Eastbourne Preview

Boro begin what is a busy month of football tomorrow night when they travel down to the south coast to face Eastbourne Borough. It’s the first of 7 games in the month and each game will be vital as the team aim to close the 6 point gap that Oxford United currently hold over the Hertfordshire side. It will not be an easy game for Westley’s side, especially as Eastbourne beat York at KitKat Crescent at the weekend. They are struggling at the bottom of the Blue Square Premier table and need every point they can possibly get.

Saturday went well for Stevenage, even without kicking a ball. York lost ground on the title race as they were surprisingly beaten at home by Eastbourne, whilst Luton lost 2-1 away at Crawley. Funnily enough the two teams that beat York and Luton are Boro’s next two fixtures. Elsewhere, Rushden and Kettering drew 0-0 at Nene Park which did neither side any favours as they try to secure themselves a place in the play-offs. In form Kidderminster beat Histon 3-0 at Aggborough. They are looking very good at the minute and the FA Trophy Semi-Final tie against them will not be as straight forward as I initially thought.

Last season saw 2 defeats from 2 games against the side from the south coast. Boro played Eastbourne in their first home game last season and lost the game comfortably 3-1. That game came just days after we were hammered 5-0 at Wrexham in Graham Westley’s 1st game back as Boro manager. Boro visited Priory Lane in early October and although an Eddie Anaclet goal looked to have earned Boro a point, on loan striker Lyle Taylor popped up late on to give Eastbourne the 3 points. This season though has been a different story. Eastbourne were convincingly beaten 2-0 at Broadhall Way. Boro dominated the game throughout and should have won by more.

Graham Westley has a few selection headaches to overcome tomorrow night, but with nearly a fully fit squad it isn’t a bad problem to have. Yemi Odubade and Andy Drury are expected to be involved in some capacity, while Stacy Long could come back into the first 11 after missing out on the victory over Wrexham last week. I think a lot depends on how GW sets out his side. Last week’s game at Wrexham was a very defensive performance, but they did a great job and came away with a cracking result. I think tomorrow’s game will be similar. I expect GW to maybe play the 3 central defenders and use Laird and Ronnie as wing-backs. Tim Sills and Chris Beardsley could be used up top due to their physical presence.

Eastbourne will go into the game on a high after Saturday’s shock defeat of York. Liam Enver-Marum’s strike was enough to secure a very valuable 3 points for Boro who pulled clear of the relegation zone with the win. Chester’s expulsion doesn’t really effect Eastbourne that much. They will only lose a point from the 1 game they played against them and with other clubs like Tamworth and Cambridge suffering 6 point losses, the demise of Chester could actually work out well for Garry Wilson’s side.

It’s another big game for us and with Oxford now 6 points ahead, it’s a game we really have to win to stay in the race for the title. I think ideally we need to be within 3 points of the U’s when we come to play them at the end of the month and in my opinion the games we have from now until we face Oxford at Broadhall Way on the 30th are winnable games. Hopefully by the end of the month we could be top going in to the final month of the season.

Prediction: Eastbourne 0-2 Boro

Eastbourne Ground Guide