Welcome to the Beacon, Alfie Edmeads
The Robins have swooped to make a new signing ahead of a crucial final 10 weeks of the Southern Combination League Premier Division season, brining in Alfie Edmeads from title challengers Saltdean United.
Although only 20-years-old, Edmeads arrives with his fair share of experience having spent the past three seasons as part of the Tigers first team setup. He also had a brief spell with Loxwood earlier in the current campaign.
Hassocks head coach Brad Sweetman said: “I have been a long time admirer of Alfie, so I am really happy that we have been able to bring him to the club.”
Edmeads had been with Saltdean from Under 7s, rising through the ranks over the past 13 years from kids’ football to making 22 appearances for the senior side.
He was captain of their Under 18s in 2019-20 and made his first team debut the same season, going onto feature seven times before the Covid-19 pandemic brought the campaign to a halt at the start of March.
Edmeads made three appearances in 2020-21 as the Tigers topped the Premier Division table before another lockdown curtailed the season.
2021-22 has seen him become a regular in Bryan O’Toole’s first team squad at Hill Park. He has made two starts and 10 substitutes appearances despite competition for places being fierce at a club packed with talents who have proven themselves at Isthmian League level.
Edmeads scored his first senior goal for Saltdean with a 56th minute strike in December’s 9-0 rout of East Preston at Hill Park. That meant that he became the first player in Tigers history to find the back of the net at every level from Under 7s up to first team.
Hassocks fans may remember Edmeads from his four games with Loxwood earlier in the campaign. He came off the bench when the Robins went to Plaistow Road in October to score the only goal of the game with four minutes remaining, punishing some sloppy play around the back line from the visitors.
In some ways, Edmeads has already had an impact on the Robins’ season even before putting pen-to-paper to become a Hassocks player.
Within a few weeks of that disappointing defeat against the Magpies inflicted by Edmeads, Hassocks were sparked into the revival which has seen them start climbing the Premier Division table.
From the subsequent 15 games in all competition, the Robins have won six, drawn five and lost only four. Now Edmeads will be looking to help continue that rapid improvement whilst wearing the red of Hassocks.
