Stormzy, you missed a treat: AFC Croydon Athletic visit Eastbourne Borough for entertaining clash

Spectators turning up at Priory Lane on Saturday were rewarded with a cracking game: six goals and a free-flowing, positive encounter. Eastbourne notched four of those goals, but Croydon Athletic – the Rams, bought up last season by international performer and rapper Stormzy – brought much to the party. If Simon Leslie could only rap…

Sports manager Adam Murray has his squad in place, and he probably has a notional starting eleven in his head for the first National South fixture, against Chesham United on August 10th. But on the evidence so far, the Gaffer could field two complete elevens! Borough have quality, high levels of fitness, and a sense of purpose. What was that timeless Duke of Wellington line? “I don’t know what they do to the enemy, but by God, they frighten me…”

There was a “Can we play you every week?” quality about the opposition. They played with freedom, openness and terrific pace. Up front, the combination play of the Rams’ number 9 and number 11 frequently stretched the home defence. Priory Lane regulars, never slow to recognise good football, found themselves applauding the visitors almost as often as Murray’s men.

In contrast to the previous friendly, a rather tetchy 5-2 victory over Whitehawk FC, there was not an aggressive foul all afternoon. Instead, both sides looked for open spaces, transitioned at pace, and enjoyed the right sort of risk-taking – running at opponents, overloading areas of the pitch, shooting on sight.

Blink and you missed it: Borough earned a penalty just 28 seconds after kick-off, but the spot-kick was underhit by the nameless penalty-taker (your Herald reporter will not be so charitable when the league fixtures begin) and saved. No matter: the resulting corner was swung into a crowded goalmouth and nudged home by Pierce Bird for 1-0.

And the next few minutes saw a rampant Borough ripping up the Croydon defence, with Finn Ballard McBride in breathtaking form. On seven minutes, the Aussie-via-Californian striker doubled the score, powering in from the left flank and arrowing his low shot into the bottom right corner.

Stormzy’s young Rams weathered the storm, though, and began to stretch the home defence. On 21 minutes they earned a penalty of their own, but Fin Holter – looking assured in the home goal – guessed right and pushed the spot-kick round the post. But just a couple of minutes later Croydon did grab a goal: a lovely jink past a defender by their number 11 and a low shot across the keeper.

And on the half-hour, a match that had threatened a cascade of Eastbourne goals was suddenly level at 2-2, with the home side punished for a defensive error. The senior citizens just in front of the press desk were loving it: “We only paid three quid admission, so that’s only 75 pence per goal already!”

2-2 it stayed until just before the break, when striker Will Harley struck to restore the home lead. And everyone paused for a well-earned cuppa.

Now, the second half of your average pre-season friendly is notorious for melting like an ice-cream castle in the sun, as managers throw on substitutes, take a look at their options and players “get some miles in their legs”. In at least one previous game, Adam Murray has sent on a complete fresh eleven, but this game saw only a measured tweaking of the home line-up.

The forty-five minutes lost just a little of the earlier tempo, and only one more goal was added to the tally – Yahya Bamba seared down the right wing and crossed for David Sesay to bury an absolute missile of a header into the top corner. George Alexander looked to have made it five with a late header, but provider Alfie Pavey was ruled offside.

No matter. This was a performance of class and purpose, freedom and excitement. Is this what we are in for when the new season opens? For those gentlemen sitting in front of me, it worked out at fifty pence per goal – with lots of dazzle thrown in for free. Football is sometimes about workrate and formations and recovery runs and set-piece routines.

And sometimes, football is about joy.

Borough’s next home friendly is next Saturday, 27th July, when Adam’s men entertain a Charlton Athletic XI at Priory Lane. If you can’t wait that long, Danny Bloor brings his newly shaped Hastings United to the Saffrons on Tuesday night (23rd) to play freshly promoted Eastbourne Town