From Hillians to Hassocks - legend Harding is 'going home'

Harding becomes James Westlake's first signing after becoming Robins head coach, re-joining Hassocks 16 years after he left for the bright lights of Eastbourne Borough.

The forward came through the youth system at the Beacon as part of the Under 18s side who won the Sussex County Under 18 Cup in 2002, the only Robins youth side to ever be crowned County Champions.They also won the Southern Combination Youth League North Division title and the overall championship in a memorable 2001-02 campaign.

Harding was already established in the first team before his Under 18s team started delivering silverware for the Beacon trophy cabinet. Over the next five seasons, he went on to become one of the most feared strikers on the Southern Combination League circuit and the Robins' talisman.

Among Harding's feats were scoring five times on his debut for the Sussex Representative side, breaking Robbie Kitchen’s Hassocks scoring record of 123 and notching an astonishing 43 goals from 57 games in the 2005-06 campaign. That proved enough to convince Eastbourne Borough to swoop. During his time at Priory Lane, Harding helped the Sports to reach the National League Premier Division for the first time in their history.

Hill have shown what hey are capable of.

After leaving Borough, he went on to play for Horsham and Whitehawk before landing at Burgess Hill a decade ago. In 11 seasons, Harding played over 450 times for the Hillians, scoring 131 goals to become one of the most revered players Hill history. That led to an emotional farewell from the More Than Tyres Stadium after Harding announced he would be leaving the club at the end of the 2021-22 campaign. He was given a great send-off by management, team-mates and players at the Hillians' awards night.

Harding has always retained strong links with Hassocks, dual-signing for the Robins in every season since he first left for Borough. Most people therefore assumed - correctly as it now turns out - that he would return to the Beacon to finish his career where it started.

Harding most recently turned out for Hassocks in the 2020-21 Southern Combination Supplementary Shield, the post-lockdown competition introduced in April and May played when Burgess Hill and the Isthmian League had no action. He scored six times in six appearances as Hassocks finished second in their group, just missing out on a semi final spot. That took him onto 137 goals in 201 games for the Robins.

James Laing and Westlake's newly appointed assistant head coach Phil Gault are the only players ahead of Harding in the Hassocks all-time scoring list - for now. There will be a lot of excitement at the Beacon this season as Super Pat attempts to catch them, whilst his experience will be invaluable to what was one of the youngest squads in the Premier Division last season.