Be brave – don’t be victims: Eastbourne Borough’s message to players in National South survival battle

Entering the final third of the season, it is a battle with no margin for error, and it may not be settled until the very last week of the season: whether Borough stay up or slip down the chute to the Isthmian League, there will possibly only two or three points either way.

Three of those points slipped from the grasp of Adam Murray’s side in a painful 2-1 defeat to Aveley on Tuesday night. Dogged, not for the first time, by controversy, Borough were on the wrong end of a couple of key decisions as the Essex club claimed the points.

On a horrendous night Borough opted to play into storm-force wind and rain in the first half, snatching a ninth-minute lead through Moussa Diarra. They were managing the game admirably until a minute before half-time, when referee Shelby Elson allowed an Aveley equaliser to stand despite a clear offside flag.

And after the break the home side conceded a penalty for a marginal foul by Archie Procter, and the visitors saw the game out.

We have all met managers who talk a good game. Murray talks a canny, pragmatic game, and he is a realist. He will exploit his playing resources to the full in the games to come. During those games, he will actively tweak the shape, adjust the emphasis, counter the opposition’s threats. Even in the teeth of the gales, Adam’s voice was arrowing out across the Priory Lane pitch with instructions.

But the Borough manager would bite our arm off for a proven, experienced goalscorer. Freshly arrived at the Lane is Australian Finn Ballard McBride, a 24 year old with a promising career path so far. Finn will join an eager young squad, and Murray’s post-match comments amounted to a challenge to them.

“There are different ways of being brave. Some people are fighters, some are game destroyers, some are brave by consistently getting on the ball and making things happen. But we can’t afford victims. We haven’t many experienced players, but some of the young guys need to stand up and be leaders.”

Three clubs – Dover Athletic, Welling and Havant and Waterlooville – lie below the Sports, while financially distressed Taunton Town are just above them. There is still time for Borough to climb clear of danger, but it will be unsurprising if, by mid-April, those five clubs are scrapping it out to claim the breathless safety of fifth-bottom.

Borough host Farnborough at Priory Lane tomorrow (Sat 27th).