A Tale of Two Heaths for Easter Monday

  

Hopperational Details
Date & Venues	Monday 21 April 2025 (Easter Monday) a)    Hassocks Hotel Beacon Ground b)    BodyMould Mattresses Community Stadium
Results	Hassocks 3 Haywards Heath Town 0 Broadbridge Heath 4 Littlehampton Town 0
Competitions	a)    Southern Combination Premier (Step 5) b)    Isthmian Division One South-East (Step 4)
Hopstats	Numbers 797 & 798 respectively on my lifetime list and I’m here for a chance to tick off a Step 4 priority whilst kickoff times and proximity allow a Bank Holiday double hop.
Context
Penultimate league games of the season for all four teams today. Hassocks have already secured the divisional title and will grace Step 4 with their picturesque ground next season. Haywards Heath slipped to fourth earlier in the weekend but are still in the playoff positions. Both Broadbridge Heath and Littlehampton Town are safe in mid- and lower-mid table respectively so there is not much riding on the fixture except local bragging rights.
Match Reports
Haywards Heath lined up for the traditional guard of honour for the champions-elect. They held on for just over half an hour before going behind in a moment of controversy. I was at the other end so need to be somewhat vague, but it looked as if Dan Turner’s header from a ridiculous distance went in on the bounce, but with the visiting keeper Mitch Bromage flattened and in need of subsequent treatment. Turner himself had taken the long throw that caused the initial chaos. Long and looping far post corners, alongside the long-throw weapon, meant that the aerial routes were well-used in home attacks. It had been a very physical first half, with Hassocks generally on top before Heath’s first real chance on the break as we entered stoppage time. The visitors could and should have equalised just after the hour. It took an outstanding double block by keeper James Shaw then defender Joe Bull to keep the lead. Then an attempt to play out from the back went wrong and Hassocks doubled their lead. Josh Mundy was set up beautifully for a spectacular first-time strike. Substitute Rauri Farrell got the third in similar circumstances, and another sub Charlie Pitcher was denied twice in quick succession as the Haywards Heath challenge subsided. I had to skip the trophy presentation formalities to head north to Broadbridge Heath. I often lurk with visiting supporters when I am a neutral, but the tuneless megaphone-assisted “singing” from the Littlehampton end meant that my loyalties switched sharpishly. Both sides threatened. Littlehampton were more direct, but Broadbridge reached the byline more than once down the flanks without creating a finish. The floodgates opened on 27 minutes with a Mark Goldson penalty. Littlehampton responded with a good spell of pressure but then Goldson got a second with a clever turn and shot. An intelligent pass led to a third, for Mason Doughty, before the interval and that was pretty much all doubt removed about the result. The fourth goal was a peach. Matt Hay’s right-wing cross at the end of a run (maybe more stepovers than strictly necessary, but enough to bamboozle the defence) was converted with a textbook diving header by Louis Evans. The last half-hour was largely uneventful, but that was a very effective demolition job by the home side. A nice Bank Holiday double hop, despite the joylessness of the M25 western section on the way home.
So What?
Farewell to Step 5 for Hassocks. Haywards Heath will still need to get something from their final game in order to secure that playoff space. They could finish anywhere from 3rd to 7th. Littlehampton Town will finish 18th no matter what happens next weekend, and Broadbridge will finish between 11th and 14th.
Pix
Hassocks (in red) v Haywards Heath   Broadbridge Heath (blue) v Littlehampton Town
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats Update
The background to this, and the latest keeper top colour league table, is here on this dedicated page. Today, a bad day for predictions as Pink and Purple beat Orange and Green respectively, and with clean sheets too. Pre-match Prediction based on Keeper Top Colour: Predictions: a)    Away Win b)    Away Win Was the prediction correct? a)    No b)    No % of correct predictions so far 49% (88 from 180)
What Next?
Who knows? School exam season approaching (always a busy time at work) so I have to take one day at a time. I’d like to get at least 799 and 800 done this season.

 

Going to Sussex, Back in Two Ticks

 Match 1 : No printed programme, this is a screenshot from the e-programme pdf.

