The remarkable rise of teenage defender Dan Turner shows no sign of abating as he has been voted as Hassocks Player of the Month for January 2020.
Turner has been in-and-out of the side since making his senior debut against Lancing back in August but there’s no doubting that he’s one of the most talented centre backs to roll off the Robins’ fabled production line in many years.
He just needed to get a run of games under his belt and that’s what started to happen in January in the absences of Arni Kublickas, Will Broomfield and Harry Mills at various points over the month.
Turner played in two of the four Robins fixtures which managed to beat the weather and although his first appearance of January came as part of a defence which shipped seven goals against Eastbourne Town, he was one of the few players to emerge with any credit that day.
A week later and he maintained his place in the starting line up for the visit of Steyning Town in which Hassocks picked up a much-needed three points via a 2-1 win.
It was a close call between Turner, Broomfield and Harvey Enticknap for Man-of-the-Match that day and although it just went the way of Enticknap, the contribution of the Robins’ centre backs in keeping a Steyning side who continued to look dangerous even as they finished the game with eight men was pivotal.
Broomfield was last month’s winner and he had to settle for second place this time around, some 18% behind Turner in the voting.
Just like Turner, Broomfield missed the month’s opening fixture against Pagham but returned to the heart of the defence in the controversial 2-1 defeat to Lancing.
The Lancers winner at Culver Road came via a controversial penalty. Broomfield meanwhile did what not many defenders have managed this season in shackling the Southern Combination League Premier Division’s top scorer, Lewis Finney – with the penalty being the only way that Finney could find to add to his ridiculous haul of 39 goals.
Broomfield went onto play in the game against Eastbourne Town as well as starring alongside Turner in the win over Steyning.
Third place in the poll went to young Jack Troak, his first top three finish since August when he’d just joined Hassocks from Eastbourne United.
Troak has since moved to left back from the more attacking role that he fulfilled on his arrival at the Beacon and he played every game in March with his rampaging runs forward causing particular havoc to Pagham in the Robins’ vital 2-0 defeat of the Lions.
