18 August: Eastbourne Town 0; Hastings Utd 2

22 August: Ashford Utd 1; Hastings Utd 3

HUGH SULLIVAN

Hastings United have made a perfect start to their Isthmian League campaign. Their FA Cup exit a fortnight ago has been followed by three league wins in eight days, two of them away from home, which puts them at the top of the South-East Division for a few days at least.

In the home game against AFC Croydon on 15 August the ‘U’s conceded first but hit back with goals from Max Walsh and Callum Erskine to lead 2-1 at the break. In an open second half, both sides had chances to score more, but Hastings held on, backed by usual levels of raucous support.

Three days later, away at Eastbourne on a pitch which manager Ronnie Dolan described as “not ideal for either team”, it took the ‘U’s 39 minutes to open the scoring through Kesna Clarke, but thereafter they largely controlled the game. Dolan himself hit a fine shot from outside the penalty area to double his side’s lead with 11 minutes left of the 90.

Last Saturday the ‘U’s travelled to traditional local rivals Ashford United. Their Kent hosts were captained by former Pilot Field stalwart Jack Dixon and also had one time Hastings midfielder Sam Hasler in their ranks. Erskine and Ollie Black put the Sussex visitors two up inside the first half hour, while home defender Harrison Hume was first yellow-carded and then sent off, reducing his team to ten men with two thirds of the game still to play.

On the hour mark the ‘U’s were awarded a penalty when Freddie Legg was brought down, duly dispatched by Clarke to make a 3-0 scoreline. Ashford scored a consolation goal late on.

Next up for Hastings are two home games. Tomorrow (Saturday) they entertain Hendon in the First Qualifying Round of the Isuzu FA Trophy. The North London visitors were relegated from the Isthmian Premier League in April 2025 along with Hastings, but found themselves in the Isthmian South Central Division, rather than the South East. There they finished last season – also like Hastings – only two places above a further relegation. However, they have won all of their first four league and cup matches this month, scoring an aggregate of 18 goals.

On Monday Crowborough Athletic will come to the Pilot Field. The traditional bumper Bank Holiday crowd there will hope that the ‘U’s resume their early league form.

7 August: Kingstonian 4; Hastings Utd 1

8 August: Bexhill Utd 0; East Grinstead Town 3

New player-manager of Hastings United Ronnie Dolan tasted defeat in his first competitive match for the club last Friday, as the ‘U’s were knocked out of the FA Cup in a preliminary round. Next day Bexhill United suffered the same fate.

The Hastings team had a long trip to south-west London to face traditional opponents Kingstonian, who play these days at the same tier level in the South Central Division of the Isthmian League. Of last season’s regulars at the Pilot Field, only four – Harry Haines in goal, Joe Clifford, Freddie Legg and Max Walsh – were included in the starting line-up. However, Ollie Black and Tom Chalmers, who led the ‘U’s out as captain, made welcome returns.

Legg scored in the 21st minute with a shot from the edge of the penalty area after intercepting a misplaced pass from the home team.

But they equalised 12 minutes later, went 2-1 ahead shortly afterwards, and scored twice more within 18 minutes of the second half, their 30-year-old striker Eddie Simons bagging a hat-trick. The three-goal lead was rarely challenged over the last half hour as Dolan himself made way for Fin Chapman and the two sides traded other substitutions.

Bexhill’s tie in the same round was a home game against East Grinstead Town, relegated out of the Isthmian League last season and about to re-start at Bexhill’s level in the Southern Combination League (SCL). The West Sussex side proved too good for their hosts on the day, winning comfortably 3-0.

Both the Isthmian League and SCL campaigns start tomorrow (Saturday). Hastings will entertain last season’s runners-up, AFC Croydon, who are again expected to be among the strongest in the division, then have two away fixtures against local rivals, Eastbourne Town (next Tuesday evening, 18 August) and Ashford United (the following Tuesday, 25 August). These are early days, but Dolan will certainly be hoping for better from his team.

With preparations for the new season underway, Hastings United will be hoping to banish memories of the previous two, one of which ended in relegation and the other an uncomfortably narrow escape. Some stability would be a welcome start: five managers have come and gone in that period, with the sixth, former Folkestone stalwart Ronnie Dolan, taking the reins this summer for his first managerial role. More than 60 players were also used during the last campaign, a statistic reflected in disjointed performances on the pitch and a sense of disconnection from supporters off it.

This time around, the target is to be competing for a playoff place when next April comes around. With only one automatic promotion spot up for grabs, often claimed by a club with much deeper pockets than everyone else, that seems a realistic ambition. Most fans would probably settle for a season spent looking hopefully upwards rather than nervously downwards, especially if it involved more vibrant entertainment than the frequently grim offerings of recent times. While complete redevelopment of the ground remains the aim, additional work has been done over the summer on the Pilot Field pitch with the aim of providing a less agricultural playing surface in the meantime. It’s not easy to put on a show when the ball is leaping around like an over-caffeinated Jack Russell.

One announcement will have particularly delighted fans: the return of Tom Chalmers as club captain. Before his career was severely disrupted by a succession of long-term injuries, Chalmers was the brightest prospect to come out of the youth development programme for several years, making his first-team debut at just 16 and seeming certain to leave United behind to play at a higher level when the time was right. His last competitive appearance was way back in April 2024, and that only a brief respite from an injury which halted his progress at the start of 2023; so the road back to fitness has been an extremely long and arduous one. A very likeable character, Chalmers is held in great affection by many. Fingers will be firmly crossed.

Another graduate of the youth system making a return is Ollie Black. A willowy full-back as a youngster, Black has matured into a competitive, robust central defender, and his famed long throw will add a direct element to the side’s attacking threat. He’s joined by other familiar faces in Freddie Legg, whose conversion to industrious full-back from winger was one of last season’s few success stories, and mercurial forward Fin Chapman.

A less celebrated place in the club’s history awaits recent signing, Sonny Walsh. The young striker was brought in from Eastbourne Town in June, declaring himself “really excited to be here”. His departure was announced within the month, before he’d made an appearance, and he re-signed for Eastbourne Town a couple of days later. A social media post wishing him “all the best playing for a club closer to home” may, perhaps, have had a slightly sardonic edge to it. That leaves striking options looking a little thin, with every other club also looking for a 20-plus goalscorer who can double as an effective target man; pre-season friendlies to date have seen former Fisher forward Kesna Clarke in the role.

Of the new signings who’ve stuck around, the standout looks to be Archie Cassidy, an imposing defender brought in from Bromley in the face of competition from other clubs. He’s joined by experienced, combative midfielder Sam King, whose partnership with Dolan, in a playing capacity, will surely be key if this side is to compete in the higher reaches of the division. Tellingly, the first pre-season friendly, in which two different experimental line-ups were fielded in withering heat against Haywards Heath, brought criticism of work-rate from the management team. Clearly, this is expected to be a team that puts in the hard yards.

For all that recent seasons have been calamitous, the intention appears to be to avoid throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Thus, keeper Harry Haines, defender Sam Pidgeon and forward-thinking midfielder Max Walsh have all been retained from last term. A change of personnel is perhaps less vital than a complete change of culture.

All of this will be put to the test when the season kicks off in anger. After an FA Cup tie away at Kingstonian on Friday 7 August, the league campaign begins at home against Croydon Athletic on Saturday 15 August. Given that Croydon finished as runners-up last time around, with backing from co-owners Stormzy and Wilfred Zaha, that’ll be a tough opening assignment. Supporters will be hoping that this team can rise to the challenge.

IAN GRANT

Hastings United fans have begun the process of forming a new Independent Supporters’ Club with a combination of aims: representing their views, organising social events, and promoting the club within the town.

Despite two gruelling seasons, in which United have come perilously close to consecutive relegations, attendances at the Pilot Field have remained comparatively high. However, at an initial meeting on 1 June, many supporters voiced concerns that the connection between the club’s loyal fan-base and its players and owners has been lost. In particular, it was felt that there was a lack of communication from the boardroom on the progress of plans for redeveloping the ground.

In response, an open forum was held with Ben White, the club’s General Manager, on 6 June. Lasting nearly two hours, and very well attended despite an early morning start, a constructive and positive meeting covered matters both on and off the field in considerable depth.

White confirmed that the plan remains to rotate the pitch in order to create space for a range of additional facilities, with the aim of turning the Pilot Field and the neighbouring Firs site into a ‘sporting hub’ for the benefit of the local community. The existing grass surface will be replaced by a 3G pitch.

One new suggestion is that the new pitch will be located further south on the site, to lessen the considerable costs of excavating the grass bank that runs along the other side. The new pitch location would require the demolition of the main stand. It’s a century-old structure much admired for its architecture but increasingly dilapidated and accommodating a diminishing number of spectators for safety reasons.

At an estimated cost of over £4million, the project is certainly ambitious. However, White was bullish about the prospects of delivering it, indicating that the club aims to submit a planning application in the near future and raise funding thereafter. The hope is to begin preparatory work during the coming season, with the new pitch being laid next summer; a clear desire was expressed to avoid any long-term ground-share elsewhere.

More immediately, the club will be trialling the opening of car parking facilities on the Firs site, accessible via Ochiltree Road, at the start of the new season. It’s hoped that the car park will reduce on-road parking in the local area on match days, benefitting local residents.

On the pitch, new manager Ronnie Dolan has appointed backroom staff, including club legend Sam Adams as one of two assistants, and begun assembling his squad with a number of new signings. One notable comment from White was that “the manner in which we stayed up last season wasn’t good enough.” Supporters will be hoping for better next time around.

At a further meeting, the management committee of the Supporters’ Club was appointed, with Chris Laverick heading it as chair. Members will be able to sign up from the start of the new season. In the meantime, ideas and assistance are very welcome.

The Supporters’ Club can be contacted at HastingsUnitedSC@gmail.com.

Hastings United have appointed their eighth manager (not counting temporary in-betweens) in the last three years. He is Ronnie Dolan, a 34-year-old who played briefly at the Pilot Field in 2013-14 but has spent most of his footballing career as a midfielder with Folkestone Invicta.

The seventh, David Altendorff – following in succession to Gary Elphick, Paul Barnes, Chris Agutter, Danny Bloor, Danny Searle and Lee Carey – was appointed in October last year with the primary aim of saving the team from an ignominious demotion from the Isthmian League. When that objective was accomplished just a few weeks ago, Altendorff spoke enthusiastically about building his team for the following season, with no hint that he might not stay to lead it. But last week the club announced that he had gone.

The version posted by the club on its Facebook page is that they “accepted the resignation” of Altendorff, with thanks for his “efforts and commitment” – and those of Assistant Manager Alex Marr and first team coach Mark Wright – and a wish of “all the very best for the future”. There was no expression, however, of disappointment. Reading between the lines, the club statement is perhaps noteworthy for drawing attention to the small margin by which relegation was avoided “with just one game remaining in the season”. From the board’s point of view, that was a closer call than they would have hoped for.

For his part, Altendorff was quoted as deciding to step down “after a great deal of thought and with a heavy heart”. He gave particular thanks to the players, staff, volunteers and fans, and said he was leaving “with nothing but respect and appreciation for the club and its supporters”. He did not suggest, however, that the board had tried to keep him from leaving. So what’s it really about?

MONEY AND FACILITIES

Money is always a potential factor. Issues over the state of the pitch, the lack of training facilities, the dilapidation of the main stand and other key infrastructure deficiencies clearly limit the amount of investment the board can fund on the playing side. But trips to rival clubs for away fixtures constantly reveal how many of them are buying into their futures, often with support from local councils which the Hastings club has not received.

Geographical isolation is another perennial resource-sapper. It’s not ideal to manage a team in Hastings while living in Haywards Heath (a 90-mile off-motorway round trip) and having to organise team training in Brighton. Altendorff is likely to be receiving other offers, literally closer to home.

There was just a two day interval between the news of his departure, with the club stating that it would “now begin an internal review process regarding the appointment [of a replacement]”, and the announcement of Dolan’s arrival. The juxtaposition suggests that a first approach to the latter must have been made some time before.

The new man, who will be taking his first managerial role, is no doubt seen both as a potential winner and as someone who may stay longer than most of his predecessors. After leaving Hastings as a 22-year-old in 2014, he spent the next nine years playing for Folkestone Invicta, making 315 appearances over that period. After a couple of years with Lydd Town, he returned to Invicta in 2025 and played 29 more games for the first team as it won the Isthmian Premier League last season by a margin of 12 points.

In a first statement aired by the Hastings club, Dolan says: “Living in the area, and having previously played for the club, I understand what Hastings United means to people… My experiences winning titles with Folkestone Invicta showed the standards, togetherness and culture needed to be successful, and those are values I want to bring here”.

The United board also announced last week that former CEO and women’s team manager Billy Wood has been brought back in a new role, Head of Football Operations. He will oversee both the men’s and women’s teams, working closely with respective managers, and strengthen the pathway for young players from the under 16s, under 18s and under 23s. He will also work closely with volunteer Adam Smith to enhance communications between the club and its supporters.

HUGH SULLIVAN

It’s early Saturday morning and there’s just one car parked outside the Knight & Davey Community Stadium in Westfield. Must be the groundsman – there he is, on a tractor mowing the pitch. He waves and drives across, a young man (to me) in his 30s.

“Hi, I’m from the Hastings Independent newspaper, come to interview your chairman, Jack Stapley,” I say. “Ah,” he says, “that’s me.”

