Unflappable Gulls fly away from Eastbourne with a point - then Borough are beaten at the Beveree
A goal apiece – scored within three minutes just past the half-hour mark – meant a share of the points as Eastbourne Borough and visitors Torquay United went toe to toe in a feisty game at Priory Lane.
The Sports had slightly the better of the opening quarter, and believed they had broken the deadlock when George Alexander fired past Gulls keeper James Hamow from a high looping cross – but referee Tom Ellsmore squashed their celebrations, penalising the Sports striker for a push.
But there was no reprieve for Torquay on 32 minutes when Alexander hammered Borough into the lead from a sweetly rehearsed corner.
Cue an almost instant response from the visitors: within four minutes an inch-perfect sweeping move from left to right was capped by a cracking equaliser by Finley Craske.
Turning round at half-time – directly into a streaming low autumn sun – Borough pressed and Yahya Bamba saw his angled shot well saved. But the Gulls were unflappable, and they grew back into the game, Omar Mussa twice coming close in the closing minutes.
Just once or twice, the beautiful game threatened to turn just a little too competitive as players from the two teams strove to find that final breakthrough. But on balance, neither deserved to lose – and both will surely feature in this season’s battle royal for National South promotion.
Eastbourne Borough: Wright; Quick, Barry, Bird; Odusanya, Klass, Williams, Sesay; Bamba, Alexander, Clarke.
Star Man: George Alexander (Eastbourne Borough).
Hampton & Richmond 3 Eastbourne Boro 3
Reasons to be cheerful? Not very many for Adam Murray and his Eastbourne Borough squad, on a cold damp night at Hampton and Richmond.
In a classic game of two halves, Murray had just seen his team dominate the first fifty minutes before surrendering their 1-0 lead and looking very second best, as the home side stampeded to a 3-1 victory.
Eastbourne had opened brightly enough, moving the ball swiftly and turning the home defence more than once before winning a free-kick just a yard or two outside the home penalty area, and nicely central. But it was struck into the Beavers’ wall, and Hampton supporters breathed in relief.
The reprieve did not last long. On 17 minutes a throw-in on the left was moved swiftly to the by-line by Pierce Bird and CJ Clarke, for Isaac Pitblado to drill across a lethal low ball, turned into the net by George Alexander for 1-0.
The rest of the first half belonged almost wholly to Borough, who also saw a strong penalty claim denied when Moussa Diarra was upended in the box.
A single-goal advantage, then, for the Sports to take into the second half – but once again they started on the front foot, and in the first five minutes after the break, Hampton literally couldn’t get out of their own half.
Then, in a calamitous twelve-minute spell, the Sports conceded two preventable goals and an unfortunate penalty – the latter awarded for what appeared a simple collision.
First, a Hampton corner from the left was looped high over the packed goalmouth, and met at the back post with Jack Taylor‘s quite simple header to level the scores.
And within a couple of minutes, calamity. Keeper Joe Wright raced out to meet a long, straight through ball from Hampton, and made contact with the ball before home striker Archy Taylor thudded into him.But referee Lisa Benn saw Turner as the aggressor, and she awarded a spot-kick, converted by Mauro Vilhete..
Eastbourne’s response was frankly feeble, while the home side were now on fire – in front of their astonished but ecstatic supporters. Eight minutes later, an excellent fluent move from back to front – four passes and seventy yards in twelve seconds – was finished by Gray to make it 3-1.
Murray refreshed his front line from the bench, but the Beavers needed only to sit tight behind a defensive dam, and the night ended in damp anti-climax for the Sports.
HAMPTON LOSS: THE VIEW FROM THE PRESS BENCH
The German author Bert Brecht used to tell his actors ahead of performance: “To hell with rehearsals. Now it’s your turn!” If you will forgive the tenuous link, the same applies to footballers. Borough’s current troupe of players are talented, fit, eager and actually very likeable. They are well prepared under an outstanding manager. But when they cross the touchline, the Gaffer is – to a degree – helpless. Unlike theatre, football is gloriously unscripted, and you never know what will crop up next. As it happens, the youthful Borough squad may be a little bit short on experience, and on natural leaders. Against Torquay United they showed terrific energy and combative spirit, and they got most things right. At Hampton, Borough had a super first half but, hit by a couple of sudden strikes, they lost the initiative. It happens sometimes; but Murray won’t expect it to happen again, any time soon…
THE VIEW FROM THE GAFFER
Adam Murray said: “At the moment we are seeing a common theme – a good performance and then a poor performance, a good 45 minutes and a poor 45 minutes. If we are really serious about being successful, we have to find some consistency. We cannot concede the goals that we did in the second half (at Hampton): that was embarrassing. There was a mentality that I don’t like and will not accept. We must have a squad that knows what it takes to win.
“I’ve been lucky in my own career to be successful, and I know what it takes to win. Some of those ingredients are missing, and it’s my job to change that. We’ve given the players a day off on Wednesday – a chance to look in the mirror! We need grit, and leadership, and responsibility. It will have been a long 48 hours (ahead of the Boreham Wood game) but I can guarantee that we’ll be the better for this experience!”