Stone rolls back to Hastings

Hastings United fans were delighted to see the return of a familiar face prior to our transfer window slamming shut, James Stone  back at Pilot Field.

James has spent the last two months with Burgess Hill Town, playing ten times after moving from Hastings in January. 

He joined Hastings in November, and played eleven times, scoring five goals. He moved back to the Sussex seaside after joining Sevenoaks Town in the summer, his thirteen appearances for Oaks bringing four goals. 

James was previously with Eastbourne Town, where he made forty six appearances last season and scored eighteen goals. He was a big part of Town's success over a number of years, playing for the Under 18's and Under 21's and making a first team debut in 2015 when he was seventeen years old. He left Sussex for the United States in 2017, playing first for McKendree Bearcats and later for Michigan Stars. 

His return to Sussex was in 2022, and he played for Bexhill United, scoring twenty goals before returning to  Eastbourne in the autumn of 2023, and helping the club to promotion in 23-24- indeed he scored in the SCFL Play Off Final.