There’s a new opponent coming to the Beacon this Saturday as Hassocks are set to host Alfold for the first time in senior football after a whirlwind couple of seasons for the Surrey based club.
As recently as 2013, Alfold were playing in Division Two of the West Sussex League. Since then, they’ve embarked on an extraordinary rise through the leagues, climbing six divisions to reach senior football and the Southern Combination League Premier Division for the first time in the club’s 96 history.
They lifted the Division One title in 2018-19, their first season in senior football, beating Steyning Town to the silverware in an astonishing campaign that took most people outside of Alfold by surprise.
It didn’t come as too much of a shock to those at the club though. Reaching this level of football has long been their ambition and for all the hard work that has happened on the pitch to achieve it, it’s been matched by the dedication of Alfold’s committee and supporters off it.
In order to gain promotion into senior football, Alfold Recreation Ground had to undergo significant improvements to meet the required ground grading regulations.
The work that was carried out to install a new stand, perimeter pathways and fencing and LED floodlights should have taken two years to complete – instead, Alfold got it done in around six months.
That extraordinary effort has proven to be worthwhile so far. Alfold have taken to life in the Premier Division like a duck to water and are well on target to avoid relegation which was surely the aim at the start of the season.
They are currently 11th in the table with 10 wins, four draws and 11 defeats to their name. Alfold Rec has proven to be a particularly tough place for sides to go with Fold having lost just three games at home all season.
Their recruitment over the course of the year has been impressive. They’ll arrive at the Beacon with a number of names which will be familiar to Hassocks fans for their feats with out Southern Combination league clubs, including the likes of ex-Broadbridge Heath striker Devon Fender and former Steyning Town man Joao Andrade.
Also on their books is former Hassocks goalkeeper Alex Harris who signed for the club midway through the season from East Grinstead Town.
Harris has enjoyed four different spells at the Beacon in the past, starting in the 2013-14 campaign when he arrived as a 16-year-old on loan from Woking to pick up experience of his senior football.
He returned to the Robins in the 2015-16 season, keeping four clean sheets in a club-record run of eight consecutive victories which went a long way towards ensuring that the Robins pulled off a great escape from relegation at the end of the 2015-16 campaign.
Harris lost his spot to James Broadbent early in the 2016-17 campaign and subsequently moved to AFC Uckfield Town midway through the season via a spell with Burgess Hill Town. He also began both the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons at the Beacon before moving onto pastures new.
Kick off is at 3pm and entrance is priced at £6 adults and £3 concessions with under 16s going free. The Robins Bar will be serving alcohol and the T Bar will have hot food and drink on sale throughout the afternoon.
Our award winning matchday programme is available for just £1 and there will also be a raffle with money-can’t-buy prizes up for grabs.
As has been the case over the past few months, please keep an eye on our social media profiles and website for any news of a postponement on the morning of the game.
