Hassocks and Little Common will be hoping that they can overcome the effects of Storm Dennis and get their Southern Combination League Premier Division clash played at the fourth attempt at the Beacon on Tuesday night.
Each time Common have been due to visit Mid Sussex, the weather has intervened. Saturday 1st November was the original tie, hit by a waterlogged pitch.
The same fate was suffered by the rearranged game on Tuesday 26th November and then the rearrangement of the rearrangement on Tuesday 14th January.
Hassocks’ home game with Commons’ local rivals Langney Wanderers fell to Storm Dennis on Saturday but should the weather forecast be correct and he’s blown over by Monday, then the Robins remain optimistic that the match should get the go ahead.
Mark Dalgleish and his players will certainly be hoping so as they look to build some momentum following last week’s dramatic 3-2 win over Horsham YMCA.
The Robins had rallied from being 2-0 down in side of seven minutes against YM to win 3-2. James Westlake started the comeback with his first goal of the season on 55 minutes before Phil Johnson and George Galbraith-Gibbons netted in the 85th and 92nd minute respectively to spark jubilant scenes around the Beacon.
What a good victory that was became further underlined when YM held Premier Division leaders Lancing to a 1-1 draw at Culver Road on Saturday, the 3G pitch at Sussex FA headquarters allowing that game to be one of only three in the Premier Division to beat the weather.
Common will provide tough opponents for Hassocks. Having survived their first ever season in the top flight reasonably comfortably in 2018-19, Russell Eldridge’s talented squad have their eyes fixed firmly up the table this year.
Before their elevation to the Premier Division just over a year ago, Common had seen destined to make it to the top table for some time.
They came close to promotion on several occasion since entering Division One in 2009 and were only denied a top flight place at the end of the 2016-17 season due to a controversial ground grading ruling after finishing as runners up.
A relaxation in ground sharing rules saw them become tenants at Eastbourne United’s Oval ground and that coupled with a barnstorming 2017-18 season in which they were crowned Division One champions saw them play Premier Division for the first time in their history.
Understandably, consolidation was the name of the game last time around and they had a solid campaign, never really being dragged into the dogfight at the bottom of the table and eventually finishing in 16th spot, eight points clear of the relegation zone.
Player-manager Eldridge will be keen for progress to be made in 2019-20 and they’re going reasonably well so far, sitting in 14th spot at the time of writing with seven wins, six draws and 10 defeats coming from 23 games so far.
They also claimed the notable FA Cup scalp of Isthmian League side Three Bridges back in August on a run to the first qualifying round of the competition, their best ever performance.
All this continues a remarkable upward journey for a club who were playing in the East Sussex League as recently as 2004. Over the past 15 years, they’ve climbed three divisions through the Southern Combination League and are no beginning to establish themselves as a top flight club.
The goals of Sam Cruttwell and Lewis Hole are certainly helping in that regard with Common’s dangerous strike duo having plundered 21 between them so far, although the game being rearranged from its November date could help the Hassocks defence’s cause as they now won’t have to face Jamie Crone, who had scored 11 times before moving to Bexhill United.
This will be the 14th meeting between Hassocks and Common. It is the visitors who dominate the head-to-head with seven wins to Hassocks’s three alongside three draws.
One of those draws came last time out, when Liam Benson’s late leveller rescued a point for the Robins at the Beacon last February. Hole netted the Common goal on that occasion.
The previous meeting had been the first league clash since 1994 – and the first ever in the Premier Division – and it went the way of Common who won 4-2 at the Oval, having stormed into a 4-0 lead inside of 55 minutes thanks to two goals from Hole, one from Wes Tate and one from Ryan Paul. Harvey Blake and Jake Lindsey hit late consolations for the Robins.
Kick off on Tuesday is at 7:45pm at the Beacon and entrance is £6 adults, £3 concessions with Under 16s going free. The Robins Bar will be open serving beer and the T Bar will have hot food and drink. Copies of our award-winning matchday programme will be on sale for just £1.
As always, we will try and update you with news of the likelihood of the game going ahead as and when we have it, so please consult this website and our Facebook and Twitter pages.
