It was The Town versus The Bears at The Saffrons and with three wins on the bounce, with one of those coming against tonight’s opponents, we were heading into this one with plenty of confidence.
Eastbourne started strong in a scrappy game where neither team had possession for very long. Jack Murphy and Harvey Greig dealt with long balls that came their way. The Sussex rivalry contributed to the sharp start to the game, with both teams having chances at either end. Broadbridge Heath were flooding the channels with James Archard and Matthew Hay having plenty of joy driving at Murphy and Tom Vickers, but the pair did well in the first half to shut down any attacks. Nathan Hover had a big chance when he was left unmarked at the back post but he could only nod it into the keeper’s midriff.
The game was fierce, and the first yellow came when Broad Bridge’s Archard was late on Marcin Ruda, who did well to get there before the fullback.
A brilliant cross from James Waters was deflected just beyond the post towards the end of the first half and it was a let-off for Broadbridge, who seemed to have lost any control that they had on the game.
The first half was certainly an interesting one. It was a scrappy Sussex affair, with both sides having solid chances at goal. As the players entered the tunnel, it was anyone’s game. Town started well, but James Stone and James Hull didn’t have much of the ball in the first half. It seemed like a game that could be flipped by individuals, and these two could’ve been the ones to make it happen.
The second half was the same. Vickers was very late on Charlie Parmiter and, as a result, was awarded a booking for the tackle. A third booking was given to another Town player when Greig took down Mason Doughty. The game was tight with neither team creating much more than the other, and both backlines were to credit for this goalless display—dealing with countless attacks and direct passing.
A would eventually come for the Bears when a ball out to the overlapping right-back Archard, who took his time in acres of space and drilled it brilliantly beyond Chris Winterton’s reach.
The goal increased the tempo of the game, which originally seemed flat. Hull soon had the next big chance for Eastbourne after a complete miskick from Sean Terry. Stone was in against the keeper and unselfishly squared it, but the ball didn’t roll quick enough to reach James Stone.
The game finished 1-0 in a display that could have gone either way if it wasn’t for the brilliant finish from Archard. Eastbourne were unlucky not to score with plenty of chances.
Town will look to bounce back in our next game as we travel over the bridge to Sheppey United in a 73-mile trip on Saturday. Sheppey are currently 6th in the table, a strong side but we will go there looking to grab more points towards securing our Isthmian League status.
