Hassocks head on a short A272 journey to face AFC Uckfield Town
Boosted by a first away win of the season at Lingfield on Monday morning, Hassocks make the short journey along the A272 to AFC Uckfield Town looking for further joy from their travels.
Road trips had not exactly been fun for the Robins faithful up until beating the Lingers 2-1. You had to go back 14 months to October 2020 to find the last time Hassocks won a Premier Division match on the road, a run which admittedly included a number of months off due to Covid-19.
Success at Lingfield continued Hassocks’ impressive form since winter arrived. Before Christmas, the Robins held both leaders Saltdean United and a free-scoring Peacehaven & Telscombe side who had plundered 30 goals in six matches to draws at the Beacon.
Those results have gradually chipped away at what had been a sizable gap between Hassocks and the sides above them in the table.
Victory at the Oaks would draw the Robins level on points with their hosts – something which looked pretty unthinkable as recently as the middle of November.
An important afternoon of football awaits – presuming Mother Nature behaves herself.
AFC Uckfield Town this season
Ever since receiving a Premier Division relegation reprieve at the end of the 2016-17 season, AFC Uckfield Town have been a club on the up.
Year-by-year they have improved their finishing position. In 2020-21, they looked on course to record their highest ever spot under the management of Steve Ives and Graeme Mintrim, sitting fifth before the season was curtailed.
They have not managed to hit those heights this season following Ives’s appointment as sole boss. Ives is working with a young team and as Hassocks fans know all too well, that can make delivering consistent results challenging.
The Oakmen currently sit 16th in the table with four wins, nine draws and nine defeats from their 20 matches. The challenge for Uckfield in the second half of the season is to turn some of those draws into victories – although preferably after Hassocks have visted.
AFC Uckfield v Hassocks head-to-head
There have been 18 meetings between the sides and the head-to-head is pretty balanced. Hassocks have won eight, Uckfield nine with only one draw.
Goals are normally in plentiful supply too with 73 having been plundered at an average of over four per game.
Last time Hassocks played AFC Uckfield Town
The Oakmen were the first opponents who Hassocks picked up a point from this season when the sides met under the lights at the Beacon in the opening month of the campaign.
It finished 2-2, making it the only ever draw between the Robins and Uckfield. Jordan Badger took the headlines, marking his first game in over two years with an 87th minute equaliser after being thrown on as an emergency striker.
Hassocks’ other goal came from Alfie Loversidge. Uckfield meanwhile found the back of the net via Luke Blewden and Sam Carrington.
How to get to the Oaks
Follow the A272 east followed by the A26 towards Uckfield before joining the B2102 into the town centre itself. Turn right at the T-junction when meeting the high street and past the railway station.
When a fork in the road is reached, take the left hand option down Eastbourne Road with the ground being on the left by the Rajditt Restaurant.
Admission is £6 adults, £3 concessions and free for under 16s.
