Cup campaigns take centre stage for Eastbourne Borough as King toasts progress in the big one
Up for the Cups! Eastbourne Borough’s early season success is creating a tight-packed fixture list as the club shuffles matches in three cup competitions as well as the Isthmian Premier.
And that fixture list contains some new names. On Saturday, the Sports welcome Welwyn Garden City to Priory Lane as they look to progress in the FA Trophy – a competition which has seldom brought success in previous season.
The Hertfordshire club sit in an impressive third place in their Southern League Central table – one step lower than Borough in the Pyramid. Steve King’s men overcame similarly ranked opposition last Saturday, defeating Windsor and Eton in the FA Cup, but City will not be here for a lazy day at the seaside.
Meanwhile, Borough will be building momentum nicely towards an intriguing FA Cup awayday on Saturday week, 3rd October.
Their next opponents were decided in a replay on Wednesday evening in deepest South Devon, where – following a 3-3 thriller last Saturday – Thame United claimed victory over Exmouth Town.
Thame United, based in Oxfordshire, are a thriving, ambitious outfit who play just one step lower the Borough in the Pyramid. And as the FA Cup journey moves ever closer to the Holy Grail of the First Round Proper, there are simply no easy ties.
Borough reached the next FA Cup round with a comfortable 3-0 win over Windsor and Eton last Saturday when all three goals – scored by Arthur Grout, Darren McQueen and Gold Omotayo – came in the first half.
King was delighted with the display and result: “I was very pleased overall. It all went to plan. In the first half we had the wind in our favour so we needed to make it count, we pressed them high and won the ball back a number of times. We might have actually scored more - could have gone five up by half-time! In the second half we knew they would come at us a little bit - it's the FA Cup and it was all or nothing!
"But we managed the game very well, we made the changes at the right time. We had three very quick players to bring on (Tyano Wilson, Owen Bellamy and Terrell Egbree) and that caused carnage! Everyone knows the frequent weather conditions here - and that does create a game of two halves, with and without the wind! Unusually, Tuesday night against Chatham Town was almost windless - but that was the exception.
"The confidence is high and that builds the momentum which you carry into the next game. We are scoring quite freely, two or three, even four goals a game."
Rather less glamorous, but with the more realistic prospect of an Amex final, King's men also have a date for hosting Little Common FC in the Sussex Senior Cup. Russell Eldridge's side will make the short journey across the Marshes next Tuesday, September 29.
The Common have a very special place in local football, staying alive at Step Five against Sussex clubs with much bigger support base - and budgets.
With Borough still in the middle of a remarkable run of six successive home games, gates at the Connect Management Stadium may have suffered a little. Many local supporters cling to fierce loyalties, of course, but those who love the simple joys of groundhopping will be made more than welcome at the Saffrons or the Oval.
Options are limited this weekend, though: Eastbourne Town have a rare free Saturday before returning to Isthmian South East action at Sevenoaks on Saturday week (3rd October), while Eastbourne United this Saturday make one of their longer Southern Combination trips, to Midhurst and Easbourne in West Sussex.
The big Senior Cup night locally, however, is on Tuesday week, October 6th. United welcome Selsey to the Oval, Town head up to Jarvis Brook, and - in a hugely welcome return to County Cup action - newly regenerated Hailsham Town will take the field against Hassocks at their freshly regenerated Beaconsfield, the scene of triumphs (and not too many disasters!) in Hailsham's previous glory days. Welcome back to the boys in green and yellow.
As for the league, the Sports will have to kick that particular can down the alley for a week or so. But they are handily placed within reach of the leaders, after two impressive home victories over Cheshunt and Chatham Town. Their next scheduled Isthmian Premier fixture is not until a Monday night trip to Carshalton Athletic on October 5.
While the fixture backlog is still short of a logjam, one issue in the manager's mind will be the size of his squad. Against Windsor and Eton, the bench was restricted by injuries to only four substitutes.