‘The lads are giving everything’ – Robbie Blake praises Eastbourne Borough players as they bid for great escape

Kingsley Anokye’s late winner, his first goal for the club, earned Borough a valuable three points at Hampton last weekend after Matt Burgess opened the scoring at the Beveree Stadium.

The hosts pressed Eastbourne after the opener and managed to equalise halfway through the second half.

“That game had all the emotions,” Blake told EBFC media after a win that gave fans new hope they could yet pull off the great escape from relegation.

"We started really well and had a really good goal. Then they ruffled us and got in our faces and disrupted us a little bit. I said at half-time that we’ve got to be braver and pass the ball. I’m extremely pleased with the outcome because it’s three points we desperately needed and hopefully it gives us the confidence moving forward.

"They took over the game in the second half and we were hanging in there. I said to our side, you don’t have to have the best players in the league but as long as you have a togetherness, commitment and attitude then things will open up for you. I’m really pleased for everyone.

"The players have come under a lot of criticism, some warranted and some not. To a man, today we proved when we play, we can match teams. Today proved we’re up for the fight and the lads are giving everything and that’s all you can ask for.

"The lads should be getting more confident now. The only bad side is we don’t know the extent of the injuries we’ve picked up which we need to look at, but for the moment we’ll enjoy the three points.”

Blake added: “The fans were brilliant and behind the lads. It’s good to have something to shout about and I’m proud of them.”

Borough sit 22nd in the National League South, currently three points from the safety line, with ten games remaining. Having played more games than the sides around them, they will rely on other results in their bid for safety.

Eastbourne face struggling Salisbury on Saturday in a vital game at the bottom of the table.

Meanwhile in midweek Blake was heartened by the cup win at home to YM, which has set up a semi-final v Brighton U21s at Lancing.

"I'm extremely happy with the boys. Firstly with their application - this was a tough game and you could see why Horsham YM have had a very good season at their level,” Blake said.

"The first half was close and I said to our lads at half-time, we needed to open the pitch a bit more, and to be a little bit braver on the ball. To be fair, when we then get a couple of goals, there is a natural tendency to relax a little bit.

"But I want it to be like that when its still 0-0, because we have players who can change the game in a blink of an eye. The lads did not have much chance to prep properly for this game, because we have had too many games, and so many players with little chance to recover from a knock or an injury.

"Unluckily for us, Kingsley (Anokye, scorer of Borough's winner at Hampton) now picks up a knock. He's been in the dressing room on gas and air, so it's not good.

"We feel for Kingsley because he's worked so hard to make this stadard (after signing from Epsom and Ewell). It's a bit of a mist over the injuries eight now - we don't yet know how Matt Burgess is, after coming off on Saturday, and (skipper) Harry Phipps has a bad knock from last Saturday.

"We accept that YM were a little bit rough and ready, which reflects the level and league that they play in. We had to expect that. We've also been able to give match time to a number of players - such as Harvey (Skieters), who has only just come into the building, and he's a young player who excites us.

"Any competition, any time you get to a semi-final, it excites you. We'll be very much up for Albion Under-21s, who will be good players whatever side they put out, and the incentive of reaching an Amex final is huge for our lads. So we will be 100% up for that semi-final tie!"