#COYD - Come on You Dockers

Hassocks 1 Newhaven 2, SCFL Premier Division Match #2, Tuesday 4 th August 2026 Football is well and truly back! We’ve not yet reached the end of the first week in August and we’re already two league games down. Following hot-on-the-heels of Saturday’s home draw with Crawley Down Gatwick, was a jaunt to Hassocks; a team widely being tipped for an immediate return to the Isthmian League. It’s no secret that it was results (or lack thereof) against the teams towards the top end of the table that ultimately cost us a potential play-off berth last season. This was an early opportunity to show that we’ve learned lessons from that campaign, and that we can at least compete with the best teams in the league. On a perfect evening for football, it was the Dockers who made the more positive start. Although early chances were few and far between, Newhaven did manage to force a succession of corners which ultimately went unrewarded. For their part, Hassocks seemed to be finding it hard ...

Newhaven 1 Crawley Down Gatwick 1, SCFL Premier Division Match #1, Saturday 1 st August 2026 It may be just me, but I’m sure every year the football off-season seems to get shorter and shorter. Maybe it’s because the World Cup only finished less than two weeks ago. Maybe it’s an age thing. The older I get the quicker time seems to fly (I swear it was only Christmas a month or so ago). Whatever the reason, the fact remains. Football is back. And most of us wouldn’t have it any other way. Saturday saw Newhaven kick the 2026/27 SCFL season off with a home match against Crawley Down Gatwick. In what many are expecting to be one of the most open divisions for many years, both the Dockers and the Anvils have gone under the radar when it comes to pre-season predictions. No one seems sure quite what to expect from either team. From the Dockers perspective, though, pre-season has been largely positive. Yes, a few players have left – that goes with the territory at this level. But the m...