Match Preview: Eastbourne Town vs Lingfield

Matchday Information

Date: Saturday 4th November 2023

Competition: SCFL Premier Division

Kick Off: 3:00 pm

Location: The Saffrons, BN21 1EA

Admission: £7 Adult | £4 Concession | U16s Free

Match Officials: Thomas Price, Paul Farmer and Dave Smith

It’s back to The Saffrons on Saturday afternoon, well, weather permitting of course. Last week Town were due to play their first home fixture in three weeks, however,  due to the continuous bad weather, that fixture was postponed. Now, with a break in the weather on Friday, Town supporters are keeping their fingers crossed for some football at The Saffrons for the first time in four weeks, as Lingfield make the journey to Eastbourne.

In the last fixture between the two, Town ran out 4-0 winners after a scintillating Fletcher Holman hat-trick and a rather unique goal from club legend Adam Davidson secured all three points back in March. With that being said, our opponents have had a solid start to this league season sitting in 11th place and picking up points against Town’s playoff-chasing rivals along the way.

The Lingers caused an upset back in September against Newhaven by securing the points with an emphatic three-two win. That, along with a solid point against Peacehaven, and beating multiple mid-table challengers has left Lingfield in a good position with games in hand on teams below.

The Town will be looking to continue their good league form having won four in the last five. Losing away to Shoreham is the only blotch on what has been a good run of form. More recently, Town went to Haywards Heath in the FA Vase a fortnight ago in a thrilling encounter. After going two-nil down Town managed to get back into it with a goal from Ollie Davies and a last-minute equaliser from 17-year-old Leo Groombridge. Unfortunately, the comeback was short-lived as Town were beaten on penalties.

On Thursday, Eastbourne Town secured the signature of Bexhill United’s current top goalscorer, James Stone. With 12 goals in 20 appearances, the former Town player will be an excellent addition to the frontline. Stone made his debut for Town back in 2015 at just 17 years old. He would go on to make 31 First-Team appearances between 2015 and 2017, scoring five senior goals and would eventually move on to the United States Of America where he signed a professional contract with Michigan Stars FC.