Was Eastbourne Borough's win over Chippenham Town their best of the season?

So often, during this really impressive season, the Sports have been “almost excellent”: high pace and energy, inventive movement, goalmouth action – and a clutch of near misses. But neither the club nor the supporters can exist on a diet of “if only” results, and if even three or four of Borough’s drawn games had been converted to victories, they would be clear leaders of the National South.

In brilliant Priory Lane sunshine, the match was off to an explosive start. Yahaya Bamba slashed a second-minute effort too high, and just two minutes later the visitors were ahead. Returning local Langney lad Leone Gravata – sold to York City and currently on loan at the Wiltshire club – stunned the home crowd, latching on to a low torpedo of a diagonal pass behind the home defence, and squeezing his shot past defender David Sesay and Borough keeper Joe Wright. .

Their advantage, though, had disappeared within a few eventful minutes. Bamba was clumsily felled in the Chippenham box, but striker George Alexander’s understruck penalty was easily saved. The reprieve was brief: two minutes later a piece of left wing dazzle from Bamba set up the outstanding Camron Gbadebo, to hang up a diagonal cross for Jayden Davis, whose bouncing-bomb header squeezed in for 1-1.

Jayden, on the fringe of the action in recent weeks, would eagerly seize his starting chance with a bright performance.

Pace, movement, accuracy: the three qualities that every coach wants to see in attacking play – and Adam Murray must have been enjoying every moment. The home side were on the front foot now, and on 36 minutes they were deservedly ahead, with a slicing midfield move that played in Yahaya Bamba to score from a tight angle. The irrepressible Bamba was everywhere, and impossible for the Bluebirds to contain. Just before the break, he did send a great chance way over the bar and into the bright blue sky, but the ReachTV Stadium crowd were in no mood to groan: this was the exuberant football that they longed for.

At still only 2-1 down, Chippenham should have been in the game, but for ten minutes after the break they literally could not escape from their own half. Jack Clarke – who since return from injury has added a whole new dimension to Borough’s play, with his cultured left foot and his left-field brain, set up Jason Adigun, but the dynamic midfielder’s drilled shot was denied by sprawling Chips keeper Casa Grande.

In the face of Borough’s inventive movement, their goalmouth survived umpteen frantic scrambles – until on 67 minutes Alexander chased a long ball down the right, turned his full-back inside out, and expertly set up the Adigun for a confident shimmy and a cool finish and 3-1.

The Sports’ perpetual-motion attacks now had the Bluebirds floundering, and three minutes later the provider-finisher roles were reversed: Jason raced through from midfield and fed Alexander, whose sublime dink finish over Casa Grande made it 4-1. Non-league? This quality was closer to Premier League.

A red card for Chippenham manager Gary Horgan summed up the visitors’ frustration, as the home side . But Eastbourne had been irresistible, and on this form, they are title contenders.

Eastbourne Borough (3-5-2): Wright; Gbadebo, Kensdale, Innocent; Sesay, Adigun (Shamalo 89), Odusanya, Clarke (Krasniqui 75), Davis (Bird 87); Alexander, Bamba (Anifowose 58). Unused sub: Green

Chippenham Town Town (4-3-3): Casa Grande; Bray (Johnson 55), Poffley, Haines (Amadi-Holloway 75), Grant; Spokes, Owen-Evans, Andrews (Williams 87); Gravata, Parsons, Bradbury Unused subs: none

Referee: Tom Ellsmore

Att: 1036

Borough MoM: Jason Adigun