For the second month running, Dan Turner has been voted as Hassocks’ Player of the Month, adding February’s award to his maiden triumph in January.
The Robins played only three times in the second month of 2020, picking up four points which could be crucial to their hopes of avoiding relegation from the Southern Combination League Premier Division should the season be played to a finish.
Turner was in superb form throughout those games to earn 35.8% of the vote. It was one of his famous long throws that set up Alex Spinks for the equaliser in Hassocks’ 1-1 draw away at fellow strugglers Saltdean United which kicked off the month.
He was one of the few Robins players to emerge from the 3-0 defeat away at rock-bottom Loxood with any credit. It looked like a similarly long evening would be in store three days later when Horsham YMCA came to the Beacon and stormed into a two goal lead inside of seven minutes.
Turner and his centre back partner for the evening Dan Jacques recovered impressively though, preventing a dangerous YM attack from scoring any further goals.
That helped set the platform for a sparkling Hassocks comeback. James Westlake struck early in the second half before goals from Phil Johnson and George Galbraith-Gibbons in the final seven minutes earned a famous three points.
Turner would probably have been in the reckoning for March Player of the Month too had coronavirus not forced the indefinite suspension of the campaign.
He scored a towering header against Lingfield and was voted as Man-of-the-Match as Hassocks fell to defeat at the Shooting Field in their only game of the month.
Second behind Turner in the February rankings was James Westlake who marked his return to first team football with an excellent run of form.
The trip to Saltdean United was his first taste of senior football in 14 months. His second came a week later against YM and as already noted, he marked it with a goal – those two appearances doing enough to secure the marathon running midfielder 28.3% of the vote.
Will Broomfield rounded off the top three with 18.9%. February was the fifth month out of seven that Broomfield has finished in the top three, remarkable consistency that will surely make him one of the favourites to win Player of the Season if the club decides to press ahead with awards.
The only two months that Broomfield has missed out were October and November when he didn’t kick a ball due to injury. Not even missing February’s only win could prevent him finishing behind Turner and Westlake with his showing as a one-man blocking machine away at Saltdean being particularly memorable.
