Saturday 29nd August 2026
Isthmian League Premier Division – Eastbourne Borough (A) 1-0
The Connect Management Stadium is immediately impressive, and not just because I got a reserved parking space (cheers Ryan!) The downpour en route made me glad of the all-round covered terracing. In the end, the rain mainly stayed away while the game was being played, but the squalling wind definitely did not get the memo – at times, it made trying to play football an exercise in pure farce. I’m sure the Sports’ keeper, Lewis Carey, doesn’t normally kick as many dead balls into touch as he did today…
Ian went with a ‘robust’ starting eleven, and in particular, Connor relished the opportunity – he was buzzing around everywhere, getting well and truly stuck in alongside Mark and Dicko in the middle, and in consequence, Borough struggled to find any form of rhythm. The Tanners looked much more purposeful in their attacking play than they had last week – they still swarmed forward at every opportunity, but the floated speculative crosses were gone, replaced by firm ‘zipped’ balls with players actually loading the box, looking to get on the end of them. On more than one occasion, last ditch defending prevented back-post goals for Kofi (for the first eighty-five minutes at least…).
The hosts weren’t entirely without threat themselves though, most notably in the twenty-fifth minute, when a free kick from the right was headed onto the bar. They also went close on thirty-eight minutes when Sonny saved well at his near post after the Borough man had done well to pluck a ball from the air before turning Louie to shoot. The last chance of the half came Tanners’ way though, Jacob breaking into the box, but his defender doing enough to steer the ball out for a corner.
Halftime – Eastbourne Borough 0, Tanners 0.
The attendance of eight hundred and ninety-nine was boosted by a good couple of hundred from KT22. The TSC had once again put on a coach, and halftime tales from the seventy travellers aboard involved the driver’s controversial decision to refuse to hit the town centre pre-match. I might be mistaken, but the generally boisterous awayday mood indicated that they’d still managed to get drinks from somewhere…
The wind was behind the hosts for the second half, but it wasn’t making it easy for either side to play the beautiful game – often the ball would take an unpredictable path, and not just when it was in the air. Borough were generally having the better of things though, and one effort went narrowly over via a touch from Cam when they looked certain to score.
Connor was replaced by Harry on fifty-seven minutes. There was nothing tactical about it – he strained his calf while trying to control a ball when in on goal, and off he limped. He was joined on the bench by Jacob five minutes later in a like-for-like swap for Marcel – neither striker really impacted the game as they would have liked, but again, the wind had a lot to answer for in that respect.
The hosts found themselves reduced to ten men on sixty-eight minutes, their skipper Elliott Johnson receiving his second yellow for hauling down Anas on the edge of the box. To say he was unhappy was an understatement, but it was as obvious a card as you’re likely to see. Harry took the resulting free kick – it was on target, but the wall did its job, and the ball went out for a corner that was once again well defended by the wind rather than any of the red-shirted defenders.
Louie hobbled off with seventy-seven minutes played. It looked like another tweaked calf, but Bobby slotted in seamlessly from the bench. He’s been very reliable since arriving in the summer – for me, he’s a good addition to the squad in a position in which we aren’t overly blessed with options.
Borough threatened twice late on, first from a narrowly deflected eightieth-minute free kick in a dangerous position that also saw Cam booked. Five minutes later, they went closer still, the ball hitting the post with Sonny beaten by a dipping shot. How they will rue that one – a minute later, the ball was in the net at the other end for the Tanners’ winner. Patient approach play ended with Bobby receiving the ball on the right, and his mid-height cross made it all the way to the back post for Kofi to prod it home. Cue wild celebrations behind the goal, and impromptu managerial piggybacks in the dugout…
Anas made way for Joe as injury time began, and for a moment it looked as if Marcel might double the lead a moment later. He did well to get off a shot despite the close attentions of a Sports defender, but it didn’t have enough power to test the keeper.
The remarkable away run continues, then – twenty-five games unbeaten in the league, spanning three separate seasons. I’d have taken a point at the start, so three were very welcome, and in my opinion, just about deserved. Decent opposition and dodgy conditions didn’t stop the team playing its stuff, and as Ian reiterated in his post-match interview, that’s very much the Leatherhead way.
Fulltime – Eastbourne Borough 0, Tanners 1.
We now have a quick turnaround with Dulwich Hamlet visiting The Grove on Bank Holiday Monday, when fourth will play eleventh. They started strongly, spanking Maldon & Tiptree 6-0 on the opening day of the season, but their form since has been indifferent, with just the one additional win sandwiched by a couple of losses and a draw. Having blown away the cobwebs of last weekend’s result, I think the Tanners will be up for this one. Onwards and upwards – COYT!