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Saturday 17 August 2024 at Birchwood Ground, Shooting Field
Result	Steyning Town Community 3 Crawley Town Gatwick 1
Competition	FA Cup Preliminary Round
Hopstats	Ground 786 on the lifetime list, and here pragmatically in order to make a double with tomorrow’s fixture.
Other Things in Life Besides Football
For this match, nothing whatsoever except sitting on the M25 western section and the Leatherhead by pass in a long-line of slow-moving traffic.
Context
In the previous round, Steyning beat Hilltop 4-0 at home while Crawley Down Gatwick won 1-0 at Holmesdale.
Brief Match Report
The visitors embraced the play-out-from-the-back style that is possible on an artificial surface and took an early lead, which they held until the interval. Steyning had hit the post with a deflected shot, and the ref had been clattered in a player sandwich. Credit to him for getting up sharply as if nothing had happened. Presumably he didn’t touch the ball, as play continued. Steyning turned the game around with two goals in ten minutes after half-time. In both cases the attackers had a lot of time, but the hinge point of the game was after 65 minutes. Crawley Down claimed loudly for a penalty after an alleged foul challenge by the Steyning keeper. The ref said no and I’m not really in a position to comment definitively either way. Within a minute at the other end the third goal was hooked in by Mark Goldson (who’d also scored the second) and that was that. Steyning will have their third home tie on the trot when they host Merstham in the next round.
Pix : Steyning in Red

 

Match 2 : No printed programme, this is a screenshot from the e-programme pdf.

 

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Sunday 18 August 2024 at The Sportsfield
Result	Littlehampton Town 2 Faversham Town 3
Competition	FA Cup Preliminary Round
Hopstats	Ground 787 on the lifetime list. Littlehampton have a three-sided ground adjacent to the town’s cricket (and croquet) facility so this tie was switched to Sunday, making this Sussex weekend double a possibility.
Other Things in Life Besides Football
A morning walk around Littlehampton town centre, which seems to be suffering in the way that many English seaside towns are at the present, but is architecturally more interesting than most. The changes since my youth are sad to see, but I don’t honestly have a solution. I didn’t spend much mainly because I had no vaping, hair or nailcare needs at that time, and I think I counted four funeral directors within half a mile or so. Later, a walk along the promenade, alongside the pebble beach and being careful not to get in the way of the tractor-train that trundles along at  the speed of an arthritic sloth.
Context
Littlehampton beat Tooting & Mitcham 1-0 at home in the previous round, and Faversham won by the same scoreline at Bexhill United.
Brief Match Report
There’s an argument for two hinge points in this game, but Littlehampton coped so well after a first-half red card for Matthew Astle (for a high tackle) that I am choosing the second Faversham equaliser as my key moment. This was a curling left-footed freekick by Sam Hasler in the 86th minute, captured below. The teams had been level at 1-1 at the interval. Littlehampton’s lead came from a header as Alex Laing’s intelligent second-phase run to the far post was not picked up. The equaliser came not long after the red card, another good header, this time by Fran Collin. Faversham missed two other decent chances from close range, but Littlehampton responded well. They took the lead in the second half with Laing’s second goal after a good move down the right. I suppose the ten men of Littlehampton just ran out of the proverbial steam as Faversham committed more men forward. That hinge-point equaliser paved the way for Collin’s even later winner, his second close-range header of the day   in stoppage time. Knockout football, great for the passing neutrals but either joy or pain for everybody else. Thanks for reading this far, your interest is appreciated. Faversham will travel to Broadbridge Heath in the next round.
Other Pix : Littlehampton in Gold

 

Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats Update

The background to all this, and the latest keeper top colour league table, is here on this dedicated page. By coincidence, both matches featured Purple v Green. Pre-match Predictions based on Keeper Top Colour: Prediction: Away Wins x2 Was the prediction correct? No and Yes respectively % of correct predictions so far 49% (81 from 166)

What Next?

Hopping priorities for this year are new grounds for Truro City (Step 2) and Cray Wanderers (Step 3) alongside Plymouth Parkway. Those would restore my “everywhere down to Step 3” list. Then there are over thirty more current Step 4 grounds still to be visited. The list keeps changing with promotions and relegations, of course, and many would be long journeys needing me to be sure of the weather forecast before setting out. I doubt whether I can realistically complete this in one season.

Sloping Off Down South for a Boxing Day Double

 

No programme from the first game. This is the cover of the e-programme from Horndean.

