the 2018-19 season.
Westlake then re-signed for Hassocks at the same time as Rowe-Hurst via a spell at Loxwood, although he too endured something of an injury hit time of it.
With Rangers being a Mid Sussex Premier club, he could still turn out for Hassocks should the need arise. At Rangers, he’ll be playing alongside a host of former Robins including Tom Barnes, Joe Maskell and Hugo Whitehouse.
