Eastbourne Borough back on top of National South – after 15 years
Two decisive victories in four days – 5-1 at Hemel Hempstead and then 4-1 at home to Welling United – have powered Eastbourne Borough to the top of National South, for the first time in 15 seasons.
Not since Garry Wilson’s Invincibles of 2008-2009 has a Borough side looked down the table from the summit. As it happens, the captain of that legendary team, Ben Austin was at Priory Lane casting an approving eye on Adam Murray’s new Sports.
Since those triumphal times, the Sports have been perennial mid-tablers, flirting twice with relegation – including the nerve-shredding final days of last season, securing National survival with just forty-eight hours to spare.
More recently, Danny Bloor took his battling Borough squad to a creditable play-off position, which is as close as they have been, in a decade and a half. But now, the club has a different profile, and a different scenario is unfolding.
Tomorrow (Saturday) Murray takes his buoyant, exuberant young squad on a long haul down the M4 to Chippenham Town. In semi-pro football, no two fixtures and opponents are quite the same. A tightly professional Boreham Wood one week, an excited young Enfield Town the next. And a whole clutch of roll-your-sleeves-up West Country clubs – like Chippenham.
A good four hours away, and in a proper old stadium, the Bluebirds are in a minority of National South clubs playing on grass – hopefully in reasonable shape in a quite dry early autumn. They take few prisoners and their style may be, well, a little less data-driven than clubs like Borough.
Chippenham are smack in mid-table, having brought home a point from Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw at Truro City – the closest to a midweek local fixture that the National League computer could manage! They include in their ranks the young Eastbourne product Leone Gravata – on loan from York City after Adam Hinshelwood snapped him up last spring.
Sports manager Murray is not minded to dine out on his side’s two victories – and nine goals – in two games, but he spoke on Tuesday night like a man with a clear route map.
“After conceding that frustrating early goal, we controlled the first half, but we just couldn’t get the ball in the net. But we stayed with the plan. It’s a credit to the boys that they can bring that energy and mentality, and that every challenge that’s put in front of us, we can match it.
“That means if teams allow us to play, we play. If teams want to battle, we’ll scrap with them. If teams want to play against us, our pressing data is through the roof, so we will go after teams. But we have to keep it going. It’s great getting the wins, but the performances for me are what matters most.
“We have to understand why we’re winning, and keep ticking those boxes. We still have a process – and we’re still not quite where I want us to be. There is more to come from this group. We still have a process, and we are not quite where I want us to be - so it’s onward to Chippenham and the foot goes back on the pedal!”