 

Hopperational Details
Date & Venue	Boxing Day, 26 December 2023 a)    The Rotherfield b)    The Stanley Drake Stadium, Five Heads Park
Results	a)    Midhurst & Easebourne 2 Pagham 0 b)   Horndean 2 Littlehampton Town 1
Competition	a)    Southern Combination Premier (Step 5) b)    Isthmian League Div 1 SE (Step 4)
Hopstats	Grounds 769 & 770 on the lifetime list, and I’m here non-randomly because the geographical closeness and helpful kickoff times made for an easy double hop.
Context
The first game is essentially a mid-table fixture. The second is from the lower half of the table. Horndean were promoted to Step 4 from the Wessex League last season and Littlehampton are in their second season at this level.
In One Sentence Each
A very late second goal for Midhurst & Easebourne was hard to take for Pagham who almost made the hosts pay for wasting second-half chances. Horndean did their damage in the first half and in the end were rather hanging on grimly after going down to ten men.
So What?
Midhurst & Easebourne up two places to 7th, Pagham down one to 13th. Horndean up a place to 14th, Littlehampton Town remain 17th.
Match Report : Midhurst & Easebourne v Pagham
It was an even, goalless first half with contrasting styles. The home side tried to play out patiently from defence, depending on their centre backs to pick a pass. Occasionally this would misfire and give the visitors a chance to break. Both keepers were occasionally called into action, but in truth there wasn’t a lot of incisive action to report. Midhurst and Easebourne took the lead after 53 mins with a nicely placed header from a right-wing cross, and soon after it took a good flying save from the Pagham keeper to prevent a second. In the closing stages, the home side missed several good one-on-one chances as Pagham were forced to commit to attack, and the second goal didn’t arrive until the fifth minute of added time.
Ground Pix
Picturesque location, a pronounced slope. Be aware that the turning into the car park is almost impossible to negotiate if approaching on the main road from the south.
Match Pix
Home side in blue.
Match Report : Horndean v Littlehampton Town
Both Horndean’s goals came in the first half, after a short delay due to floodlight issues. Thankfully, the smoke emerging from the base of the pylon turned out not to be a serious problem. Smoke drifting in from the left ... The first goal probably has to go down as a keeper error, and the second was a header from a set piece. The picture below is the moment just before contact. The visitors had looked pretty toothless in the first half but immediately showed more intent in the second and deservedly pulled a goal back. This was now an end-to-end game, largely fought in the midfield, but Littlehampton created two great chances to equalise, a header and a shot going just wide. The final quarter of the game was affected by a second yellow card for Horndean’s number 9. He had been booked for kicking the ball away at a free kick just a few minutes earlier. Then a heavy touch by the Littlehampton keeper took the ball outside the area, and not under his control. The referee saw 9’s challenge as serious foul play. As the nearest person in the ground to the incident, I have to say that I didn’t. The keeper was back up and running after minimal treatment. The closing stages were dominated by backs-to-the-wall defence by Horndean, and breaking into the corners to run the clock down whenever possible. It wasn’t pretty, indeed it was occasionally ugly. At one point the referee came over to the far side, opposite to the benches, and appeared to either remonstrate or show a card to someone. I can’t be sure of the details. Horndean hung on for the win and the three points.
Ground Pix
Another ground with a noticeable slope! Plenty of character with its hotch-potch of buildings and a concrete wall at one end to make speedy wingers think twice before hitting top speed.
Match Pix
Home side in red. Fading light at this point means fewer usable pix.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats Update
Usually accompanied by a pre-match prediction on Threads just before kickoff. Working towards being able to compute a respectable test of statistical significance, it looks like an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test will be appropriate. The full keeper top performance table from my last 285 matches is here, on this separate page, and I’ll organise the test when we reach 300 pieces of evidence. Today we have a pair of defeats for Purple caused by M&E’s Green (as expected) and Horndean’s Yellow (not as expected), with a clean sheet for Green too. Pre-match Predictions based on Keeper Top Colour: Predictions: a)    Home Win & b) Away Win Were the predictions correct? a)    Yes & b) No % of correct predictions so far 48% (67 from 140)
What Next?
No definite plans, but hopefully another Step 4 ground ticked off somewhere in the country next Saturday. I have 24 left to do at that level, plus Plymouth Parkway at Step 3. I can now be found as grahamyapp on Threads, having abandoned the toxicity of Twitter since the misguided management of Elon Musk essentially ruined the platform.