FOOTBALL: United Bow Out Of Isthmian Premier
21 April: Dover Athletic 1; Hastings Utd 1
26 April: Hastings Utd 2; Potters Bar Town 3
HUGH SULLIVAN
On 10 August Hastings United won the opening game of their Isthmian Premier League season, beating Horsham 2-0. They also won three days later, away at Whitehawk. Eight-and-a-half months later they’ve finished 20th out of 22 teams, relegated back to the South East Division, while Horsham ended as champions.
Adam Lovatt (in claret and blue), Louis Rogers (in green)
In between, not so much a rollercoaster ride as a steady slide down the table, punctuated by changes of manager – from Danny Bloor to Sean Ray in October; from Ray to Danny Searle in December; from Searle to Dean White at the end of March. None were able to find a consistent formation enabling both sustained attacks and solid defence; nor did any achieve a run of positive results that might have bred confidence, which gradually drained away.
On an individual basis, however, several players can look back on the campaign without remorse. Goalkeeper Louis Rogers had an excellent season, often required to compensate for defensive frailties in front of him and making very few mistakes. Centre-back Ollie Black, loaned for most of the season from Worthing, was similarly reliable, whilst his long throws were frequently the team’s best attacking ploy. Adam Lovatt worked tirelessly, as ever, in midfield before injuries took their toll. Newcomer George Walker swiftly became a fans favourite with his speed and willingness to run the wide channels: Bloor started him as full-back, White ended up using him as an attacking winger. And Davide Rodari never shirked his dual role as leader of the forward line and as regular goalscorer, hitting 18 league goals and, including cup games, a season’s total of 25.
NEXT SEASON
We’ll have to wait to find out how many of these stalwarts will remain in claret-and-blue colours come August. Black was already summoned back to his parent club for the final games of this season. Rogers, Lovatt and Rodari all have the talent and experience to play at National League level if they want to.
Back in the Isthmian South-East, Hastings will not only be looking for yet another new manager – White only stepped in on an interim basis to see out the season when relegation looked inevitable – but will probably have to rely more heavily on home-grown talent coming through. Fin Chapman, Freddie Legg, Kian Moynes and Tom Howard all played regularly this season. Joe Clifford and Charlie Scarles were given opportunities in the final few games to get a taste of senior adult football. Other juniors should now get their promotions sooner than if the team had remained at Premier level.
The Pilot Field ground, with its dilapidated stand and overplayed pitch, is in dire need of a major overhaul, though there’s no probability of any large funding source being found in the near future to finance it. What has never been in doubt, throughout a consistently disappointing season in terms of results, is the loyalty and ardour of crowd support. Overall attendance numbers were adversely affected by miserably wet winter weather and, consequently, by the proportion of home games that ended up being played midweek. However, even last month, when relegation was a virtual certainty, over 1,100 came up the Elphinstone Road to watch the ‘U’s play Hashtag, maintaining fervent support to the end of a 0-0 draw.
There’s no doubt that the club maintains a strong bond with its fans and with the wider town. All will be hoping that the team can bounce back quickly.
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