AFC Uckfield Town look to return as Hassocks visit faces late inspection

With only a handful of fixtures across the entire SCFL playable in the last fortnight, the quick turnaround between Storms Ciara and Dennis has had a considerable toll on how the calendar will look at The Oaks, on a surface that had already suffered saturation throughout the winter months.

In the final months of the 2019-20 season, disrupted league matches with Lancing and Crawley Down Gatwick are currently being rescheduled, while the Uckers’ RUR Cup Semi-Final has been relocated to Peacehaven & Telscombe after two attempts to play in Wealden failed.

Anthony Storey’s side, too, will be keen to get back to action this weekend in order to resolve an up-and-down set of results throughout the past two months.

In that time, the Uckers have had seven matches - averaging roughly one game every ten days - and in their last six have picked up half of all points available, but without consecutive victories since Christmas, will certainly be looking to follow up a 3-0 win in their last outing at Little Common in the best possible fashion.

Additionally, if able to pass a pitch inspection, this weekend’s meeting could spell the start of a run of home games where momentum is likely to be even more important than usual for Storey’s men.

As nine weeks remain until the projected end of the SCFL season, on April 25, and the Uckers have a minimum of 17 matches remaining in all competitions - 12 of which will be at home - a run of two matches per week is likely throughout that spell, testing stamina, depth and squad spirit.

The first hurdle, and the furthest Uckfield can look at present, will of course be in the shape of Mark Dalgleish’s Hassocks side - one that has been picking up in form recently, after a challenging season that has seen them drawn into a scrap at the wrong end of the table.

A strong response to the 7-0 thrashing handed out by Eastbourne Town at The Beacon last month has seen the Robins since secure critical home wins against Steyning Town and Horsham YMCA - albeit while also handing 20th-placed Loxwood their first league win of the season in a 3-0 defeat on the Sussex-Surrey border.

With 11 points currently between Loxwood in the SCFL Premier Division’s only relegation spot this season and the Robins, fears of losing their ninth-tier status in Mid-Sussex - something the club is celebrating 25 years of this season - are currently at bay, but a successful run in the final months of the season will certainly help lift spirits.

Away from home, that point will not be lost amongst Dalgleish’s players. Aside from a 2-0 FA Vase win at Meridian VP, as well as victories at SCFL Division One side Arundel and 18th-placed Premier Division side East Preston, the Robins have struggled away from The Beacon in losing 10 of 15 in total, and if they are to make up ground on those above them will definitely need to see improvement on that front.

In the past few seasons of meetings between the two, however, the Uckers do boast an increasingly impressive record; winning eight of 11 matches since the start of the 2015-16 season, whilst running in 26 goals to the Robins’ 17 in that period. A win this weekend would secure the Uckers a second double against their well-respected SCFL compatriots in as many seasons - a prize that is never taken lightly in the unpredictable division.

With that pedigree between the two sides to live up to, and a significant amount resting on the direction of points at this stage of the season, if playable this match should surely produce another highly engaging contest; something that could reignite a recovering SCFL season.

Match Information

Subject to a pitch inspection, AFC Uckfield Town vs. Hassocks FC will kick off at 3 p.m. this Saturday at The Oaks (Framfield, TN22 5QL). Directions to the ground are available here; http://www.scfl.org.uk/grounddetail.php?gnd_id=2.

Entry is £6 for Adults, £3 for Concessions and free for Under-16s.

Updates on any pitch inspections, as well as team news and all the action as it happens, will also be available from the excellent @AfcUckfieldTown and @hassocksfc Twitter pages on the day itself.

For all the post-match coverage, a full report will be here in the hours after the game to give the lowdown on all the important action, while also appearing in next week’s edition of the Sussex Express for Lewes and Uckfield areas.