Stapley is co-owner of Westfield FC along with local accountant Graham Knight and Steve Cooke, former Premier League defender with Bournemouth. Cooke still plays elite football with Queens Park Rangers in the Championship, but grew up in Hastings and was persuaded by Stapley, a friend from boyhood, to put a little of his hefty on-pitch earnings into the remarkable community project that the club represents.

GROUND DEVELOPMENT

The ground that Stapley’s been mowing is on the east side of the main A28 road through the village. It has been there as a playable football pitch only since January 2024, though its development was in the offing more than a decade before.

The club, founded in 1911, has for several decades harboured ambitions to offer more than a standard village amenity. But the team was barred from promotion to the higher divisions of the Sussex County League (SCL) by the lack of floodlighting. Its long-existing ground, Parish Field on the west side of the A28 main road, was too cramped and too close to neighbouring housing to be upgraded. Access from the road was difficult, with poor parking availability. In 2009 the clubhouse was burnt down in a fire. And when the SCL was re-structured as the Southern Combination Football League (SCFL) in 2015, the team found itself effectively demoted into the Mid-Sussex League (MSL).

However, by this time an imaginative deal had been struck between prospective housing developers and Westfield Parish Council. Planning permission was granted to build 39 houses east of the main road, conditional on a section 106 Agreement that involved transfer of land beyond the estate for a new football ground to be shared between the club and the local community.

Building eventually started in 2019, with substantial sponsorship funding offered by St Leonards plumbing and heating firm Knight & Davey (no relation to co-owner Graham Knight), whose name the stadium now bears. Floodlights have been installed, and a modest stand erected in the name of club president Graham Drinkwater, who has served it for over 50 years as former player (record goalscorer and appearance holder), manager, secretary and chairman. He and his wife still serve behind the bar, wash kit, litter pick and support the team home and away.

The club is hoping to obtain a grant from the Football Foundation to upgrade the pitch to an all-weather 4G surface, capable of accommodating more intensive use.

SEASON OF VICTORIES

Meanwhile, taking advantage of the facilities springing up around them, the current footballers enjoyed a remarkable season in 2025/26.

The first team, managed by Harry Stapley, Jack’s brother, won the MSL Premier League and will be promoted either to the SCFL or to the Southern Counties East League (formerly Kent League) next season. They have a settled squad and some excellent individual players – notably their Solomon Islander centre forward Rooney Riugaemai, centreback Joe Dicken and ex-Hastings United midfielder, Bradley Pritchard.

The second team, having remained unbeaten all season, won the East Sussex League by a wide margin and, come the autumn, will take the first team’s place in the MSL.

The trophy shelf in the new club office will also have to accommodate the winning of this season’s Sussex Intermediate Cup, the Hastings Intermediate Cup and the East Sussex Premier Cup.

Altogether, Westfield FC run five adult teams for men – first, second, third, Under 23s and Veterans. There’s also an under 18s team; 12 youth teams ranging between under 7s and under 14s; and a new adult women’s team is hoped to start next season.

Most of these teams still play on the old Parish Field ground. Jack Stapley says that, once a 4G pitch is installed on the new ground, more of the teams could play matches there, and it could also be used for squad training (last season they had to hire 3G facilities in Eastbourne). In the meantime it’s back to the mowing.

10 April: Broadbridge Heath 2, Hastings Utd 4

17 April: Hastings Utd 1, Herne Bay 1

HUGH SULLIVAN

On a sunny spring afternoon, before their biggest Saturday gate of the season – nearly 1,000 spectators – Hastings United came off the Pilot Field knowing that Isthmian League football will return there next season.

To make certain, they needed either a win against visitors Herne Bay or else failures on the part of their relegation rivals. By half-time the ‘U’s held a 1-0 lead, whilst news filtered in that Hassocks, Sheppey United and Erith Town were all losing. By full-time the home score had been pegged back to 1-1 by a late penalty, but none of the other threatened sides had rescued a point between them: Hastings have survived.

The groundwork for this relief was laid the previous Saturday when the team travelled to Broadbridge Heath. Having scored a total of only three goals in their previous five matches, they went two up within 20 minutes. Damien Theodore ran through after good build-up play by Lukas Franzen-Jones and Ezekiel Williams; then Jordan Mase latched onto a ball over the top of the defence and picked his spot past the home goalkeeper.

The lead was halved before halftime but renewed shortly after when Theodore scored again at the far post from a cross by Franzen-Jones. The ‘U’s conceded a second in added time to a powerful strike, but replied with their own fourth goal, scored by substitute Max Walsh, to come off 4-2 winners.

A week later, they started brightly again: Jack Saunders, Jordan Mase and George Taggart pulled the strings in midfield; captain Freddie Legg, leading by example in a fully committed performance from right back, was prominent in both attack and defence.

Herne Bay, though they had nothing to play for in terms of league position, showed their own mettle, with a quick and physically imposing forward line that on several occasions had the Hastings back line at full stretch. Williams came off worse in a full-blooded tangle of legs with central striker Rushaar Samuel-Smikle and had to limp off out of the fray. Then the same forward burst through and was taken out at the edge of the penalty area by a flying challenge from United goalkeeper Harry Haines.

A red card offence? Many referees might have adjudged it so. This one, Nicholas Bone, who was authoritative throughout, decided that there had been a covering defender and brandished a yellow instead.

United steadied themselves and went ahead with a coolly taken goal by Walsh.

The second half was played at a reduced pace, and the ‘U’s seemed mostly in control until, somewhat against the run of play, Legg tripped the visitors’ left winger in his own penalty area. A spotkick was awarded and dispatched. But the news from Hassocks and elsewhere remained satisfactory, and manager David Altendorff was clearly in no mood to risk his team’s defeat by any reckless attacking drive in the final minutes.

Both team and supporters greeted the final whistle with relief, if not unalloyed joy. They know that next season will need to be better.

ISTHMIAN LEAGUE SOUTH EAST DIVISION
(bottom Seven as at 19 April 2026)

In contrast to their senior club-mates, Hastings United’s Under-23s team showed no anxiety or nerves in storming to victory over Horsham YMCA in the Sussex Under-23s Cup final played at Lancing last week.

The academy side conceded an early goal, but hit back within five minutes with a deft finish from captain Archie Baker after a fine run and perfectly weighted pass by Charlie Scarles. Horsham had chances to regain the lead either side of the half time interval, but two excellent strikes from winger Ayo Olasimbo gave Hastings a clear advantage, and it was rammed home in the closing minutes with further goals from Elijah Shute and Seb Kane to make the final score 5-1.

Although the competition was billed as for under-23s, United went through it with a squad averaging several years younger, including several 16-year-olds. They had won 5-2 against Little Common and 6-0 over Horsham Crusaders in early rounds, beat reigning cup holders Hassocks on penalties in the quarterfinal (with six of the squad still under 17), and trounced East Preston 8-0 in the semifinal.

Of the team that played in the final, only Joe Clifford has had regular games for the ‘U’s first team in the Isthmian League.

Team manager Jon Gardner said after the final: “I couldn’t be prouder of this young squad. To win the County Cup – and in such emphatic fashion over a strong Horsham side – speaks volumes about their character, talent and togetherness.

“Every one of them has shown maturity beyond their years, not just in the way they played, but in how they prepared, supported each other, and handled the big occasion. This group represents the future of Hastings United, and today they showed exactly why we believe in them so much.”  

3 April: Hassocks 2, Hastings Utd 1

6 April: Hastings Utd 1, Ashford Utd 2

HUGH SULLIVAN

With just three games left in the Isthmian League season, Hastings United hang precariously above the drop zone in the south-east division. One team below them, East Grinstead Town, has been doomed for several weeks. The fates of two more, Beckenham Town and VCD Athletic, remain mathematically alive but no more. The fourth relegation place remains between four clubs: Hassocks, Erith Town, Hastings and Sheppey United.

At home to VCD on 28 March and away to Hassocks on Good Friday, Hastings had the opportunity to clear their path to safety against moderate opposition.

In the first of these matches they laboured to turn possession and territory into goal chances; when they did, their forwards flunked them. Lukas Franzen Jones contrived to put the ball over the bar from less than a yard out. Midway through the second half the ‘U’s were awarded a penalty for hand ball; Jordan Mase hit his shot too near the visitors’ goalkeeper and saw it saved. Only six minutes remained of the 90 when a long throw from the left looped off a defender’s head, and Eugene Asike, up from the back, nodded in at the far post.

On Good Friday, buoyed by the earlier win, the ‘U’s travelled to Hassocks. They again spurned chances, and fell behind when keeper Harry Haines touched a fierce shot onto the bar but couldn’t save the follow-up. Old guard defenders Tom Vickers and Brad Barry each hobbled out before half time with renewal of injuries that have plagued their respective seasons.

In the second half United attacked in waves, and James Stone seemed to have secured a deserved point when he bundled in a cross from Fin Chapman. But, five minutes into added time, the referee saw a hand ball in the penalty area, and the spot kick was dispatched to make Hassocks unlikely 2-1 winners.

Three days later, on Easter Monday, the ‘U’s entertained local rivals Ashford United before the first four-figure crowd of the season at the Pilot Field: over 1,300, the vast majority there as home supporters. Ashford provided a rather different calibre of opposition, quick and incisive in attack and exposing few gaps in defence.

The Kent side went ahead in the 26th minute from a sharp initial strike and rifled rebound. That lead was doubled just after half time from a flowing move involving Ashford’s star left-winger Louis Collins. His pinpoint cross was headed back across goal for their skipper Gary Lockyer to convert at close range. United keeper Harry Haines kept his team in the contest with a couple of smart stops, and Max Walsh pulled a goal back with a well-placed header from a cross by Jordan Mase, but an equaliser never looked probable.

Stone was red-carded in the last minute of added time along with former Hastings midfielder Sam Hasler. That will presumably result in suspension from some, perhaps all, of Hastings’ last three games – a loss that manager David Altendorff won’t have been happy with. Of those games, the one at home to Herne Bay on 18 April looks most winnable. Any points gained in the other two, away to Broadbridge Heath tomorrow (Saturday) and to Jersey Bulls on 25 April, would be a bonus.

The only small comfort of the Easter Monday afternoon was that Hassocks, Erith and Sheppey all lost as well. Hassocks, with a significantly worse goal average than Hastings, need a minimum of five points to overtake them, and face three top-half opponents, including Ashford on the final day. 

ISTHMIAN LEAGUE SOUTH EAST DIVISION (bottom Seven as at 7 April 2026)

14 March: Hastings Utd 0, Margate 1
21 March: Sevenoaks Town 2, Hastings Utd 0

HUGH SULLIVAN

After back-to-back wins had seemed to lift Hastings United out of relegation trouble in the Isthmian League’s South-East Division, a pair of defeats over the past fortnight has pitched them back in it.

At home to Margate on 14 March, the ‘U’s arguably had the better of the game, but conceded a goal on the break 20 minutes from time, which manager David Altendorff felt was poorly defended (as well as “clearly offside”). Chances to equalise were not taken.

A week later, they fought another close match away at Sevenoaks, going down this time to two goals scored in the last quarter. It’s the story of their season: they seem to need a first half lead if they’re to come out on top.

League results over the next ten days are now critical. Tomorrow (Saturday), the visitors to the Pilot Field, VCD Athletic, are among the bottom three teams looking odds-on to be relegated. On Good Friday, 3 April, United travel to Hassocks, who are fifth from bottom, one place above the drop zone.

Two victories against these fellow strugglers, and United may consider themselves relatively safe. Anything less, and nerves will remain frazzled. The side currently in the fourth relegation spot is Erith Town, but they have two home games this week, including one against already doomed East Grinstead Town; then another on Easter Monday against second bottom Beckenham Town, while the ‘U’s host near-neighbours Ashford United.

Off the field, the club has confirmed that its academic partnership with East Sussex College, in operation since 2017, has been extended until July 2027. The club offers young footballers, both male and female, elite-level coaching and competitive match experience at under-19 level or above.

As education partner, the College delivers an academic curriculum, student support and pastoral care so that they can at the same time pursue accredited academic qualifications. The aim is to balance sporting ambitions with strong educational foundations.

Over the past nine years, numerous students have progressed both on and off the pitch, several advancing to professional clubs as players and/or coaches. Community outreach initiatives, work experience placements and special events have brought both club and college closer to the local community.

Neither party has mentioned the unthinkable – the possibility of another relegation next month that would tip the club out of the Isthmian League into a lower tier of football. It can’t happen. Or could it?

ISTHMIAN LEAGUE SOUTH EAST DIVISION (bottom six as at 22 March 2026)

24 February: Hastings Utd 0, Three Bridges 3
28 February: Hastings Utd 3, East Grinstead Town 0
7 March: Beckenham Town 1, Hastings Utd 3

Hastings United went down 3-0 in a midweek home encounter with Isthmian League leaders Three Bridges on 24 February. However, they have bounced back with victories against the bottom two sides on two subsequent Saturdays, opening up a healthy ten-point gap between them and the nearest side in the relegation zone. Only a total collapse in their last eight games would bring doom upon them, and there’s no reason on current form to fear that.

The game against East Grinstead, contested on a heavy but playable surface at the Pilot Field, was in truth somewhat frustrating for both players and supporters. The visitors had won only one league game all season (back in September) and had shipped 22 goals in their last three. The ‘U’s duly scored three goals in a nine-minute period midway through the first half through Fin Chapman, new recruit Max Walsh and Lukas Franzen-Jones, and should have scored a hatful more in the second half, with Franzen-Jones and Jordan Mase both contriving to miss in front of a gaping net. At the other end they gave away a needless penalty and had loanee keeper Harry Haines for keeping the defensive sheet clean with a superb save, diving full length to his right.

