Five-Star Bridges End Year in Style at Hassocks

Three Bridges extended their lead at the top of the Isthmian South East League with an emphatic 5–1 victory away at Hassocks, rounding off the calendar year in superb fashion in front of a crowd of 526, bolstered by a large and vocal travelling support.

The hosts made a dream start in the fifth minute when Bridges failed to fully clear a long throw into the box. The ball dropped kindly for Matthew Daniel, who reacted quickest to produce an acrobatic finish and put Hassocks 1–0 ahead.

Bridges responded well to the early setback and soon took control of the contest. Kevin Rivera was denied on several occasions by an excellent James Shaw in the Hassocks goal, while Reece Hallard also went close as the visitors piled on the pressure. The equaliser finally arrived in the 32nd minute when Hallard produced a trademark moment of quality, cutting in from the left before unleashing an unstoppable strike past Shaw to level the scores.

Hassocks nearly regained the lead moments later, but Sam Roberts was equal to the task, producing a superb save to deny Liam Benson. The sides went in level at the break, with everything still to play for.

Bridges came out for the second half with renewed authority and were rewarded in the 53rd minute. A delightful cross from Hayden Velvick was met by an outstanding header from Rivera, who powered the ball into the top corner to make it 2–1. The goal also marked Bridges’ 100th in all competitions this season — a remarkable milestone and a reflection of their attacking prowess.

Hassocks came agonisingly close to an equaliser in the 66th minute when Lewis Finney beat Roberts, only to see his effort strike the post and roll along the goal line before being gathered by the relieved Bridges goalkeeper.

That proved to be a pivotal moment. Just two minutes later, Ade Adeyinka’s excellent work in midfield released Hallard through on goal, and the forward showed great composure to finish clinically for his second of the afternoon and a 3–1 lead. It was Hallard’s 20th league goal of the season, a strike that saw him overtake teammate Noel Leighton at the top of the Isthmian South East goalscoring charts, with the pair now sitting first and second respectively.

With confidence flowing, Bridges began to enjoy themselves. Adeyinka then produced a moment of brilliance, dribbling past several defenders — including the goalkeeper — before being brought down in the box by James Shaw. Charlie Bennett stepped up and dispatched the resulting penalty with conviction to make it 4–1.

The scoring was completed deep into stoppage time when under-18 player and exciting young talent Connor Hayden-Pickering showed great awareness to slip Ade Adeyinka through on goal. The midfielder calmly finished to cap a dominant display and seal a resounding 5–1 win.

The result sees Three Bridges finish the year top of the league on 57 points, with 18 wins from 24 games and an astonishing +48 goal difference. They sit five points clear of nearest challengers AFC Croydon Athletic.

			Home				Away				Total
			P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	P	W	D	L	F	A	+/-	Pts
	1	Three Bridges	12	10	1	1	12	8	2	2	24	18	3	3	74	26	+48	57
	2	AFC Croydon Athletic	12	8	1	3	12	8	3	1	24	16	4	4	54	29	+25	52
	3	Faversham Town	12	8	2	2	11	6	4	1	23	14	6	3	52	31	+21	48
	4	AFC Whyteleafe	12	9	1	2	11	6	1	4	23	15	2	6	65	27	+38	47
	5	Sittingbourne	12	9	2	1	12	5	3	4	24	14	5	5	45	26	+19	47
	6	Merstham	12	5	3	4	12	7	2	3	24	12	5	7	45	35	+10	41
	7	Jersey Bulls	11	5	5	1	12	5	3	4	23	10	8	5	40	25	+15	38
	8	Margate	12	7	2	3	12	3	6	3	24	10	8	6	53	42	+11	38
	9	Herne Bay	12	5	3	4	12	6	2	4	24	11	5	8	42	39	+3	38
	10	Sheppey United	12	7	2	3	12	3	2	7	24	10	4	10	44	50	-6	34
	11	Broadbridge Heath	12	8	1	3	12	2	2	8	24	10	3	11	50	43	+7	33
	12	Deal Town	12	6	2	4	11	4	1	6	23	10	3	10	43	41	+2	33
	13	Ashford United	12	4	4	4	11	4	0	7	23	8	4	11	47	45	+2	28
	14	Hastings United	12	4	2	6	12	4	2	6	24	8	4	12	35	39	-4	28
	15	Crowborough Athletic	11	4	3	4	12	4	1	7	23	8	4	11	34	47	-13	28
	16	Sevenoaks Town	12	6	0	6	12	3	1	8	24	9	1	14	36	54	-18	28
	17	Eastbourne Town	12	5	3	4	12	3	1	8	24	8	4	12	32	53	-21	28
	18	Hassocks	12	3	3	6	12	2	5	5	24	5	8	11	30	45	-15	23
	19	Erith Town	11	2	3	6	12	2	5	5	23	4	8	11	29	45	-16	20
	20	VCD Athletic	12	3	3	6	12	2	2	8	24	5	5	14	32	55	-23	20
	21	Beckenham Town	12	3	3	6	12	1	2	9	24	4	5	15	33	58	-25	17
	22	East Grinstead Town	11	0	1	10	12	1	0	11	23	1	1	21	16	76	-60	4