Eastbourne Borough slip to bottom after Totton defeat

Of the ninety minutes, the Sports had been behind for just three: they had led for well over an hour through Pemi Aderoju’s very early strike, but in gruelling weather conditions, the sending-off took its toll. Totton equalised with a quarter of an hour left, and then claimed their winning goal in the 87th minute.

Of many setbacks in Matt Gray’s early reign, this was the cruellest. His exhausted players sank, literally, to their knees. It was as close as football gets to a medieval battlefield, with both sides drained but only one side triumphant.

The fall guy had long since left the field of combat. Left-back Isaac Pitblado, decent player and decent guy, had collected two yellow cards, the first one ludicrous and the second one avoidable, to leave his ten team-mates facing a Totton siege for almost the entire second half.

With a full eleven, Borough would have kept the Stags at bay. Totton – welcoming and friendly hosts - are competent, vigorous, and a definite threat to any visiting team at their tight home ground, tucked away just off the M27. But Matt Gray has progressed this Borough team from a collection of hopefuls to a purposeful unit, and this Hampshire outing should have marked their first National South victory.

But let’s wind back the stopwatch from ninety to nought. Borough arrived in fine fettle, and their packed coachload of supporters were in good spirits as they decanted from their coach into a dirty wet Hampshire afternoon. August may have come in like a bushfire, but it was going out like a blizzard – not actually snow, but cold wind and insidious rain. AFC Totton, a work in progress, have no covered terracing (and a main stand open to the elements) and the Pink Army would finish the day drenched as well as defeated!

Even so, the Sports could not have asked for a brighter start. Just five minutes in, a centre-circle interception sent Pemi Aderoju racing through an open Totton defence, to drill a low shot into the bottom left corner for 1-0. Peterborough loanee Pemi is looking ever more like the real deal as a striker.

The Stags responded with quick, uncomplicated attacking – four across the front – supported by long throws and swift transition. Borough were limited to breakaways – notably through the pace and power of Jes Uchegbulam – and the game was a contest of pressure against containment.

Gray was forced into a defensive reshuffle on 27 minutes, when the influential Freddie Carter limped off, but the visitors remained compact at the back and swift on the counter. And then, with half-time in sight, came Isaac’s first fateful moment. Awarded a midfield free-kick, Borough took an absolute age to launch it – looking for the right trajectory or the timed decoy run – and referee Sam Read lost patience and flourished a yellow card to Pitblado.

Totton forged a couple of chances, but an impressive Ryan Sandford and his Sports defenders looked resolute, and the first half actually finished with three successive Eastbourne corners. Half-way to their first victory? Well yes, but the script was still half-written…

By the start of the second half, the weather had worsened, and the Sports were defending their narrow lead against a driving westerly gale. Just eight minutes in, A home attacker, wriggling in from the right flank, was stopped by Pitblado’s illegal tackle – and Mr Read produced the fateful red card. Almost the entire second half, now, to survive with ten men against a rampant home team and an excited home crowd – incidentally announced as an attendance of 1221, when it looked no more than 800. Nothing like a bit of positive spin!

Midfield creator Arthur Grout was sacrificed for the defensive addition of Ole Ademola, and the Sports would now have to dig deep. They ran, they covered, they tackled with huge heart – and all of that deserves a mention in despatches alongside the stark final scoreline.

With just a quarter of an hour left, Totton breached the Borough defences. A long looping cross, wickedly swinging in the wind, was knocked back at the far post and seasoned striker Scott Rendell found the net from twelve yards for 1-1.

Snatching the lead back was almost certainly beyond Borough now, but they still ran and covered and tackled heroically – until the 87th minute when Sandford, with perhaps his only misjudgment of an impressive afternoon, looked to hesitate in dealing with a high, steepling cross, Tony Lee knocked in the winner.

Back to the bottom of the table, then, for this embryonic new Eastbourne team. Ahead of a challenging Tuesday night trip to Horsham, Gaffer Gray will take some positives – and from the bottom, the only way is up…