Away at Beckenham seven days later, Hastings went two up within 14 minutes, Franzen-Jones atoning for his profligacy of the previous Saturday by scoring both. A penalty was then conceded, this time tucked away, and the ‘U’s held their precarious 2-1 lead for the rest of the afternoon, until the 90th minute when Mase also made amends for previous misses with a sumptuous finish to spark joyous celebration.

The club, which will mark its 24th anniversary later this year, offers both match participation and coaching to children (from age 5 upwards) and adults with special needs, mental health challenges, and physical disabilities.

Paul Anderson has stepped down after serving six years as Specials Chairman (with nine years of volunteer contributions before that). The new chair is Duncan Nolan, who has also served 15 years with the club, revitalising operations and ensuring robust membership. He comes to the principal role after a notably successful career in club management – both in mainstream and disability football.

The Specials have, in the past, had 90+ players (counting both children and adults) on their books, with 65 or more attending sessions every weekend. Many former youngsters, now in their 20s and 30s, have gone on to play and thrive in mainstream football.

The club used to run teams competing in (and sometimes winning) local disability leagues centred in Maidstone and in West Sussex, but funding to cover the travel and other costs of this was lost after the Covid-19 pandemic. Save for one-off events, which include a charity day out at Hollington, matches are now only played at the home pitch in Bexhill.

Here, Specials teams for ages 12 to 50+ play friendlies through the season against local walking football teams, including the Old Bexhillians (OBs), Monday Night Walkers, and the Walking Wednesdays. Robert Carey of the OBs, comments: “The Specials are, by their very name, special, and a series of matches have taken place where the emphasis has been fun and great spirit between the two sets of players. The results have been somewhat irrelevant – the sessions have been enjoyed by many OB men and women players.”

The Specials also run a team for 6-12 year-olds, while the OBs have a senior side of over

HS: How did you rate the performance today?

DA: I was really happy. It’s a shame we didn’t score early on when we were right on top. In the second half it could have gone either way. Our keeper made some good saves, but we had chances too. I agreed at the end with the Merstham manager Jamie Decruz, who I get on well with, that a draw was probably fair.

HS: How about the season as a whole?

DA: Obviously the first task is to avoid relegation. But I think we’re much better than our league position suggests, and I’m sure the points will come. There are 12 games left. We probably need four wins – I’m confident we’ll get them.

HS: Do you now have the players you want?

DA: When a new manager arrives, there are bound to be changes in the squad. Some players want to leave with the outgoing manager, some players for whatever reason don’t fit with the new regime. We [I and my assistant Alex Marr] have brought in new players who’ve enjoyed playing with me with before, and if there’s a chance of getting in some on loan for short term benefit, we’ll do it – particularly in our league position, we need to get as many points as we can. It wasn’t my intention to make as many changes as we’ve done. But overall, I think the squad is in much better shape now than when we first came in.

HS: You’ve put another couple of new players in today.

DA: Yes, keeper Harry Haines and number 10 Jedd Hobbs have come to us on loan from Bromley Under-21s for the rest of the season. We’ve watched Harry for quite a time, and Jedd at 17 is a real prospect – sharp and energetic. They’re good quality footballers and they’ll help us.

HS: How did George Taggart feel about being left out today?

DA: I’m sure he’s very disappointed. But I’ve worked with George before, he knows I rate him highly, and he has a lot to contribute – very much part of our future. I try to be transparent with the players, giving them a clear set of criteria. If they do everything they’re asked to, they’ll be in the team.

HS: You live in Haywards Heath, and you’ve set up training in Brighton. How does having to train there affect the squad?

DA: We’re not in Brighton for my own benefit, it’s because there are no 3G pitches in Hastings, nor were there any available in Eastbourne. It was okay training on the Pilot Field pitch at the beginning of the season, but in winter – particularly with the weather we’ve been having – that’s not feasible. We were lucky to find training facilities both at Varndean School [in Brighton] and at Sussex University. We go there on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. To be honest, it probably suits the majority of players to be training at a central location in Sussex rather than in Hastings. And they’re all ambitious and professional – they understand they may need to spend an hour in the car getting to a place that’s suitable to train at.

HS: How would you describe the type of football you’re aiming for?

DA: I like football to be possession-based, playing through midfield. But we have to be pragmatic and adapt to the surfaces we play on. About a third of the teams in our division play on 3G, but the majority play on grass like us, which at this time of year means uneven ground where the ball’s going to bobble and deviate.

HS: Has the team played better on the 3G pitches?

DA: In terms of results, there’s been no correlation. We’ve won on grass, lost on grass; won on 3G, lost on 3G. Overall, the team has struggled for consistency, but I don’t think it’s to do with that.

HS: In all the league games which the team has won this season, it has already been leading at halftime. Why do you think second halves have been such a struggle?

DA: I don’t really know, but I don’t think it’s fitness. Not everyone can run forever like Jordan Mase, but every player wears a GPS tracker, so we can monitor their physical performance. I think it’s more of a mental thing. When you’re down at the bottom end of the league, winning isn’t something you’re used to and, towards the end of a game, it feels harder to get there.

HS: How about next season?

DA: Assuming we stay up, I’m optimistic that we can make a serious promotion push next year. I believe in this group of players. They’re always very confident going into every game – there’s good morale in the dressing-room. And, behind them, owners who’ve given me and Alex a warm welcome, a good set of volunteers, and great supporters. I’m genuinely super-excited about next season.

21 February: Deal Town 3, Hastings Utd 0

HUGH SULLIVAN

Hastings United remain perilously close to the relegation zone of the Isthmian League’s South-East Division after two goalless outings over the past fortnight. And with a home game on Tuesday this week (after this column has gone to press) against free-scoring league leaders Three Bridges – 94 goals scored in 30 games, more than double Hastings’ tally – their position may have deteriorated even further.

However, weather permitting, the ‘U’s are due to host bottom-of-the table East Grinstead tomorrow (Saturday), followed by an away match against second-bottom Beckenham Town the following Saturday, 7 March. Manager David Altendorff has said – see the interview below – that four wins over the rest of the season should be sufficient to ensure his team’s league survival. These two matches are surely prime opportunities to reach towards that target. East Grinstead have won only one match all season. Beckenham are without a win in their last five games, though four of these were drawn.

To win, however, Hastings have to score, and that has proved increasingly problematic in recent weeks. Since a 3-0 win over other relegation strugglers VCD Athletic on 10 January, Hastings have netted only three goals in six games. Apart from a home defeat by Crowborough Athletic on 20 January, these have all been games against promotion-chasing teams, with two 0-0 draws at home and three heavy defeats away. Even in those defeats, the ‘U’s have tended to match their opponents in midfield for long stretches, but failed to convert goal-scoring chances and found themselves punished at the wrong end by more clinical finishing.

At the Pilot Field on 14 January, a heavy pitch made it difficult for both Hastings and visitors Merstham to work openings at either end. United got the ball in the net in the first half, but Jordan Mase was adjudged to have dribbled the ball marginally over the goal-line before pulling it back, and the goal was disallowed. Merstham’s tricky left winger gave the ‘U’s right back Ezekiel Williams a tough afternoon. Central defenders Sam Pidgeon and Eugene Asike were generally able to keep the rest of the opposing attack at bay, but new keeper Harry Haines, on loan from Bromley, had to make a couple of sharp stops, and the underside of the cross-bar came to his aid when beaten by a powerful shot late on. The draw was probably a fair result, all things considered.

A week later, United travelled in hope to Deal and again carved out some good chances throughout the first half without taking them. But their hosts, having scored on the half-hour mark, added two more early in the second, and there was no way back.

31 January: Faversham Town 5, Hastings Utd 1

7 February: Hastings, Three Bridges Utd match postponed

HUGH SULLIVAN

Heavy defeat at Faversham followed by heavy rain at the Pilot Field, which washed out last Saturday’s scheduled match against Three Bridges, made the last fortnight one to forget for followers of Hastings United. However, rather than getting stuck immobile in the muddy terrain or casting anxious looks once more at the Isthmian league table, the club has been addressing its future by offering new contracts to key players.

Midfielder Jordan Mase and defender Sam Pidgeon are reported to have signed contracts to stay with the club until at least the end of the 2026/27 season.

Both were brought in by manager David Altendorff when he arrived at the club in late October. Mase found the net in each of his first three games, and is not only the team’s top scorer but has been its most consistent performer – the fulcrum on which most attacks are mounted, equally busy and determined in the tackle when opponents try to play through midfield. Pidgeon has been physically strong, calm and reliable in defence, both in the air and on the ground, and whether as centre back or full back. He has also weighed in with a couple of goals.

The team’s current league position – two places and six points above the drop – remains concerning, and form – no wins in the last four games – needs a boost. But the commitment which these outstanding players have shown to stay with the club should encourage others, not least Altendorff himself, to stick around. The aim this season must be to work back to a respectable mid-table place, which is the best they can now hope for. Next season will, if the club’s board have their way, be different.

At Faversham on 31 January, the ‘U’s scored first, Fin Chapman breaking down the right and Lukas Franzen-Jones running across the front of a defender to finish his cross. But the home side equalised midway through the half, took a 2-1 lead on the stroke of halftime, and within ten minutes of the second half scored two more. While Hastings were creating chances but missing them (including a penalty), Faversham enjoyed an afternoon of fabulous strikes – two goals smashed into the top corner of Harry Howes’ net, and a bicycle kick from 15 yards, before they converted a late penalty to make the final score a 5-1 rout.

The pattern of second half struggle has been repeated time and again over the season. In 37 league and cup games, United have won just once after conceding the first goal. (That was against Sheppey United in December, and by halftime in that match they had already turned the score round to be 2-1 ahead). It’s also the fact that all nine of the team’s league victories have been achieved after coming in ahead at halftime.

Is the set-up of the team unsuited to breaking down opposing defences when they are protecting a lead? Do heads drop when goals are conceded? Is fitness a problem? Do the substitutes available on the bench lack the quality of those they replace? These are the questions that supporters ask and Altendorff has to find answers for – when Hastings next play.

It was no surprise that last Saturday’s game against league leaders Three Bridges was called off. After weeks of rain, the Pilot Field pitch is well and truly saturated, and only three out of 11 fixtures survived across the Isthmian South-East Division (one of those was in Jersey). Tomorrow’s fixture (Saturday), another home match against Surrey team Merstham, must also be in doubt. There will probably be a pitch inspection in the morning, with the outcome shown on the club’s Facebook page.

ISTHMIAN LEAGUE SOUTH EAST DIVISION
(bottom six as at  8 February 2026)

20 January: Hastings Utd 1, Crowborough Athletic 2

24 January: Hastings Utd 0, Whyteleafe 0

HUGH SULLIVAN

Hastings United scraped one point from a draw and two defeats over eight days of Isthmian League competition last week. They again sit precariously only two places above the drop zone.

However, although his team were ultimately well beaten by second-placed Croydon on 17 January and subsided to another disappointing home defeat by Crowborough three days later, manager David Altendorff shouldn’t be feeling too despondent. The match at the Pilot Field last Saturday against Whyteleafe, another team with promotion aspirations, saw the ‘U’s perform creditably for long periods, failing to score on no less than three occasions by the intervention of post or cross-bar, and showing no lack of energy or fight.

At Croydon, the ‘U’s had scored early through Damien Theodore and, although the home team equalised ten minutes into the second half through an own goal, the score remained at 1-1 until less than 20 minutes from full time.

The replacement of George Taggart by Brad Barry and Theodore by Walter Figuera had kept the ‘U’s refreshed, and a draw looked on the cards. Then former ‘U’s forward Reece Grant put Croydon ahead, and they rattled in two more goals to give the final score-line a deceptive margin.

That was James Stone’s last game for Hastings – he signed within a couple of days for Isthmian Premier side Burgess Hill Town. Altendorff immediately recruited a replacement forward, Lukas Franzen-Jones, who has scored hatfuls of goals for him in previous campaigns at Newhaven and Lancing.

Whether he can do the business for Hastings remains to be seen. He wasn’t given much service in midweek against Crowborough: in blustery conditions at the Pilot Field, the ‘U’s went two goals down before a late penalty was tucked away by Jordan Mase – too little, two late in the 2-1 defeat.

After further sweeping rainfall over the next couple of days, the home pitch last Saturday was predictably heavy – a throwback to past eras of muddy goalmouths and clogging tackles. Visitors Whyteleafe played from an old-style training manual too, launching the ball long at every opportunity for swift-running forwards to chase.

The Hastings defence withstood the aerial barrage well: Barry starting in the centre alongside deserved man-of-the-match Eugene Asike while Freddie Legg and Sam Pidgeon secured the flanks.

In goal, Harry Howes, deputising for the injured Harley Earle, had some trouble with his kicking but otherwise suffered few alarms – though a series of well-delivered corners led to a couple of goalmouth scrambles. When Barry limped off injured shortly before halftime, his replacement Tito Salaam added extra height and pace to the defence.

Further forward, the composed Mase and his hard-running lieutenants Jack Saunders and George Taggart sweated for the cause, playing neat football at times despite the conditions. Up front, Theodore and Fin Chapman had their moments, and Franzen-Jones had one twisted header tipped over the bar.

Nearest to a goal, though, was a shot by Mase onto the base of a post, and later a towering Pidgeon header from a Mase corner that cannoned back off the bar.

