Eastbourne V Torquay United 9th December 2008

Gotta agree with you.. after 60 mins we should have been 5 down!!!!

Re: the physio: there were a few around me that nearly did invade!! I wonder if anything will be done - doubt it. There only seemed to be 2 stewards in the whole ground and they seems to be shitting themselves at the time

Also never been to a game with no segregation. We had 12 Eastb fans in front of us for the first half. When we went to a turnstyle to ask if this was the away turnstyle he said.. go anywhere you like!!!

Just a "quickie" from me as I have to go and earn a living.......................

That wasn't about anything else last night than getting a bloody good hiding - not team selection, not individual personnel not tactics. They mullered us, and the two quickfire goals just after halftime left us with a mountain to climb, a mountain too high.

Eastbourne played early balls into spaces, ran hard and at great pace into those spaces to receive the ball and I haven't seen us attacked like that EVER in this league! Eastbourne would have beaten any half decent side playing like that, and they DID hit another four last Saturday remember.

Their two loanees from Argyle - had pace to burn and burned it. Woods and Hodges were left looking like pensioners who had missed the bus and Nicholson like a powerless inspector who had just seen the driver piss off two minutes early!

It all seemed to effect Bevan who appeared to lose all command of his six yard box in the early part of the second half as the crosses rained in.

Just as at Woking (who started in similar fashion) Wroe looked a complete luxury in the maelstrom and sitting where I was I could see Buckle getting him ready to put Brough on in his place early on but Benyon scored a very good goal and he held fire.

Dare I say it, Hockley would have been a better option to bring on in those circumstances; as we only have one Hargreaves and he is in his late thirties playing his second game in four days - and it showed - oh how it showed!

Benyon and Stevens' frailties looked more pronounced in those circumstances, both good on the ball but both bullied far too easily into playing the ball into harmless parts of the pitch in direct contrast to the killer pass and move at pace of the opposition.

Why Brett chooses to criticise the Eastbourne ground, and the lack of segregation is beyond me. Small but perfectly formed would be my description, a warm welcome in excellent social facilities - clubs like Ebbsfleet and Woking could learn a lot from the Langney Sports Club and just why we had to suffer the embarrassing tantrums from some of our fans at the end over the Eastbourne physio leaves me shaking my head.....................we got mullered, take it on the chin like big boys and move on!

As long as we beat Histon (H), Weymouth (A) and Burton (A) we will be okay - nothing short of 9 points will be good enough as the gap will have got wider. Last night was our banker game.

I wonder if (on .net) it has all become Colin Lees fault that we lost. I dare not look or I`ll end up driving to Southampton and going mental!

Finally, a chance to get on the Forum! Our new MD has been in today sussing out our regional office. Joy.

I think I might treat you to a story of how my evening unfolded, rather than a traditional report. I’m going to write this having not read anything of this thread yet, just to see how it compares...

Chapter 1: Pre-Match

I arrived home from work at around 5 o’clock. My friend Rob – a Welling United turned adopted Gulls fan – arrived at my house an hour later. After throwing on some football socks to keep our feet warm, we left for Priory Lane. We had a rather pleasant drive down to Brighton then across to Eastbourne.

We parked up and headed into the stadium grounds. In the car park, we passed an EBFC steward. “Where’s the away end mate?” I inquired. “No segregation mate," he replied. “Go where you want.” Strange. I’ve never come across this in England before.

Standing at the turnstile, I read the sign on the door: ‘Entrance for children and adults only’. “As opposed to what?” I asked with a smug sense of witty satisfaction.

Underneath, a sign read: ‘Evening match entrance fee - £11.50’. I thought that was a nice touch. I thought it was even nicer when I got through and realised he’d over-changed me by a pound. I turned to Rob and said: “Karma’s been trying to screw me over recently, so I’m going to give the pound back.” He looked into his fistful of change and replied: “I wouldn’t mate, he’s just under-changed me by a quid.” Well, what comes around quickly goes around.

