There was heavy rain on the trip down and Borough had to drain a large amount of water from the pitch before kick-off. 754 supporters turned out, which is a bit down on previous attendances but probably the largest crowd any of our current squad have played in front of. The crowd included a number of Epson and Ewell Colts and their families, who got behind the boys throughout the game.

There was only one change from Tuesday night’s game V Badshot Lea; Niall Stillwell replacing Andrew Herring in the midfield.

We kicked off playing with a strong wind and had an early chance when Emmanuel Limpo crossed for Kingsley Anoyke, but he was not able to get over the ball and his header went over the bar. In the third minute a quick throw-in on our right side found Luke who took on his defender and was eventually brought down just outside the box. The free kick was poor though amd came to nothing.

It wasn’t long before we had a warning from No14 Pemi Aderoju’s power when he had a free header in the box just 6 yards out but he could only guide it wide of our left hand post. Borough started to take control of the game although we did play the ball around when we had a chance. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage any shots on target to trouble the Borough reserve keeper Sandford.

The ball seemed to be moving in the wind and from an attack our midfield got under the ball and Borough broke very quickly sweeping the ball out to their right and a good ball in was met by Aderoju with a diving header that found it’s way in off Faebian’s right had post for the first goal. Eastbourne Borough 1-0 Epsom and Ewell.

Soon after Kingsley found Luke after a little bit of “argy bargy” with some shirt pulling the ref is ignoring. Whether this is normal at this level we don’t know but the Salts are being put off by it. However, on this occasion, Kingsley got the better of the defender and slid a nice ball in but Luke had got marginally offside.

Eastbourne were now in control of the game and in the 29^th minute Niall was caught dallying on the ball and it was taken off him just inside our own half and a smart pass found Josh Anifowose who ran in unchallenged and slipped the ball past Faebian for their second goal. Eastbourne Borough 2-0 Epsom and Ewell.

We did manage another half chance on the 37^th minute when a long ball found Kinsgley who moved the ball to Luke. He took on his defender and got inside the box, but was eventually outnumbered by 2 or 3 defenders and he didn’t get a shot away. We won our first corner on the 43^rd minute, some good play again by Luke on our right-hand side but the ball was cleared easily. The referee indicated 4 minutes injury time and we held out without any further problems.

HT; Eastbourne Borough 2-0 Epsom & Ewell

Eastbourne kicked off the second half playing with the wind which appeared to be getting stronger and certainly our clearances were not getting to the half way line.

Just two minutes in though the game was really put out of our reach. Their young 16 year old Arthur Grout, who has been putting in strong performances, skipped past three challenges. Just before getting into the box, Adam Green tripped him from behind. It certainly looked like one of those “taking for the team” type tackles, but the referee didn’t hesitate in brandishing a red card. It appeared to be very harsh, and certainly something we didn’t need. From the free kick the ball was played in, Faebian came out but their centre half got there first. The supporters behind the goal were already cheering for a goal, but it looked like Toby who got back and managed to clear off the line.

Faebian took a knock and had to be looked after by our physio Jodie for an extended time but he eventually returned to his feet and seemed OK to carry on. A couple of minutes later, though play had to be stopped again as Faebian had sat down and after more treatment he was taken off. After the game he said his vision was blurred and he could not see properly so we had no choice really. With Adam off the pitch Toby Young took on the gloves, as our reserve keeper Ben Grummitt was not part of the squad. Callum Wilson came on in the centre of defence.

Eastbourne were well in control now and Kingsley was living on scraps, but in the 59^th minute he was found by a great pass from Brendan Murphy-McVe. Before he could take a shot, one of the Borough defenders got back and blocked it. It would be interesting to see if in our league he would have had just that little bit of extra time.

On the 64^th minute Eastbourne moved the ball around the back line and made some space on their left-hand side and a great cross found Aderoju in the box and his powerful header easily beat Toby. Eastbourne Borough 3-0 Epsom & Ewell.

Max decided to mix it up a bit and Ethan Nelson-Roberts came on for Luke Miller, Obasanjo Akinniranye came on for Kionte and Craig Dundas replaced Kingsley, who had really chased everything.

On 76 minutes we carved out our final chance. A quick throw in from Brendan found Craig and he played a lovely pass to Luis Oliveira who cut inside and got his shot off but it was deflected out for a corner just past the post.

Eastbourne continued to trouble our goal but Toby appeared to be very confident and held onto everything. He was forced to come out of the goal after a long ball was played over the top. He managed to control and take on a couple of attackers before Borough players really pressurised him but he managed to slam the ball into the stand for a corner. In the 86^th minute Nazareth just used his strength to nudge Grout off the ball after he started to go on a little run. The referee though, decided it was a foul. The kick was taken with a fine strike on goal but Toby managed to get down to his left and tipped the ball around the post, a save any keeper would have been proud of.

The referee indicated seven minutes of injury time and on the 94^th minute Borough got their 4^th. Again they moved the ball across the back line and eventually found space on their right and a great cross for Aderoju to complete his hat-trick of headers from the centre of the box. Eastbourne Borough 4-0 Epsom & Ewell.

We have to say that “The Sports” were by far the better team being bigger, stronger and quicker over the pitch but the Salts really put in a shift and as we said earlier did not really deserve a 4-0 score line especially paying for all but 2 minutes of the second half with 10 men. The Sports fans were very complimentary of our performance and impressed with the team spirit as we sat in the clubhouse for more than an hour after the game. It seems teams at this level tend to finish the game, eat and leave.

Anyway, it is back to Cobham on Tuesday evening for a Combined Counties Premier Challenge Cup tie V Ashford Town KO 7.45pm. Hopefully we will continue with our good start to the season before we take on our landlords the following Tuesday evening 23^rd September as the away team. KO 7.45 pm.

Hopefully see you there.