Although a goalless home draw in the mud on a near-freezing January afternoon sounds less than entertaining, few of the near-800 crowd seemed to see it that way, and the team’s efforts were well applauded at the end. On another day United will perform worse and win.

Tomorrow (Saturday) they travel to Faversham, another side currently in the divisional play-off zone. It’s the fourth meeting between the two this season. Back in August the ‘U’s drew there 2-2 in the FA Cup, then suffered a 0-3 defeat in the home replay before losing 1-2 in a league match in early October. But there won’t be much familiarity between the players. Only three of Altendorff’s men likely to start this time – Legg, Chapman and Earle (if he’s fit) – featured in any of the previous games. 

20 December: Hastings Utd 3, Sheppey United 2
27 December: Ashford Utd 1, Hastings Utd 0
10 January: VCD Athletic 0, Hastings Utd 3

HUGH SULLIVAN

An eventually comfortable 3-0 victory for Hastings United last Saturday at Dartford against VCD Athletic confirmed that the Pilot Field side should be looking up rather than down the Isthmian League table over the remainder of the season. They are a long way off a play-off place – still 16 points and 11 places below current fifth-placed team AFC Whyteleafe. But they’re also now 11 points above the drop zone, and playing with a belief that their dismal early season form belongs in the past.

At home to Sheppey United on the Saturday before Christmas, the ‘U’s conceded an early goal but were 2-1 up at the break after goals scored by new recruit Lorenzo Lewis and centre forward James Stone. Freddie Legg extended the lead early in the second half; the Kent visitors pulled the score back to 3-2, but couldn’t find an equaliser.

There was no Boxing Day fixture, but a short trip to Ashford the following day. Both teams have been in good form of late, and it seemed for most of the afternoon that they would cancel each other out in a 0-0 draw. Not so: the home team scored in the last quarter to send the ‘U’s home pointless.

The scheduled game against Crowborough Athletic on 3 January was postponed after a morning inspection confirmed that the snow-flecked pitch was unplayable. Heavy rain from Storm Goretti also threatened the viability of the VCD pitch a week later, but it was pronounced fit, and both the United footballers and their loyal travelling support enjoyed their outing to the Thames estuary.

The first half remained goalless until the 41st minute when Walter Figueira set up Freddie Legg to shoot into the far corner, putting United ahead. Late in the second half debutant Damien Theodore was brought down in the penalty area for Jordan Mase to net his spot-kick. Then the same two players combined for a third goal, Theodore dancing past several opponents in a mazy run before supplying a pass for Mase to score from 20 yards. 

HUGH SULLIVAN

The second half of November began poorly for Hastings United as a weakened line-up sank to heavy defeat in the Sussex Senior Cup at Broadbridge. But two Isthmian League games on the past two Saturdays have brought much improved performances from a team returned to full strength. And the two resulting victories have moved them to the relative comfort of 15th place in the Isthmian South-East League table, four above the relegation zone.

The cup match can be passed over quickly. Manager David Altendorff rested key defender Sam Pidgeon and first choice midfielders Jordan Mase and George Taggart. The ‘U’s went two goals down, got one back before halftime from a fierce strike by Walter Figueira, but conceded two more early in the second half and eventually succumbed 5-1.

Four days later, they hosted Jersey Bulls in an early kick-off at the Pilot Field. The visitors opted for a direct approach but found Pidgeon and Eugene Asike dominant in the air, whilst United left- back Sonny Causton and midfielder Jack Saunders both excelled in turning defensive duties into counter-attack. Ahead of them, Mase and Taggart, restored to the side, brought an attacking cohesion and dynamism which have been missing for much of the season.

Forwards James Stone and Fin Chapman enjoyed the service they provided, but it was Asike who put Hastings ahead in the 16th minute, crashing the ball joyously into the back of the net after Chapman’s header from a corner had rebounded along the goal-line.

The ‘U’s retained midfield superiority for the rest of the half, but as they tired in the second, the visitors gained increasing possession, hit the woodwork themselves, and came close on a couple of other occasions before the final whistle confirmed the 1-0 home victory. It was only the second occasion in 23 league and cup matches since the middle of August that the Hastings team had kept their opposition goal-less.

Last Saturday they travelled to Erith Town, with an unchanged starting line-up. The two teams had contested a drab 0-0 draw at the Pilot Field in the first match of the season back in August, and were starting this one level on points in the league table. On a wet and windy afternoon it took the ‘U’s nearly 40 minutes to open the scoring. Again it came from a corner: the ball was cleared to the edge of the penalty area, from where Stone powered it back into the net.

In the second half Altendorff enhanced United’s attack by bringing on Figueira in place of Alfie Hilden, and was swiftly rewarded when the substitute produced a smart finish to double the score. Even better, a second substitute Finlay Lovatt, making his debut as replacement for Saunders, netted a third goal with almost his first touch. A second successive clean sheet looked probable until the Kent side scored a consolation goal late on.

Tomorrow (Saturday) the ‘U’s are scheduled to host another Kent side in the bottom four of the league, Sevenoaks Town

HUGH SULLIVAN

Hastings United remain out of the bottom four of the Isthmian South-East Division only on goal difference after a 3-0 defeat last Saturday at Herne Bay. That was a disappointing result after a run of four games unbeaten. But it’s no surprise that David Altendorff’s men are taking time to find consistent form, given the extent of player comings and goings to and from the Pilot Field in recent weeks.

With Brad Barry again unfit and Harvey Earle out with a knock, replaced by former academy keeper Harry Howes, not one of the 11 players who started the season’s opening game against Erith Town in August were in the line-up against Herne Bay.

At the beginning of this month Eugene Asike, Jordan Mase, Sam Pidgeon and Hayden Skerry were all brought in by the new manager. Mase and Pidgeon have both hit the ground running with a couple of goals apiece since they arrived – Pidgeon from centre back, Mase from midfield.

To balance these arrivals, Jack Lyons and Charlie Ball have both been released. Lyons was an early season home favourite in his role as scampering winger, and Ball has had his moments in midfield, but both are said by a club spokesperson to have made requests to leave.

More recently, Marc Swainston and Bruno Tavares, who signed up only in September to lead the forward line in place of Callum Barlow, have departed. Short-term loanees Julius Nwike from Southend United and Will Harley from Eastbourne Borough have also returned to their respective parent clubs. Two new forwards James Stone, signed from Sevenoaks Town, and Rusharr Samuel-Smikle, from Sittingbourne, have been recruited to fill the gaps, along with a fresh loanee, Alfie Hilden from League 2 side Bromley.

INJURY LIST

Then there are the absent injured. Tom Vickers is reported to need surgery and is unlikely to feature for several months. Dean Gunner, defensive lynchpin in early games, then side-lined with a groin injury, is said to be recovering “better than expected” and is hoped to be fit again around Christmas. Hearteningly, long term absentee Tom Chalmers is reported to be “back around the squad at training”. He’s not expected to play any time soon, but the very fact that he’s been mentioned once again in dispatches will surely cheer ‘U’s supporters who remember his youthful talent from a couple of seasons back.

Those supporters – in a crowd of over 800 – did at least have a home victory to celebrate on 8 November over Beckenham Town, bottom-but-one of the Division. After 31 minutes the ‘U’s were three goals up and coasting, with Pidgeon, Walter Figueira and Mase all netting against a somewhat shambolic defence. But the visitors pulled a goal back before halftime, scored again early in the second half, and from then on had the better of the play without being able to force an equaliser as the home side hung on.

Three days later, Hastings made the short trip to Eastbourne for a Tuesday evening return fixture against the Town side they had beaten in August. This time the ‘U’s went 3-1 up, with an early goal from Stone, a header from Pidgeon from a free-kick, and a sweet strike from Hilden set up by Mase. But again their opponents fought back into the game with an immediate second goal to halve the deficit, and scored an eventual third ten minutes from time.

Next up is a home match tomorrow (Saturday) against mid-table Jersey Bulls. There’s an early kick-off at 12.45pm, in order to allow the long range visitors to fly home in reasonable time. The following Saturday, 29 November, it’s Erith Town away.

ISTHMIAN LEAGUE SOUTH EAST DIVISION (bottom six as at 16 November)

21 October: Hastings 1, Broadbridge Heath 2

25 October: Hastings 1, Deal Town 3

28 October: Hastings 1, Hassocks 1

1 November: East Grinstead Town 1, Hastings 4

HUGH SULLIVAN

It’s been an eventful fortnight at the Pilot Field. After home defeat by Broadbridge Heath on 21 October, Hastings United parted company with manager Lee Carey, replacing him immediately with David Altendorff, former boss at Lancing and Whitehawk. Two more Isthmian League home games ensued under the new regime, a loss to Deal Town followed by a draw with Hassocks.

But a 4-1 win away at bottom-of-the-league East Grinstead Town last Saturday took the ‘U’s out of the relegation zone.They have the chance tomorrow (Saturday) to pull further away when they host lowly Beckenham Town.

Carey’s last game against Broadbridge followed a familiar pattern. Still without main striker Bruno Tavares and with captain Brad Barry on the bench but still unfit, United toiled through a goalless first half, and went behind early in the second. Recent recruit Walter Figueira soon equalised, and a draw was on the cards when the visitors scored a late winner.

CAREY LEAVES

Replacement boss David Altendorff, who took over the role in the same week, played all his football at Step 5 (a tier below the Isthmian South-East Division) or lower, but is a PE teacher with extensive youth coaching experience. He gained a good reputation as manager at Lancing, and briefly managed Whitehawk last season in the Isthmian Premier.

The club announced immediately afterwards that Carey would step down “by mutual consent”. It had been a managerial tenure that the board clearly felt it could not prolong: eight league games lost and only two won out of 12 played, plus elimination from all major cup competitions. Carey, a well-liked former United player who captained the team that reached the third round of the FA Cup in 2012-13, may well have felt the same.

His first game in charge at the Pilot Field began with two early goals conceded to visitors Deal Town. George Taggart pulled one back at the start of the second half, but Deal soon restored their double advantage and ran out comfortable 3-1 winners.

NEW RECRUITS

Three evenings later, United hosted Hassocks, who are playing at this level for the first time in their history after promotion from the Southern Combination Premier last season. Altendorff introduced two new central defenders into the ‘U’s line-up, Sam Pidgeon and Eugene Asike, plus a hard-running midfielder Jordan Mase.

Pidgeon, in particular, who has played most of his recent football at college in the USA, looked an excellent acquisition, and Mase scored with a close-range header after a break down the right wing enabled Fin Chapman to send in a pinpoint cross.

United seemed to have done enough to claim the points, but Alterndorff’s tactic of removing all his frontline attackers – Chapman, Tavares, Taggart and Figueira – to see out the game in more defensive mode backfired. The Mid Sussex team pressed forward, bombarding the home penalty box with a series of long throws. In added time, one such throw was headed out and rifled back into the corner of the net for an equaliser. “We were trying to be professional… to do the right thing,” Altendorff said after the game.

At East Grinstead last Saturday there was no such regression. After 15 minutes, Freddie Legg latched onto a through ball from Taggart to

put the ‘U’s a goal up; eight minutes later, Mase scored a second from a right-wing cross delivered by Figueira. Although the home team halved the deficit on the half-hour mark, Chapman curled a superb shot round their goalkeeper into the bottom right hand corner to restore the two-goal lead before halftime, and in the second half Barry converted a penalty to complete a 4-1 victory.

ISTHMIAN LEAGUE SOUTH EAST DIVISION (bottom six as at 2 November 2025)

14 Oct: Hastings Utd 0, Sittingbourne 1

18 Oct: Merstham 2, Hastings Utd 0

HUGH SULLIVAN

Hastings United’s season hit a new low last Saturday, as the last of three more Isthmian League defeats in eight days left them 21st out of 22 in the divisional table. They didn’t manage to score in any of these games, and their aggregate of just 10 in 11 league games indicates where the team’s primary problem lies.

To be fair, manager Lee Carey has had to cope with a succession of injury problems throughout the squad. Senior players Brad Barry (hamstring) and Tom Vickers (metatarsal) have been sidelined for more games that they’ve been available for; indeed Vickers hasn’t managed to complete any in the current campaign. Dean Gunner, mainstay of the defence in early season, has been out with a groin injury for more than a month, as has Charlie Paye (similar affliction). Bruno Tavares, recruited last month to lead the attack and immediately netting a couple of goals, has also been out of action with hamstring problems since the victory over Sheppey at the end of September.

On 11 October the ‘U’s travelled to Croydon to play AFC Whyteleafe. Already depleted, they lost Eric Schulz to a hamstring injury in the warm-up, so that Carey had to adjust the team set-up – putting “round pegs in square holes”, as he commented afterwards. The re-shaped defence conceded two goals in the first 34 minutes, then Charlie Scarles was sent off early in the second half to scotch any realistic possibilities of recovery. 

Three days later, Sittingbourne came as visitors to the Pilot Field for an evening kick-off. Carey brought back Charlie Ball into the United midfield and introduced two new recruits – defender Julius Nwike, an under-19s prospect on loan from National League side Southend United, and well-travelled forward Walter Figueira, ex-Lewes and Bognor Regis. A penalty, described by Carey as “soft”, was conceded in the 14th minute. Hastings huffed and puffed for the remainder of the game, hit the post and carved out a number of other goal chances – Sittingbourne’s keeper made several good saves – but could not find an equaliser.

Last Saturday, away at Merstham, the only change in the line-up was enforced by the suspension of Scarles, Mark Swainston taking his place. After a goal-less first half, the Surrey team went ahead halfway through the second, and sealed their win with a second goal near the end.

