H&B warn students of backlash

ASSISTANT coach Rob Hamilton is expecting a backlash when Hastings & Bexhill travel to Chichester Institute for a re-arranged Sussex One fixture tomorrow (Saturday), kick off 2.30pm.

The match was due to be played last weekend but was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.

H&B have made a brilliant start to the season, winning their first five league games and securing a solid 8-8 draw with leaders Uckfield to leave them second in the league.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But their good work seemed to have been undone after a disappointing 24-12 defeat by Pulborough in the Sussex Intermediate Shield first round two weeks ago, which Hamilton described as the worst performance in five years.

He is expecting a different result this week, however and says H&B, who go into the game at full strength, will bounce back in style.

"It is possible that there is going to be a backlash, in fact it is very possible", he said. "All the players were very disappointed about the Pulborough result and are keen to prove it was just a blip and go out there and show they are better than that result suggests.

"It was disappointing last week's game was off because we were all very anxious to show the result was just a freak. But now everyone is keyed up for this match and I don't just expect us to win, I expect us to win handsomely."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Hamilton also sees the game as the perfect chance for his side to show the rest of the league they are title contenders, saying: "I have no doubt we are good enough to win the league. Uckfield are the only other team I can see challenging this year and we were disappointed not to have beaten them. Horsham have stumbled recently so unless we or Uckfield fall apart completely, I can't see any other team finishing in the top two."