Eastbourne Borough boss unhappy with players after below par performance at Lewes

Eastbourne Borough manager Lee Bradbury expressed frustrations to his players after his side’s 3-1 defeat at Lewes in a pre season friendly Saturday.
Eastbourne Borough players Sergio Torres and Tobi Adebayo-Rowling. Picture by Jon RigbyEastbourne Borough players Sergio Torres and Tobi Adebayo-Rowling. Picture by Jon Rigby
Eastbourne Borough players Sergio Torres and Tobi Adebayo-Rowling. Picture by Jon Rigby

Getting ready for his first season with Borough, Bradbury was far from pleased following the defeat at the Dripping Pan. He said: “It was a way off performance from my expectations of them as a group, and I made my feelings clear to the players. I’m pleased it’s happened during pre-season and not in the league.”

The Conference South side fell 2-0 behind before Nick Wheeler found the net in the second half to put Borough on the scoresheet. But a defensive error led to Lewes’ Dean Brown restoring a two goal lead late on for the Isthmian Premier League side.

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Bradbury said “It is going to take some time for the group to gel because quite a lot of new players don't know each other’s strengths and weaknesses yet. It’s a work in progress at the moment.”

After managing Havant and Waterlooville for more than six years, Bradbury took over the Borough side two weeks after the end of last season. Despite his disappointment from this defeat, he looks forward to the team’s last pre season friendly this Saturday when they visit Isthmian South East side Burgess Hill. He said:“I think it will be their opportunity to show they can play well against a Conference South team and that is where they should be playing. It will be their showcase game so they’ll up their game and we’ve got to make sure we do the same.”

The Eastbourne manager also said that he would use the last friendly as a chance to view the squad ahead of the upcoming season: “There will be changes. I am just trying to get the whole squad out at the minute so that they can show me that they should be playing in the first game against Billericay away.”

In the first game of the new season, Borough make the trip to Billericay on the 3rd of August, who narrowly missed out on the playoffs last year. Bradbury said: “We will be ready by the time it comes and we are looking forward to the season. Along with Havant they (Billericay) are the big spenders of the league so it is a challenge, but one that we will meet head on.

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