United had a home league fixture against Broadbridge Heath on Tuesday of this week (after this edition went to press), and play two more at the Pilot Field  in the coming week – against Deal Town tomorrow (Saturday) and Hassocks next Tuesday (28th). Despite results, home support has remained solid, with average attendances second only in the division to Jersey Bulls. But a victory (or two or three) would be good to cheer the fans. Or even a goal.

Billy Vigar, 21-year-old former Hastings United striker, died on 25 September after suffering a severe head injury playing for Chichester City. Chasing a ball to the goal line in an away match against Wingate & Finchley five days before, Vigar crashed into a concrete wall beyond it. He was attended by paramedics at the ground and rushed to hospital with an induced coma but failed to recover.

There will be an FA enquiry concerning the hazardous location of the perimeter wall, and the risk that other grounds may have similar features.

Vigar had been a popular member of the Hastings team in the first two months of last season, having previously represented Arsenal at youth level. He played most of his games for the ‘U’s as a mobile and hard-working centre forward, but may also be remembered fondly by home supporters for his performance as substitute goalkeeper in a game against Cheshunt at the Pilot Field last October, keeping a clean sheet for the whole of the second half after Louis Rogers had been red-carded. Four days later, he himself was stretchered off after a defender’s wild tackle in a match at Cray, and was sidelined for the rest of the season with a severe LCL injury. He joined Chichester City at the start of the current season.

27 Sept: Three Bridges 4, Hastings Utd 2

30 Sept: Sheppey Utd 0, Hastings Utd 3

4 Oct: Hastings Utd 1, Faversham Town 2

HUGH SULLIVAN

Hastings United recorded their first win since mid-August last Tuesday (30 September), when they travelled to Sheppey and came away with a 3-0 win. However, this victory has been sandwiched between two narrow defeats inflicted by teams making the running at the top of the Isthmian South-East league table. Three Bridges and Faversham (current first and third respectively) provided challenges which the men in claret-and-blue couldn’t quite match.

Away at Three Bridges on 27 September, the ‘U’s trailed 1-0 at halftime, then were buoyed by a superb 25-yard strike by young winger Jack Lyons early in the second half. The home side regained the lead almost immediately, but James Hull, replacing recent recruit Bruno Tavares up front, scored a second equaliser, and for a while United looked the likelier winners, only to concede two late goals.

It’s been a pattern of this season’s campaign: but for a 95th minute goal they would have won their FA Cup tie at Faversham in August; a 91st minute equaliser deprived them of a win at Sittingbourne on 16 September; Crowborough knocked them out of the Alan Turvey Cup on 24 September with a 94th minute winner.

At Sheppey on 30 September, however, there were no late scares. Tavares put the ‘U’s ahead in the tenth minute, and Hull, again substituting for him in the second half, scored two more without reply. It was the first clean sheet achieved by the United defence in nine games.

Last Saturday, their opponents at the Pilot Field were Faversham – a third contest between the sides in ,Jack Lyonsjust over a month after two previous cup-ties. In the absence of Tavares, Hull played as principal striker from the start and notched his fourth goal in three matches. But by that time, the Kent side were 2-0 up after converting goal chances in either half, and they held on to doom their hosts to another defeat.

United’s next three opponents – AFC Whyteleafe, Sittingbourne and Merstham – are all from the top eight of the divisional table. Manager Lee Carey has been insisting that the team has been showing “plenty of positive signs”. League points are what they need right now.

29 August: Faversham Town 2, Hastings United 2
2 September: Hastings 0, Faversham 3
6 September: Jersey Bulls 3, Hastings 1

HUGH SULLIVAN

The first week of September felt premature for Hastings United to banish ideas of major cup success this season. After all, it had hardly begun. But the ‘U’s will have to concentrate exclusively on their Isthmian League campaign now, having been dumped out of both the FA Cup and the FA Trophy in the space of four days last week.

Having overcome Harrow Borough in a preliminary round tie at the Pilot Field on 16 August, they were drawn to play away against Faversham Town two weeks later. The match was played on a Friday evening, with the Kent side coming into it as early leaders of the Isthmian South-East Division, unbeaten in their first four games.

The ‘U’s fielded an enterprising line-up: Callum Barlow, Fin Chapman and Jack Lyons played up front supported by Gil Carvalho, Charlie Ball and Charlie Scarles in midfield. They took the lead in the first half from a Chapman header and, with Harley Earle performing bravely between the posts, held their 1-0 advantage until the 89th minute when they conceded a penalty. It was taken for Faversham by former Hastings forward Tommy Fagg and duly dispatched. In the second minute of added time, United gained a free kick in a promising position, the goal attempt came back off the home crossbar, and Charlie Paye was on hand to knock it into the net to restore their lead. But two minutes later, under pressure in his own penalty area, Paye rifled the ball past Earle to concede a second equaliser.

Replays still follow draws at this stage of the competition, so the teams found themselves back at the Pilot Field four nights later. Hastings fielded the same team, save for Finlay Holter replacing Earle in goal. The game was scoreless in the first half, but Faversham went ahead on the hour mark, doubled their lead ten minutes later, and eventually completed a 3-0 win. Joe Clifford compounded the ‘U’s’ misery when he was sent off in added time.

Last Saturday the team flew to the island of Jersey for a match in the first qualifying round of the FA Trophy. Jersey Bulls are another side in the Isthmian South-East Division. They had drawn each of their three league games to date. Club captain Brad Barry was restored to the Hastings team along with Freddie Legg and James Hull, but there was no happy away day, as the home team scored right at the end of the first half and twice more in quick succession midway through the second. Lyons eventually netted a goal for Hastings to reduce the deficit to 3-1, but that was too little, too late.

After clean sheets in United’s first three league and cup games, they’ve conceded 11 goals in the next four – something for manager Lee Carey to work on as he ponders some tricky fixtures ahead. Tomorrow (Saturday) his side will be back at home in league action against Broadbridge Heath, and the following Saturday at home again against AFC Croydon Athletic, with an away trip to Sittingbourne on the Tuesday sandwiched in between. The current divisional table shows all three opponents among the top five.

As is known to all who have followed the fortunes of Hastings United FC in recent years, there have been two major attempts to move its ground from the Pilot Field in Elphinstone Road to pastures new. The first potential destination was the playing fields of Bulverhythe, where prospective construction of a new sports complex including cricket and hockey pitches was to be financed by house-building on the lower tier: the project was abandoned when the developer withdrew. Alternative plans to plant a new stadium at Tilekiln playing fields were initially encouraged by site owners Hastings Borough Council, but then blocked.

Owners at that time, Daren Burney and Peter Sherlock, departed, and the incoming directors led by Dean and Ben White inherited a club that had no choice but to stay put. Its players–men’s, women’s, and disability and inclusive teams plus a host of juniors–seemed to be thriving, but with infrastructure and facilities in desperate need of uplift.

Two years on from their takeover, little has changed on the surface at the Pilot Field. The central grass pitch, suffering somewhat from summer drought but newly mown for the opening of the 2025/26 season, will accommodate men’s and women’s first team games again until next April, as well as a new under-23s team and Isthmian under-18s. The large concrete stand, on the right hand side as you enter the ground, will celebrate its hundredth anniversary this year, though that’s likely to be its last for accommodating seated spectators following adverse structural reports. An executive box at the far end of the stand provides a temporary administrative office more practical than the warren of back rooms beneath.

ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS

Behind the scenes, more radical alterations are being planned, as the club look for alternative options.

The main stand is to be cleared at the end of this season – whether for complete demolition or for repurposing remains to be resolved.

But at eighth tier level (United’s current status in the South East Division of the Isthmian League), clubs are required to provide covered accommodation for a minimum of 300 spectators, with seats for 150 of them. At seventh tier (should United be promoted back to the Isthmian Premier), a minimum of 500 would need to be accommodated, 250 of them seated.

In order to fulfil these requirements, the club intends to transfer the current seating to the Steve Smith stand – the covered area beyond the bar to the left of the ground entrance – and in due course (over next summer if there’s enough cash available to do it) turn the pitch around by 90 degrees, so that this seating would again be side on rather than behind the goal. That repositioning would free up sufficient space at the far end of the current pitch for a second nine-a-side arena to be laid out for training and for junior teams to play on. Both new pitches would be provided with a 3G surface.

Where’s the money to come from? The past relocation plans were to have been financed largely by sale of the Pilot Field for house-building. With that prospect scotched by the borough council, the club is now looking primarily to the Football Foundation, a charity jointly sponsored by the FA, the Premier League and Government. According to the Foundation’s website (strapline: “25 years championing grassroots”), money will be invested “where the need is greatest and the greatest impact will be made”. Ben White has no doubt that Hastings as a town is at or near the top on both counts.

He points out that the club has three-star FA accreditation – as did only around 8% of other clubs in England when it was achieved in January 2024. This has been earned by the width of its provision encompassing around 500 participants across adult and junior teams of both sexes, an inclusive and disability team, and walking football for seniors. Last season its men’s team attracted some of the highest attendances for home games in the Isthmian Premier League despite poor results and ultimate relegation. The loyalty of its fan base is renowned across Kent and Sussex.

But in terms of facilities, United are feeding on scraps. There isn’t currently a single full-size 3G pitch in the borough of Hastings (nor 9v9 or 7v7, come to that), while the remaining council pitches on grass at Tilekiln and Sandhurst are desperately under-maintained with inadequate parking, dilapidated changing rooms and no spectator provision. Not only United teams but others in the community at all levels lack training facilities; all are compelled to travel out of the borough–to Rye Rugby Club, Bexhill Academy or Battle Sports Centre–to find pitches for training, and many for home matches.

“Our plans have been called ‘ambitious’”, says Ben White. “I don’t think so. I would call them ‘necessary and overdue’.”

Main goalscorer at the Pilot Field for the past two years Davide Rodari has stepped up to the National League South, joining Hampton & Richmond. Enterprising full back George Walker has also moved up, signing for Kidderminster Harriers in the National League North.

Keeping status in the Isthmian Premier League are goalkeeper Louis Rogers, who has joined Lewes, former captain Adam Lovatt, recruited by Wingate & Finchley, and Kian Moyes, who has moved to Chatham Town.

9 August: Hastings Utd 0, Erith Town 0

HUGH SULLIVAN

Last season, 2024-25, Hastings and Erith were two leagues apart. While United were being relegated back from the Isthmian Premier League (tier 7 of the football pyramid) to the South East Division, the Kent side based at Thamesmead were finishing fourth in the Southern Counties East League (tier 9) and then winning the play-offs to gain promotion. A combative and muscular bunch, they arrived at the Pilot Field last Saturday looking to establish themselves at tier 8, and were apparently content to emerge with a no-score away draw on their first outing.

Very few of this season’s Hastings side, for their part, are familiar with their home surroundings, and for the 850-odd crowd – down on last season but still comfortably the highest of any match in this division on the opening day–it was similarly an occasion for taking stock of an almost wholly new cast of characters. Who will last the course of 50 league games between now and next April is anyone’s guess.

Young players who caught the eye in the new United strip (more blue, less claret) were midfielder Charlie Ball, winger Dadigildo Cravid and fullback Joe Clifford, each prepared to go forward with the ball at pace. But on a dry, bumpy pitch – the result of drought conditions over much of the summer – and given little protection by a referee who allowed strong-arm defenders to exert muscle power (at both ends, to be fair), goal-scoring chances were few and far between. Centre forward Callum Barlow suffered a particularly frustrating afternoon, paid rough attention by a couple of Erith centre backs and frequently wrestled to the ground.

Hastings defenders, Dean Gunner, Charlie Paye and Dan Hull, themselves limited the visiting attack to very few inroads on goal and, behind them, goalkeeper Harley Earle looked assured.

Stand-out player for United was Brad Barry, former Eastbourne Borough captain, whose ability to find pockets of space in midfield and pick out a pass was clear evidence that he has played at more illustrious levels. But whether he’ll remain physically fit to have the team built round him must be a concern for manager Lee Carey. Even on Saturday he appeared to limp through the latter stages of the contest.

Hastings were due to play a further league game on Wednesday this week at home to Eastbourne Town, then an FA Cup preliminary round tie against Harrow Borough (Isthmian South Central Division) tomorrow (Saturday). Carey has a big enough squad to ring changes for these matches – so more first impressions for ‘U’s supporters.

Football coach Dan Pascoe comes to every Friday evening training session at St Leonards Academy with a heavy bag. It doesn’t contain footballs, boots or other playing gear; from it he pulls out a state-of-the-art weighing machine. As each player arrives in the dressing room to change for a six-a-side game on the astroturf pitch outside, Dan measures his weight, tracked against previous weekly records. Points are scored if there’s been a healthy reduction.

Welcome to the world of Man v Fat football, where weight loss and goals scored are equally celebrated and equally competitive. Teams win by combining goals scored and kilos shedded. And if your team doesn’t win on the night, you can still come away knowing that your BMI (body mass index) is moving into credit.

Hastings has accommodated a Man v Fat football programme for the past seven years under a nationwide scheme focused on improving men’s physical and mental health. Some of its participants have been recommended to take part by their GPs; others have found it from social media posts or by old-fashioned word-of-mouth. Upwards of 50 local men – the youngest in their 20s, the oldest in mid-50s – are enrolled to play sessions, which are now held at St Leonards every Friday, and there are always enough to contest two successive six- or seven-a-side matches over the evening as part of a series of league and cup tournaments.

