Eastbourne
Borough continued pre-season preparations with a visit to
Nyewood Lane, where Blue Square South club Bognor Regis
Town provided the opposition.
Borough were without leading scorer Andy Atkin, who had
suffered from an abscess necessitating a tooth extraction,
providing new striker Jean-Michel Sigere with his first
start for the club.
From the kick-off, the visitors pushed forward with Allan
Tait testing Matt Read in the ‘Rocks’ goal early
on and, in the eleventh minute, it was Tait again whose
sliced shot fell perfectly in the path of Mo Harkin who
fired Borough ahead from just inside the area. At this stage
Borough were dominating proceedings, but gradually Bognor
gained momentum with Ben Austin and Chris Winterton saving
the day as the Borough defence came under pressure.
A blustery and buoyant wind made for awkward situations,
but both sides played with enthusiasm to make the most of
the conditions. Former Weymouth player Gavin McCallum was
prominent, causing problems for the visitors whilst it was
evident that many of those in action were still pushing
for 100% fitness.
As the second period began, Borough conceded a free-kick
on the edge of the area. Paul Watson stepped up to fire
inside the near post, beyond Winterton’s outstretched
hand, to put Bognor on level terms after 53 minutes. Danny
Smith was near to giving his side the lead when he headed
over the bar on 61 minutes, but despite home pressure the
Borough defence battled stubbornly, and as the half progressed
Borough finally made a breakthrough with a through ball
finding Nathan Crabb who raced clear and shot past the advancing
keeper to put his side back in front on 73 minutes.
Mo Harkin went close with a good effort two minutes later,
and in the latter stages both teams continued to play end
to end football.
Manager Garry Wilson was satisfied with the display, “There
were times when I was pleased with the performance, but
there are still areas were we need improvement.” and
Coach Nick Greenwood agreed, “We are making steady
progress.” |
