FA Cup magic and atmosphere in short supply - but Eastbourne Borough get the done job

It was close – and a little short on that famous FA Cup magic – but it was all about the result. A 38th minute penalty was enough to see Eastbourne Borough ease past Dulwich Hamlet, and reach the First Round Proper.
Borough on the ball v Dulwich / Picture: Andy PellingBorough on the ball v Dulwich / Picture: Andy Pelling
Borough on the ball v Dulwich / Picture: Andy Pelling

James Hammond’s spot kick, coolly despatched after a foul on Greg Luer, clinched the 1-0 victory to see the Sports pass that milestone for the fifth time in the club’s history. The single-goal margin kept the contest live throughout the second half, although a disappointing Dulwich never really raised their game.

In fairness, Danny Bloor and his coaches are responsible for their own side, and not the opposition. And this victory was the reward for excellent preparation, a clear game plan, and the physical and metal tuning that Bloor’s players are achieving. The Sports have now lost just once in their first six matches, and spirits are high.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Borough dominated the first half and could easily have turned around three or four goals ahead. With a stiff breeze at their backs, they stretched Hamlet on both touchlines. Dean Cox was running a masterclass of tight control and canny movement, well supported on the left by Kai Innocent’s darting runs.

And after early probing and range-finding, it was Cox on 20 minutes who created the first real opening – curling in an exquisite cross, met by Charlie Walker’s perfect header – and denied by an outstanding full-stretch save by James Pardington.

It should have been the spark that set the action alight, but the game was really still just smouldering. Dulwich boss Gavin Rose had made a remarkable seven changes to his starting line-up, from the team which had subsided 0-2 to Chippenham last week, and it reflected in Hamlet’s disjointed and hesitant play.

And oh, for a bit of atmosphere. Once again, the players were performing, like actors at a technical rehearsal, to an empty, echoing arena. Terraces that should have been rippling with red and black, or pink and blue, stood grey and lifeless – and the spectators who would so gladly have stumped up their admission fee at the turnstiles were instead confined to barracks – or rather, to the Langney Sports clubhouse just a few paces away, where the action was streamed to frustrated supporters.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Never mind. In fits and starts, the action was coming to life, and it was Dulwich who suddenly came close with a chance out of nowhere. Charlie Clayden, freshly signed from Charlton Athletic, slung in a fine diagonal ball from the right – met by Dulwich skipper Michael Timlin, whose rocket of a volley was beaten away by Franco Ravizzoli’s terrific save.

It was to prove Hamlet’s best chance – and almost their only really clear chance – of the 90 minutes. The Sports regained their impetus and, seven minutes before the break, they gained a crucial breakthrough. Cox clipped in an inch-perfect ball and Luer, skipping on to it, was just caught by the toe of Mahlondo Martin for a penalty.

Hammond drilled the spot-kick low into the corner, and the home side controlled the rest of the first half. It was to prove the turning point.

Hamlet, with the wind now at their backs, made poor use of it. The first three or four raking goal-kicks and punts from Pardington sailed breezily all the way through to Ravizzoli, and Borough’s high defensive line thwarted the runs of the Dulwich front men.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Instead it was the Sports who looked in control. Centre-backs Steve James and Mitch Dickenson were strong and decisive, Ferry was a superb defensive screen, and the front line was refreshed off the bench by the pace of Joel Rollinson and the strong, combative foraging of Charley Kendall. Man of the Match? There were fourteen of them.

Dulwich, meanwhile, had self-destructed in the person of centre-back Kuagica David, whose two successive yellow cards were reckless and catastrophic for his team. Even with eleven on the pitch, they had struggled to create a single really clear scoring chance since half-time. Now, a player short, the Hamlet ship was sinking in a sea of troubles.

The end, when it came, was anti-climatic: Borough arms raised to the empty terraces, and Dulwich shoulders slumped. This strange, unreal season rolls on – and so does the Borough FA Cup run.

Borough: Ravizzoli; Vaughan (Kendall 57), James, Dickenson, Innocent; Hammond, Ferry; Luer, Whelpdale (Folarin 64), Walker, Cox (Rollinson 67). Unused subs: Glover, Blackmore, Gravata, Lambert.

Referee: an excellent game for Jack Packman

Borough MoM: Steve James – on behalf of a superb back four!