And, from earlier this year, they’ve branched into an 11-a-side team, AFC Hasting. It was founded by Robin Clifford and Daniel Cookson with assistance from committee members Steve Groombridge and Mathew Denness, and is, sponsored by local business Kiley’s Carpets, The team entered a competition branded as the Southern Development League, which arranges Sunday morning matches between participating Man v Fat clubs–and became league champions in their first season.

The league is based in Kent, which involves the Hastings contingent in long away trips including to Margate and Chatham, but these are team-building experiences that serve to unite the players as only shared sporting endeavours can do.

The Friday night session reveals that some players have wider girths than others, and that some bring more skills – in several cases remembered from past footballing careers when they were younger and slimmer. But all show they’re competitive enough to want to win, and many (talking before and afterwards) endorse the friendships and team spirit that they’ve gained from joining the group.

“Football is the anchor,” says Robin, resplendent in his all-orange goalkeeper kit sponsored by Kiley’s. “But we can do so much more.”

Man v Fat six– or seven-a-side matches take place at St Leonards Academy every Friday evening between 7 and 9pm. AFC Hastings train at Bexhill College on Sundays 9-11am. New recruits are very welcome, of whatever age, footballing skill and size of stomach.

HUGH SULLIVAN

Lee Carey featured prominently as a 19-year-old in the Hastings United promotion side of 2006/7 and captained the team in the FA cup run of 2012/13. He returned to the club’s Pilot Field headquarters to assist chairman Dean White in managing the team for the run-in last season and has now been appointed permanent men’s first team manager for next season.

He will start, however, with a dearth of aces in his pack. Davide Rodari, Adam Lovatt and George Walker – in most supporters’ estimation the best three outfield players in the United team during the last campaign – have all departed after failing to agree terms of contract renewal.

It’s not surprising that a team that’s been relegated to a lower division should struggle to hang on to their better players. These three are, or should be, all at the peak of their physical potential as footballers. If they’re going to play at a higher level, this is the time to do it.

Rodari, born in Switzerland and now aged 25, once played youth football for Inter Milan. He joined Hastings United aged 17 and, after showing prodigious talent as a goal-scoring forward, was signed four years later by Crawley Town, then an EFL League Two side. He made 13 appearances for them in the season 2020-21. In subsequent seasons he was sent out on loan to a series of clubs before being released at the end of his two-and-a-half-year contract and returning to Hastings. Back at the Pilot Field, he netted 28 Isthmian League goals in 2023-24 and, despite the team’s overall poor attacking record and ultimate relegation, another 18 in 2024-25.

Could he have another stab at league football? He may be judged to lack either sufficient pace or physique for the EFL. But he’s certainly a more complete footballer than when he first went to Crawley: he has learnt to battle for openings as leader of an attacking line, and he still has a high rate of converting chances into goals – the most prized talent a footballer can offer. It would be surprising if his services are not bid for by a National League side.

Lovatt is older than Rodari by just a few weeks. Like him, he played as a teenager for Hastings United, in his case as a tenacious midfielder with plenty of stamina; and, at the age of 21, he too joined a side, Sutton United, which was promoted to League Two. Lovatt made a league appearance for them before being sent out on loan, but eventually found himself back at Hastings when his EFL contract was not renewed. Again, he may lack the pace or the passing ability required at that level but can expect good offers from clubs in the National League.

Walker was a youth player with Millwall and only released to play for Hastings in 2024-25, quickly becoming a crowd favourite as an enterprising full-back who was often the team’s best attacking outlet. At the age of 21, it’s unsurprising that he wants to better himself rather than dropping a division.

So, how will Hastings shape up under Carey without these talents? White issued a statement following the announcement of his appointment: “Lee was a breath of fresh air when he came in to work with the team for the final five games of the season and made a real impact with the players and the staff… Over the last seven or eight years we developed a successful football identity by giving hard-working young players and coaches a pathway and platform to perform and progress, and it was a culture that served us well. Unfortunately we managed to drift away from that environment in the last 12 months or so, and it’s important we get back to it as soon as possible.”

That seems to be a coded way of saying that Carey’s United team will return to a much greater reliance on youth players, whether promoted from the local academy or brought in from elsewhere – the Rodaris and Lovatts of the future. Here’s hoping they bring success.

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.

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.

19 April: Hastings Utd 0, Hashtag Utd 0

HUGH SULLIVAN

The relegation of Hastings United from the Isthmian Premier League back to its South-East Division was formally confirmed last Saturday when they failed to beat Essex visitors Hashtag United at the Pilot Field.

Having lost a crucial match 1-0 away at Canvey Island the previous Saturday, which assured the home side of survival, the ‘U’s needed not only a win over Hashtag but simultaneous defeat for the only remaining team they could now overhaul, Dulwich Hamlet. The latter were, as it happened, playing at home to Canvey, and at halftime the news from South London was that Dulwich were a goal down. But despite some near misses the ‘U’s could not conjure up any goals of their own in either half, while Dulwich scored twice in their second half to win 2-1 and render that failure academic.

On a dry pitch, with a high-bouncing ball and a swirling wind, the game in Hastings was fought with energy but little composure on either side. A sizeable crowd of over 1,100 urged the home side on and berated the referee for a perceived reluctance to penalise the visitors’ physical approach, but few will have come with any anticipation of watching a beautiful game. Both sides resorted to long, high balls out of defence, leaving respective forwards to compete for scraps of possession. Passing moves were few and far between.

For the ‘U’s, Davide Rodari competed tirelessly in the role of outnumbered target man up front, but young wingers George Walker and Charlie Scarles made little headway, and the midfield (missing the injured Adam Lovatt) lacked any controlling influence. Set pieces seemed the most likely source of a goal, either from Ollie Black’s prodigious long throws or Freddie Legg’s well-flighted corners, but although the ball bobbed on a few occasions in the crowded penalty area, no-one could apply a finishing touch.

Best moment in an increasingly desperate second half came when Rodari shuffled past a couple of defenders on the edge of the area and found space for a well-hit shot, but it went straight at the Hashtag goalkeeper, who saved comfortably.

The 0-0 final result extended Hastings’ miserable goal drought: only 34 goals scored in 40 league matches this season, with just 12 in 21 since Christmas. Striker and captain Rodari has scored 22 league and cup goals overall. Net highest scorer over the season is Fin Chapman with six and Tommy Fagg with five.

The ‘U’s were back in action on Easter Monday at Dover and will play their last match of the season tomorrow (Saturday) at home to Potters Bar Town.

HUGH SULLIVAN

With four matches still to play in this season’s Isthmian Premier League, Hastings United are still mathematically able to escape relegation. But after the men in claret-and-blue failed to beat fellow strugglers Canvey Island in a Tuesday evening match at the Pilot Field, and were then overrun four days later by promotion challengers Billericay Town, the United board acknowledged that a great escape under manager Danny Searle was no longer a realistic prospect.

They acted swiftly: Searle departed on the Monday, “by mutual agreement” according to the statement put out by the club. And within a couple of days, six senior players whom Searle had brought in during his four-month tenure were also released. Defenders Teddy Perkins and Alex Kpakpe, midfielders Ben Wells and Taner Dogan, and forwards Reece Grant and Reuel Powell-Downey have all been thanked for their services but had their registrations cancelled.

For the game against already relegated Bowers & Pitsea last Saturday, club chair Dean White put himself in charge, brought back teenager Joe Clifford from a loan spell with Little Common and sent out a team that retained only five of the players – goalkeeper Louis Rogers, defenders Ollie Black and George Walker, and forwards Davide Rodari and Si Ligendza – who were in the starting line-up against Billericay.

Charlie Scarles, another under-18 player, was given his league debut, while the substitutes bench contained five more youth players, though none in the end appeared on the pitch.

Back on 25 March, Canvey Island came to the Pilot Field for the first of two proximate matches between the sides – the return fixture in Essex will be played tomorrow (Saturday). Both teams, and their respective supporters, were well aware that Hastings would need to win all six points at stake over the three-week double-header if they were to overhaul the Islanders.

TESTOSTERONE TUSSLE

In a rowdy tussle, high in testosterone if low in quality, Searle’s men took the lead just before halftime after a typical long throw by Black engendered a foul in the visitor’s penalty box: Rodari dispatched the penalty without fuss. But the second half was marked by a flurry of yellow cards as both sides lost discipline in increasingly frantic exchanges. In the 83rd minute the visitors equalised, then the yellow cards became red – two for the Islanders, one for United’s Kpakpe – and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Against Billericay, United conceded an early goal, equalised through Rodari, but were brushed aside thereafter, with four more goals chalked up by the Essex side before halftime to emphasise the gap in both class and confidence between the respective teams.

Last Saturday’s opponents Bowers & Pitsea had lost their last ten games, and were indeed without a win since their 4-2 victory over the ‘U’s at the Pilot Field before Christmas. It took another penalty, converted by Rodari on the stroke of halftime after a foul on Ligendza, to put Hastings ahead. A second goal, also by Rodari – his 22nd of the season – 15 minutes from time secured the points.

Given the ‘U’s gaping goal difference compared to the sides above them, relegation will still be effectively confirmed if Hastings lose to Canvey Island tomorrow and Dulwich Hamlet get a draw or better away to Bognor Regis Town. But in any event, Dean White’s depleted and now very youthful squad should look forward rather than back. It’s a new era.

ISTHMIAN PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE (bottom six)

15 March Dartford 2 Hastings Utd 0

22 March Hastings Utd 0 Chichester City 2

HUGH SULLIVAN

Three further defeats have been suffered by Hastings United in the past fortnight, two of them at home and without a single goal scored.

As of last Saturday evening, Danny Searle’s men have managed to put the ball in the net just nine times altogether in 15 consecutive Isthmian League matches since Christmas, only once (the 2-0 victory over Hendon on 8 March) scoring more than one in a game.

All six teams at the bottom of the league table also lost last Saturday, but with Hastings remaining ten points adrift of Canvey Island in 18th place (and with a much inferior goal difference), that’s little relief. A team that can’t score has no chance of retrieving such a deficit.

Searle has argued in past weeks that his first priority in taking on the managerial reins in early December was to shore up a dysfunctional defence. The team which had, a couple of weeks before, conceded nine goals at Hendon was clearly in need of some defensive restructuring, and Searle’s central pairing of Teddy Perkins with Ollie Black at the back has proved generally effective. Ben Wells has been providing extra protection in a deep midfield role ahead of them, allowing George Walker and Alex Kopke to push forward at times as wing-backs.

However, the long ball game, which seems to have been introduced for the purpose of lessening the risk of loss of possession at the back, has also left the United forwards bereft of sustained support. Against a well-marshalled defence, none has proved consistently capable of holding the ball even when they are in a position to compete for it, which means that it just keeps coming back.

Against Chichester, the ‘U’s played at times with three – Davide Rodat, Si Ligendza and Reece Grant – up front, competing for the high balls lobbed up to them against taller and physically imposing defenders. The main avenue of attack was a series of long throws launched by Black, whose projectiles regularly reached the middle of a crowded penalty area, but also invariably it was a defender’s head that would knock them away.

Chichester countered through their own long throw exponent, Isaac Bello. ‘U’s keeper Louis Rogers gobbled up two or three of his throws from the right without mishap, but then a shorter delivery from the left side to the near post found a tall defender, Curtis Da Costa, rising highest to back-head the opening goal.

In the second half, another long throw from the visitors’ left was recycled across goal, and a sharp low cross back from the right wing was turned in by their centre forward Lewis Rustell to double the lead.

Searle replaced Ligendza and midfielder Kian Moynes with Fin Chapman and Jamal Lubanga, and the ‘U’s pressed fitfully: Perkins flicked a shot narrowly wide, and Rodari drew a flying save from the Chichester keeper. But in truth his goal was rarely threatened, and the game petered to a predictable conclusion.

Hastings were due to play Canvey Island at the Pilot Field on Tuesday of this week, and will also play them away in Essex on 12 April. If the ‘U’s could somehow win both matches, that would reduce the gap between the two sides to four points–a great escape could then still, in theory, be on the cards. Anything less, and relegation is surely inevitable. 

HUGH SULLIVAN

Hastings United chalked up their first victory in eleven Isthmian Premier League games when they beat Hendon 2-0 at the Pilot Field last Saturday. The win still leaves them mired in the drop zone, seven points adrift of 18th place (or better) that they need to finish in to keep their status. But with none of the other eight lowest-placed teams winning, and only Dulwich Hamlet managing to draw, it was a good day all round for manager Danny Searle’s men.

The previous Saturday they had come away from promotion-chasing Cray Valley PM with a creditable draw, having led for much of the second half. Harvard graduate Taner Dogan scored the opener on his debut for the ‘U’s. The Kent side equalised ten minutes from time and pressed strongly for a winner, but Searle said afterwards that he felt Hastings had fully deserved their point and might well have come away with all three. They got none three days later, however, when they were beaten 2-0 at Chatham, the home team scoring a goal in each half.

Hendon arrived in Hastings on an even worse run of results than their hosts. They had won the reverse fixture in North London on 23 November by a 9-0 scoreline when Sean Ray was at the helm as the ‘U’s’ interim manager, and followed that annihilation with a further victory over Whitehawk three days later. But they hadn’t recorded a single league victory since, suffering 12 defeats and achieving just five draws in the following 17 matches as they plummeted down the table to 19th position, one above Hastings. If either of the teams was to halt their slide, this was surely the game to do it in.

