Eastbourne Town 2-1 Erith Town: Match Report

The Sunshine Coast was living up to its name as visitors Erith Town made their way down to the Saffrons. Despite injuries to key players James Stone, Leon Greig and Dan Hull, we were looking to bounce back from a difficult loss last week away at Deal. We had shown a lot of fight and played well but were punished in key moments. Our visitors were also looking to get back on track after an exciting 2-3 defeat to league leaders Beckenham Town.

The game started quickly with both teams wanting to impress on the other that they were not going to be outworked. The hosts and visitors were evenly matched for the first 20 minutes with Eastbourne just edging possession but not many clear-cut chances for either team. It was a game of crosses without the finish, but we looked comfortable enough with Winterton not being tested. It felt like the game needed a moment to break the stalemate.

That moment arrived in the form of Erith’s GK looking to casually roll the ball out oblivious to the wily Martin Ruda lurking beside him. Ruda poked a foot out to intercept the ball and then was determined enough to win the scramble, which finished with him putting the ball in the back of the net. In a game where neither team was giving up much, creating some space was a key goal. Town rose in confidence demanding more of the possession up until the end of the first half.

Halftime seemed to do some favours for the visitors as the start of the second half resembled a tennis match more than a football match. It was back to being evenly balanced with the intensity of each team meaning neither could impose themselves fully. Both teams made several substitutions to try and change this, but starter James Waters cut in from the right and powered a low shot towards the far corner, forcing the keeper to produce a fine save tipping it around the post for a corner.

This shot spurred on a spell of pressure from Town, however it didn’t accumulate to anything substantial. We would go on to regret not capitalising on this dominance when Erith found a way through against the run of play. Their winger went on a mazy run down the right wing beating several of our defenders before cutting the ball back to the edge of the area where it was thumped in. 75 minutes in, and it was 1-1 with not much time left for us to restore our lead.

We were looking slightly deflated after that setback but the substitution of Harry Hammond coming on for his debut felt like it might be important towards the finale of this match. Before that though Erith’s tricky right winger broke free again and was one-on-one with Winterton who got down well at a crucial moment. Our captain is always reliable in big moments.

Not 5 minutes later we were piling the pressure back on and a ball down the left was cut inside to Marcin Ruda who had the awareness to knock it further right to the substitute Harry Hammond who was gifted the present of a scrambling goalkeeper and half an empty net to aim for on his debut. It didn’t stay empty mind you as he cooly finished to snatch the win late on for the Town.

A hard-fought game in the sunshine against an opposition that had momentum behind them and had followed a similar journey to ourselves to join us in this division. With several key players missing it was a well-organised performance that can fill our fans with confidence that we have quality teeming through our squad.

Attendance: 241
Man Of The Match: Alfie Simmons
Matchday Sponsors: HCB Solicitors & Coleman Plant Hire

Eastbourne Town
1. Chris Winterton (C) 2. Jamal Lubanga, 3. Jack Murphy, 4. Harvey Greig, 5. JJ Walker, 6. Nathan Hover, 7. James Waters(Harry Hammond 83′), 8. Alfie Simmons, 9. James Hull, 10. Marcin Ruda, 11. Anesu Sisimayi

Substitutes: 12. Harry Simmons, 14. Sonny Walsh, 15. Freddie Warren, 16. Harry Hammond, 17. Sam Scott

Erith Town
1. Nathan Edwards, 2. Jack Holland, 3. Andrew Dythe, 6. Thomas Ash, 7. James Dyer, 10. Harry Taylor (C), 11. Ollie Milton, 14. Hayden Bullas, 5. Aaron Jeffery, 16. Calum McGeehan, 17. Leo Mazzone