We headed for the nearest refreshments bar. I parted with my crispy £5 note and in return she gave me a cheeseburger, some chips and a cup of tea. The food was okay. I smothered it all in ketchup and took in my first impressions of Eastbourne Borough Football Club. “Nice little ground isn’t it?” Rob said, memories of Ebbsfleet United fresh in his mind. I had to agree.

Chapter 2: First Half

Well, I was still halfway through my chips when a beautiful seven-or-eight pass move was strung together and the ball was in the back of the net. Sadly, it was our net. So, not the best start. But having witnessed the Gulls’ comeback at Woking, I wasn’t too worried.

Alas, half an hour later, the sprightly Elliot Benyon picked up the ball, turned his marker inside out and smashed the ball in the bottom corner. The Torquay fans erupted and there was no way we were going to lose the game from here on in. The final ten minutes of the half, Torquay pressed for that half time lead. It didn’t come, but the now frozen away support were still high in hopes and spirits.

Chapter 3: Second half

Coming out after the break, Torquay left off from what they had started at the end of the first half. Attack, attack, attack. We just couldn’t find that killer blow to take us into a much-needed but by no means deserved lead.

Then five minutes of madness. BANG! 2-1 Eastbourne. I looked at Rob. “Where did that come from?!” I puzzled. I reached for my phone to text my brother who was unable to attend after recently undergoing knee surgery. ‘Alright bro, just gone 2-1 do..........’

I stopped mid-text to see the ball flying past Bevan for a third Eastbourne goal.

Torquay stopped playing after this. Other than Benyon and Mustapha Carayol creating a couple of good chances, we didn’t look like scoring.

Any chance of a comeback was wiped out in the 70th minute. Wayne Carlisle crossed for Chris Hargreaves, whose leap was impeded by the arms of an Eastbourne defender. If we were featured on Match of the Day, Messrs Shearer and Hanson would have been up in arms regarding this stonewall spot kick.

[Now, I’m not one to get on the official’s back, but his performance was interesting, to say the least...]

The Torquay players argued, the Eastbourne players played on and seconds later Bevan was beaten for a fourth time.

Then came the shameless feigning of injury by not one, not two but three Eastbourne players. It was disappointing really, because they’d worked hard and thoroughly deserved to be three goals to the good. As Rob pointed out to me: “Every time Eastbourne put the ball in the box, they look like scoring.” I couldn’t have summed it up better myself.

Torquay managed to pull a scrappy goal back. I’m not quite sure who scored it and I haven’t been on to look yet but I think it was Sills. EDIT: Turns out it was Benyon. Thoroughly deserved too.

It was far too little and far too late though and Eastbourne were deserved winners on the night.

The second half provided some funny moments. The several pre-teen Eastbourne fans who were goading us raised a smile. And at one point both sets of fans were singing “Shall we sing a song for you?” Which, let’s face it, is always funny.

There was an incident where the Eastbourne physio was giving it back to some smart-mouthed Torquay fans. I couldn’t hear what he was saying but it looked like he was saying: “Come down here and say that.” Naturally, the Torquay fans involved – who I think are known as the “day release gang” – got all shirty and demanded action. From where I was standing, it was all handbags and not really worth getting touchy about. This is where I hit POST REPLY and find out it’s been the only topic of discussion...

Anyway, I won’t do player reports as no one was really good enough. Carayol only touched the ball twice and both times he skinned his man and put in deadly crosses. This guy needs to start more games. Elliot Benyon battled hard throughout and was by far the best player in a white shirt.

Conclusion

It was one of those nights...

I imagine they probably segregate some games; Lewes for example. It's what I love about the States. Wonderful stadia and no segregation. Go where you want, sit where you want and enjoy the game.

It sounds silly, but for me segregating fans is more likely to entice trouble than not segregating them.

On-pitch antics aside, it was a refreshing experience. As you say, no yellow lines to avoid and you were allowed to stand right up to the wall. Just a shame the players couldn't do it on the field.