PHYSICAL BATTLE

On a dried out pitch where the ball bounced high, bobbling and wobbling, Searle picked a team that was up for the physical battle. Of the players in the United line-up for that November defeat, only keeper Louis Rogers, full-back George Walker, midfielder Adam Lovatt and forward Davide Rodari retained their places. Teddy Perkins and Ollie Black reprised their recent partnership in central defence and gave very solid performances; new recruits Reece Grant and Dogan, both playing their first games at the Pilot Field, added strength in midfield, and Si Ligendza showed adventure in attack that’s been too often missing this season.

Rodari scored early, a poacher’s goal bundled in from a corner. For the rest of the half, Hendon had more of the ball and territory, but Rogers made a couple of smart saves to keep Hastings ahead. After the interval, it was Ligendza’s sparkling run down the right and cutback from the deadball line which enabled Grant to score from close in. From there on it wasn’t pretty, but the visitors were held at bay fairly comfortably.

The attendance figure was a little disappointing – less than 800 compared to the season’s average of over 1,000, despite the fine weather and importance of the game – but the team received fervent support throughout from their committed followers behind the goal. With six of United’s last ten matches to be played at home, more of that will be required.

The ‘U’s were due to host Wingate & Finchley on Tuesday evening after this newspaper went to press. They’ll play away at second-placed Dartford tomorrow (Saturday) before two further home games against Chichester City on 22 March and, crucially, 18th-placed Canvey Island on the 25th. 

15 February: Hastings Utd 0, Dulwich Hamlet 0

Hastings United were due to play three successive home games over the past two and a half weeks, with the prospect of improving their dire recent form. In the event, under remorseless deluges of rain, their Pilot Field pitch was only fit (and barely at that) for one of them, a goalless draw with Dulwich; the other two fixtures, against Canvey Island and Wingate & Finchley respectively, were postponed until next month.

These postponements leave Hastings still winless in 2025. The point earned against Dulwich came after a run of seven defeats, and manager Danny Searle will have taken comfort from the fact that it was the first home league game since the opening day of the season last August in which the ‘U’s managed to keep a clean sheet. However, it’s arguable that only some poor finishing by the visitors, plus a couple of excellent saves by keeper Louis Rogers, enabled them to achieve this.

The nearest Hastings came to scoring was a deft header from Rodari from a corner that rebounded from the bar, and the follow-up shot from Kian Moyes, blocked on the goal-line. A late free kick from Ben Wells was also well saved by the Dulwich keeper.

Next up is an away fixture tomorrow (Saturday) at Cray Valley PM, currently fourth in the league table, then another match on the road against Chatham Town next Tuesday, before entertaining Hendon at the Pilot Field (pitch willing) on 8 March. Hastings lost 9-0 to the North London team in an abject display in November, but the latter have since then been in free fall, and are now themselves mired in the relegation zone. A beautiful game is unlikely.

HS: Danny, I’ll start at the deep end. A Hastings United supporter on the Fans Forum website described the 0-0 draw with Dulwich Hamlet last Saturday as “an awful match between two awful teams on a regrettably awful playing surface…We keep hearing a lot about how one positive result will hopefully be a springboard to a run that will spare us from relegation but it is hard to imagine that a tedious goalless stalemate will provide the type of boost that we appear to need.”

DS: I can’t disagree with that summing up. But performances have been improving in recent weeks, and we look an altogether better team when we are playing away from home on a decent surface – either 3G, which is what the majority of clubs in the division play on, or on well-kept grass pitches such as at Bognor Regis, where we won after Christmas.

We had seven league losses on the spin from the beginning of January but in five of those games we deserved at least a point, if not three. This month, playing away at Horsham, who are a top-three side, we matched them until the 70th minute and were unlucky to lose. Against Lewes here, we dominated: they had only two shots on target in the whole game – the penalty kick which Louis [Rogers] saved and the rebound which went in. Then, away at Cheshunt, we went a goal up, played really well and should have had a lot more. They scored with an unbelievable individual goal that the player will never repeat; then got a winner – again a stunning strike – in the 92nd minute.

HS: You may have had an unlucky run. But you are the lowest scorers in the league along with Bowers & Pitsea. How do you reverse that?

DS: We first had to sort ourselves out defensively – the manner in which we were conceding goals had to change. Now Teddy [Perkins] and Ollie [Black] are a settled pair at the back, and we can look to a more attacking style of play. Davide [Rodari] and Si [Ligendza] are a good combination up front and will score goals. Si came across from Eastbourne after a long period out – he played three-quarters of the game at Cheshunt, the full 90 minutes against Dulwich. When he’s fully match fit, he’ll be a very strong asset.

HS: The problem last Saturday was surely in midfield and on the wings – not providing enough service to the front men.

DS: I agree. The task is for the midfield and wide players to produce a penalty area threat. We encourage full-backs George [Walker] and Alex [Kpakpe] to get forward, and they have done in past games. But, particularly at home, on the Pilot Field surface, it’s very hard to play flowing football.

I heard a spectator last Saturday shouting – “Keep the ball on the floor!” That’s just not possible when the simplest of passes bobbles and deviates. Away from home, we can play a different style and look a lot better.

HS: Your previous management roles have been with clubs at higher levels. What’s different at Hastings?

DS: This is the first squad of senior players I’ve worked with who are part-time rather than full-time. And only a minority are contracted for the season. That means there’s a constant pressure to recruit. I suppose it’s the same for all clubs at this level, but it’s particularly difficult to attract players to come here – both because of the geographical location but also because of the problems we have with lack of training facilities.

HS: When and where does the squad train?

There is no 3G training pitch available to us in Hastings, so on Tuesday and Thursday evenings when we meet up, we either have to play on the Pilot Field pitch itself or negotiate the use of a 3G surface elsewhere. About a third of training sessions have been cancelled since I arrived at the beginning of December because the weather has rendered our own pitch unplayable and we had no alternative available.

This evening, for instance, we are able to train here because it’s dry, but we are confined to the 30-by-40 metre area in the middle – the areas around the goalmouths have to stay protected.

HS: When Danny Bloor was in charge in the first part of the season, they were using the 3G pitch at Eastbourne.

DS: But that’s an extra half-hour or more of driving time not only for me (coming in from Essex) but for many of the squad who live in the North Kent or East Surrey areas. Getting a regular training surface around, say, Tonbridge, would be ideal. In the meantime we just have to make the best of what we’ve got.

HS: How is your relationship with the club directors and with the academy?

DS: Owners Dean and Ben [White] have been very good. They can’t produce money or facilities that they don’t have, but they appreciate that the team performances have been improving even if the results haven’t, and have been constantly supportive.

I’m strictly contracted to manage the first team on a part-time basis. My involvement with the academy is something both I and the club would like to happen but, in the short term, the immediate task takes priority. I think the academy is well set up at respective age groups, but there’s a big physical gap between under-18s and senior football at this level, and even 19- and 20-year-old kids find it a big step up.

HS: How about with the fans?

DS: The Hastings fan base is amazing, that’s really the best thing about being here, especially for the players. We really appreciate their support.

HS: So can you turn things around in the 13 league matches that remain?

DS: I genuinely think we can. I know the games are ticking away, but last Saturday’s performance was one in which our players were fighting, putting bodies on the line. They haven’t given up.

We probably need six or seven wins to survive. Looking at the fixture list, I really think that’s do-able if we all stick together. We’ll need the place to be rocking on Saturday when we play Wingate & Finchley.

HS: Good luck! 

Last week saw Hastings United Women exit their final two cup competitions of the season, leaving them to concentrate on the league. However, in that league, they sit one place above relegation with just one win – achieved almost six months ago–from their nine league games. If it’s always darkest before the dawn, then the ‘U’s must be in for a very bright sunrise indeed.

The team’s fourth season at Tier 6 level in the London & Southeast Regional League Division One South started with optimism. Under new manager, Jason Tibble, there was a return of some former players, a seemingly solid core of retained existing players, and a nice flow of youngsters developed in the Academy programmes joining the senior squad. After a positive pre-season on the field, Hastings won their first game, beating the Soccer Elite Football Academy (SEFA) 3-0 away on 18 August.

However, with continual player turnover, and poor weather causing lengthy gaps between matches, the ‘U’s have found it difficult to sustain performance levels, and the season has mostly been one of frustration. Their eight completed league games since August have resulted in three draws and five losses. Most of those losses have been close–only one by more than a goal – and, with only one team to be relegated at the season’s end, they are clearly better placed than bottom-of-the table Three Bridges.

The Cup games last week followed a familiar pattern. In the League Trophy, at home to SEFA, they were on top for long periods, especially early on, but could not find the net. They eventually lost 2-0 in extra time. Then, midweek, in the Eastbourne Chairman’s Cup, away to higher-ranked Newhaven, they made another good start but failed to score, and were eventually left chasing the game in a 3-1 loss.

There are, nevertheless, reasons to be cheerful. Even with long term absences to key players such as Rebecca Relf and Tiana Tapp, there’s been the return of captain Lauren Skinner-Swain, regular appearances by veterans Victoria Phillips and Rosie Muggeridge, and the advent of exciting younger talents such as Freya Hollister and Jess Wright. Hastings certainly have a more than fighting chance of both staying up this year and kicking on next season.

Hastings were due to play away at Aylesford last Sunday and at Bognor Regis on 16 February before they return to the Pilot Field on the 23rd.

Kick off is at 2pm and admission is free. Keep your eye on social media for any fixture updates – and do come along and show your support.

Further Women’s Football News: Westfield FC have announced plans for a women’s football team to begin playing next season. Further details, including trial dates, will be announced shortly.

4 February:
Horsham 1, Hastings Utd 0

8 February:
Cheshunt 2, Hastings Utd 1

HUGH SULLIVAN

Hastings United suffered three more Isthmian League defeats in the first eight days of February – that’s seven consecutive league and cup losses in 2025. Six of them have been by the margin of a single goal, and not all of them were deserved on the overall run of play. But the fact is that the ‘U’s have managed to score only five goals in this period. Manager Danny Searle has had success in stemming the haemorrhage of goals at the wrong end, but at the expense, it appears, of hobbling what was already a limited attacking force.

Against Lewes on 1 February, the ‘U’s had more of the ball and were generally on the front foot – just couldn’t apply a finishing touch, and conceded a penalty 16 minutes from time. Keeper Louis Rogers saved it, but couldn’t stop the rebound. As Searle pointed out afterwards, the visitors had no other shots on target throughout the match, but that was enough.

Away at Horsham, who are third in the league table, Hastings had to defend for long periods, but Searle said his lads had “stuck to the game plan…We had a real go at them and caused them some problems”. The only goal was conceded in the 70th minute.

Making the long journey to Cheshunt in Hertfordshire last Saturday, the ‘U’s scored in the 12th minute when Davide Rodari headed in from a Kian Moynes cross – the first league goal scored by the ‘U’s in open play since the beginning of January. They remained good value for their 1-0 halftime lead, but were pegged back to 1-1 just after the hour mark and then succumbed to a sucker punch two minutes into added time.

To make matters worse, Dulwich Hamlet, the team in 18th position which Hastings will need to overhaul if they are to escape relegation, won 3-0 on the same afternoon against Bowers & Pitsea. That widened the gap between them to nine points.

It’s by no means unbridgeable with 14 matches still to play. But now is crunch time. Hastings were due to play a home fixture against Canvey Island on Tuesday of this week (after this column went to press), then host Dulwich themselves at the Pilot Field tomorrow (Saturday) and play a third successive match at home against Wingate & Finchley the following Saturday. All three visiting teams are in the bottom half of the league table. United’s task is clear: they have to start scoring – and winning.

Isthmian Premier League Standings as at 10 February (bottom six)

22 January: Hastings Utd 1, Binfield 2

26 January: Chatham Town v Hastings Utd – match abandoned

28 January: Carshalton Athletic 2, Hastings Utd 1

HUGH SULLIVAN

Some things are more important than football. The match between Chatham Town and Hastings United at the home side’s Bauvill Stadium last Saturday was abandoned after half an hour when a ‘U’s travelling supporter sitting in the stand collapsed, needed immediate life support, and was eventually helicoptered off to a London hospital. There was no resumption of play: the fixture will be replayed at a future date.

The month of January won’t be recalled with fondness by any Hastings supporter. A 3-1 defeat by Folkestone Invicta on New Years Day was followed by two and a half weeks of inaction as a result of adverse weather, then by two home defeats, and another reverse at Carshalton on Monday night. There’s no doubt that they face an uphill battle to avoid relegation from the Isthmian Premier League at the season’s end. They were promoted to this league in 2022, and finished in its upper reaches, just short of qualification for further promotion play-offs, in the two full seasons since. However, they now sit 20th in the current table with only Bowers & Pitsea and Bognor Regis Town below them, and a five point gap between them and 18th place which would secure their Premier status.

On 19 January they hosted Cray Wanderers. The visitors had started the season in poor league form – without a win in ten matches between August and October – but have been upwardly mobile in recent weeks, with six victories in eight matches in December and January coming into this contest. Remarkably, each of the six were by the same scoreline, 1-0.

With both sides amongst the lowest scorers in the league, Hastings manager Danny Searle no doubt drummed into his players the importance of not conceding the first goal. Included in his defensive line-up was Ollie Black, former ‘U’s favourite who has returned to the Pilot Field on loan from Worthing, and a new 20-year-old left back Alex Kpakpe. There was a notable preference for booting the ball out of defence rather than attempting to build possession play on a heavy and mud-ridden surface. George Walker, who has enjoyed a good season on the ball as full-back or wing-back but has sometimes lacked strength in defence, was pushed forward to a winger’s role.

These tactical tweaks did not bear fruit. Cray took immediate control of the midfield, scored in the 12th minute with a crisp shot after ‘U’s keeper Louis Rofers parried an initial attempt, and redoubled their lead with an angled free-kick from wide on the right that found the far corner of the Hastings net. At the other end Walker found himself clean through one-on-one with the Cray keeper, but lacked a forward’s instinct to place a shot past him.

Shortly before halftime Cray failed to clear a trademark long throw from Black – his range seems to have extended to even greater lengths in his half-season away – and Ben Wells scored for the ‘U’s at close range to reduce the deficit to 2-1. But that’s how it stayed through the second half, with the visitors continuing to make the more incisive moves and coming closer to scoring again than their hosts. Searle brought on both Fin Chapman and Will Harley to assist Davide Rodari in attack, but neither made any significant impact.

VELOCITY CUP LOSS

Three days later Hastings hosted Binfield in a quarterfinal of the Velocity Cup (effectively the Isthmian League Cup). The Berkshire side are placed in the bottom half of the South Central Division of the Isthmian League, a tier below Hastings, and a victory might have boosted morale, but Searle understandably put out a weakened team, omitting Rodari, key midfielders Jack Dixon and Adam Lovatt, and defenders Black and Finn O’Mara. Binfield again took a 2-0 lead in the first half; the ‘U’s only pulled one goal back in added time at the end of the second through Lovatt, on as a substitute.

Following the abandoned game at Chatham, United travelled again to Carshalton on a night of gusty winds in the wake of Storm Herminia. Two loan additions to the squad – midfielder Ansu Janneh, who has returned temporarily from Billericay after leaving the Pilot Field in the summer, and central defender Teddy Perkins from Welling United –were drafted in to play, with Lovatt unavailable and Dixon again on the bench.

After an even first half in which Walker provided the ‘U’s’ best moments, the home side went ahead on the stroke of halftime through another former Hastings player David Smith. Davide Rodari equalised from a free kick on the edge of the penalty area, dispatching the ball low into the right hand corner. United looked good for at least a point, if not all three, but conceded a second goal five minutes from time to go down 2-1.

Tomorrow (Saturday) the ‘U’s host East Sussex rivals Lewes, who are not in good shape themselves – without a win in ten matches over December and January, having previously been up among the league’s front runners. Three points against them would be very precious.

At Hastings Athletics Club (HAC) it’s been a busy and successful year for the club in every discipline – from local events to international level – as it celebrated its 60th anniversary. 

Ten club members featured in the UK top 10 for their age group, and 13 made the top 20 for performances in track, field and road in 2024.  

An astonishing 52 athletes made it into the top 10 in the club’s own records, with 17 breaking a total of 28 club records between them.

Back in February, athletes of different age groups won medals in indoor track events and, as the cross-country season wrapped up, youth athletes represented their schools and county up to national level. The adult team joined forces with Hastings Runners to lift aloft the cup for the East Sussex Sunday League. 

At the highly anticipated Hastings Half Marathon in March, HAC’s Grace Baker was first female home, nearly seven minutes ahead of her nearest challenger; Rhys Boorman, also of HAC, came sixth in the men’s race. Tom Chaffin won the mini-run. 

Track season brought top performances in the youth development league and Southern Athletics league, while the Sussex County Championships produced 12 medals. Rae Le Fay went on to represent Team GB in the 2,000 metres steeplechase – the first HAC athlete to do so at international level in the last ten years. She broke a British Milers Club record on her qualifier at under 20s level, her name now to be etched on the awards board in the clubhouse alongside many club legends.

A surge in interest for field events was well supported, leading to two hammer throwers, Alanna Oakman and Kitti Szabo-Papp, competing nationally at the English Schools championships. 

The club hosted not only two very successful league events on the track, but also a 60th anniversary competition and awards ceremony emphasising the longstanding camaraderie among its members. The clubhouse has had a refresh and is now a buzzing social hub at the end of every session. There is huge optimism for 2025.

FOOTBALL

It’s been a tale of three managers at the Pilot Field in 2024 – four if you count the caretaker role played last month by coach Sean Ray. A year ago Chris Agutter was in his second stint at the helm after arriving in October. He steered Hastings United to the fringes of the promotion play-offs at the top of the Isthmian Premier League in the spring, then left for the richer pastures of Worthing, now going well in the Vanarama National League. Danny Bloor, once of Eastbourne Borough, came in May, but was gone by late October. New appointment from the beginning of this month is Danny Searle, former youth coach at West Ham, who is armed with a UEFA Pro Licence and has previous managerial experience at several clubs in the National League.

At the beginning of April, Agutter’s team seemed well set to finish in the league’s top five, but a disappointing run at the end of the season – only one win in the last five games – meant a final placing of seventh, nine points short of the lowest play-off place. They also disappointed in losing the Sussex Transport Cup Final 3-0 to Horsham at the Amex Stadium. Despite having signed an extension to his contract for the 2024-25 season, Agutter swiftly announced his departure.

Incoming boss Bloor could point to an excellent record at Eastbourne, and came in praising the quality of the playing squad he was inheriting at the Pilot Field, the calibre of the directors and staff he was joining, and the passion of ‘U’s supporters. Most players were retained from the previous season, though the speed and skill of winger John Ufuah has been sorely missed. And initial results were encouraging, Horsham being beaten 2-0 on the opening day, followed by an away win at Whitehawk and progress through two rounds of the FA Cup. 

However, the team lacked the control in midfield that Agutter had always espoused, and leaked goals in defence. Reverses were suffered both away and at home: cup eliminations were coupled with a slide down the league table to the relegation zone. Bloor was unceremoniously dismissed after an FA Trophy defeat at Hadley on 26 October.

Ray took the reins as interim manager and, like his predecessors, started with a win, 2-0 at home to Whitehawk. But a fortnight later, with several players less than fully fit, the ‘U’s suffered a humiliating 9-0 league defeat at Hendon, and it is probably a relief all round that a more travelled manager has now arrived.

The choice of Searle for the managerial job is presumably based upon his record of enhancing youth development. There’s clearly scope for that in Hastings, though the standard of playable training facilities may be rather lower than he is used to. Most observers would agree that there is enough footballing talent available, if the team is set up capably and recovers good fitness levels. Davide Rodari is a proven goalscorer, Adam Lovatt is a hard-working and combative captain in midfield, and young players like George Walker, Freddie Legg and Fin Chapman should improve with experience. 

So far, Searle has seen his team score a league cup win on penalties over third-placed Cray Valley PM, a 3-2 away win over Chichester City and a gutsy 1-1 draw away last Saturday at second-placed Billericay.  

CRICKET

Hastings & St Leonards Priory cricketers experienced an ultimately unsuccessful return to the Sussex Premier League in 2024 when they were relegated by the narrowest of margins. In other years their record over the season of six victories and nine defeats might have accumulated them enough league points to survive, but they finished just three points short of eighth-placed Bognor Regis.

Needing a victory on the last day at home to runners-up Horsham in order to retain their status, they only got the game going at all by a mopping-up operation after heavy overnight rain. Batting first in a contest reduced to 40 overs per side, Priory scored a total of 165 for seven; Horsham accumulated steadily in reply, but wickets then tumbled under murky skies, and the last over came with nine wickets down and nine runs to win – or eight to tie, which would have been sufficient for Priory’s escape. It was not to be: a conclusive boundary was hit off the penultimate ball, and the Hastings side will be playing back in Division 2 next summer.

On the batting front, new captain Harry Scowen led from the front all summer, scoring 556 runs from 14 innings, including two centuries. Caleb Laloo also enjoyed an excellent first season as an opener. But none of the middle order, often required to accelerate the tempo after a sedate start, retained any consistent form, so that the side posted competitive totals on too few occasions.

John Morgan was yet again the pick of the bowlers, taking 22 wickets. Adam Barton gave him good support when available, and Adam Page enjoyed his best season to date as spinner. Aussie recruit Alex Osborne was unable to bowl his leg-spinners with any sort of control, however, and was ultimately released in mid-season. Young all-rounders Seaver Cowley and Iden McCleave had their moments of success with both bat and ball, but lacked the consistency which more experience may bring.

The future of Priory’s home ground, Horntye Park, is still in the balance, the plans to dig it up for housing seeming no further forward than this time last year.  

RUGBY

With a new chairman Ben Davies, a new coaching duo of Bruce Steadman and Ben Petty, and a new captain, Harry Walker, Hastings & Bexhill have been celebrating their centennial season with eyes on the future as well as the past.

On the pitch, having survived the threat of a second successive relegation in the Kent League in the spring, H & B’s first XV have performed well this autumn, chalking up seven victories out of 11 matches in Counties 3. Top three in the division are 2nd XV teams from Tonbridge (Juddians), Tunbridge Wells and Beckenham, but the Hastings team beat Beckenham convincingly in their opening game in September and went down only narrowly 14-17 to Tunbridge Wells a month ago. Defence has been strong – they have conceded less league points than any other team; and when their backs are on song, they can also score freely: New Ash Green were thumped 47-15 at H & B’s home ground of Alexandra Academy last Saturday.

The squad is still lacking in numbers, short of sufficient replacements when first picks are injured or otherwise unavailable, though those who have come in have generally acquitted themselves well. One boost is the return of Quin McManus after a spell in New Zealand.

Women’s and junior/ ‘mini’ teams have, in the meantime, been thriving. The women have combined to produce a joint team with Seaford. The ‘minis’ train at the club every Sunday between 9.30 and 11am – playing full contact rugby at under 9, under 10 and under 11 levels. The under 10s won their first game of the Polgrove Salts Cup, defeating Seaford earlier this month.

Lower age-groups play under ‘tag’ rules, with numbers surging after the club’s annual ‘bring a friend’ day. There will be several festivals of rugby for them to play in early next year. And there is now an under 6s section for children in school Reception and Year 1, learning basic ball control through playing fun and interactive games with a dedicated coach.

Off the pitch the club has held a centenary ball as well as two lunches for former players.

TENNIS

The (mostly) friendly dance of rivalry between the Amherst club in Hastings and The Green in St Leonards continued in 2024 with perennial ups and downs. 

In the Tennis Sussex Winter Doubles competition, The Green men’s team, boosted by participation of coaches Joe Adams and Ross Cudmore (late of Amherst), were promoted to Division 2 in the spring and have scored two match wins out of three in the current season. Shorn of these players, they’re not the same force, as they showed finishing mid-table in Division 8 of the equivalent Summer competition.

Amherst, too, were promoted from Division 5 to Division 4 of the 2023-24 Winter league, with consistent performances by captain Dylan Preece, Quentin Soucek, Anthony Hickey and Mark Cunnington. They have been struggling, however, at the higher level. In the equivalent Summer Doubles, starting in Division 3, they fielded nine players including several new to first team play, but were unable to win a team match and will play next summer back in Division 4.

On the women’s side, The Green were relegated from Division 3 to Division 4 in the spring despite the efforts of their always proficient first pairing, Beaula Page and Amanda Ruck. In the Summer league they finished mid-table in Division 4.

Amherst’s women were involved in thrilling finales in both competitions. Needing a 3-1 victory in their final Winter match away at Horsham to be promoted to Division 2, they won all three matches in third set tie-breaks, Pearl Hare paired with Nikki Crowhurst, Anita Pearce with Jane Garrett. Summer Division 3 was just as tight: again Amherst needed a 3-1 win away against Seaford & Blatchington for equivalent promotion. All four matches went to third set tie-breaks: this time Pearce and Debi Ani won both theirs, but Crowhurst and Hare suffered agonising defeats.

There are no inter-club matches featuring singles play, but Amherst held a highly competitive closed tournament in June. On a day of freakish wind-gusts, Soucek overpowered Hickey in the men’s final, while Crowhurst and Hare fought a thrillingly turbulent (though immaculately sporting) contest, just edged by the former in another third set tie-break.

CRICKET

Graeme Mounsey, RIP

JOHN MORGAN

Hastings & St Leonards Priory cricketers are mourning the death of former president, treasurer and player Graeme Mounsey, who has sadly passed away at the age of 90.

Nobody has done more for the Priory club than Graeme. He was a founder member when Hastings & St Leonards merged with The Priory in 1957 to form one of the strongest clubs in the Southeast, and was captain when it joined the Sussex League in 1971. He featured in many of the club’s early successes including the 1974 Kemp Cup win and the 1978 league championship.

He played with distinction in all XIs across the men’s teams, primarily as a wily slow left-arm bowler who put fear into the opposition batting line-up, but also a lower order batsman with a century to his name.

By the late 70s, Graeme had dropped to the 2nd XI, but was leading wicket-taker in 1981. He finished his playing career forming a formidable spin bowling attack in the 4th XI with Peter Finch in the noughties, though not before being recalled to the first team as a 65-year-old when the team was hit by a spin bowling crisis.

Graeme was similarly committed off the field, serving the club in many posts over a cumulative 68 years, as a rigorous and tenacious treasurer (nobody got away with debts to the club), as secretary, and latterly as club president until stepping down earlier this year. He also ran the 100 Club, the draw being the conclusion to many a committee meeting.

From 1974 until 2002, he was the chairman of the Central Cricket Ground Trust, integral in the planning and development of Horntye Park to save senior cricket in the town following the demise of the Central Ground.

   Above all, Graeme was a sincere and caring person, eager to help young players and to share his love of the game and the club. He was a regular spectator, greeting fellow cricket lovers with a cheery smile and a polite ‘good afternoon’. His loss will be sorely felt.