Eastbourne 1 Sutton 1

[johnnie1]

[dof]

.....another Dover style performance, solid at the back with Jamie Taylor on fire up front!!!!

[dof]

latest score after 30 mins Borough lead 1 - 0

[dof]

.....H/T Still 1 - 0 to Boro.

[dof]

....Jamie Slabber come to the rescue now 1 - 1

[dof]

Final Score 1 - 1

[Jared]

Full-time 1-1. Going from Twitter finished with 10 men due to a serious injury to Rhys Weston after all subs had been made

[Stewart]

Fair result, a very good start by the lads. Taylor nearly scored in the first 10 minutes. The keeper did well to tip his shot onto the crossbar. After they scored against the run of play we never again had control of the game. Happy with the point over the 96 minutes.

[bornatotter]

Long hard afternoon and by the time the whistle went at five pm happy to chalk up the point. We were comfortable first twenty and Jamie t had a superb effort tipped onto the bar. Then we lost possession and Elvis punished us. That set us back rest of first 45 and our play became a bit disjointed. Shook it up second half and levelled just after boro missed a sitter with a fine slabs header. Just after downs came on as final sub Rhys fell badly and dislocated his knee and it was a long half hour as we held out for the point. Ref was all over the shop. We got the shitty end of the stick on some bizarre decisions but there you go. Pain in the arse being followed from end to end by a bunch of kids who are apparently part of Boros youth set up and who think its a laugh to try and provoke a confrontation while joke shop stewards wander around in a daze. On the slipper front, always a worry when both the bun and the burger don't require chewing. We wait to hear the prognosis on Rhys Weston and wish him all the best. On we go.

[markf]

First of all, to wish Rhys all the best after what appears to be a bad knee injury. What those Boro' fans thought they were about with their comments while the unfortunate RW lay prone on the deck I'm not sure but with those and the juveniles who had nothing better to do than try and goad us for much of the afternoon it made for a less than palatable trip. They were annoying rather than anything else. Being teenagers I suppose.

As for the match Elvis missed an early header and then JT struck a venomous effort from an acute angle that the 'keeper did well to push onto the bar. After those early exchanges, U's with the wind at their backs were fairly comfortable. Boro's two little wide fellas were causing some problems though.

The goal came from a mis-control in the midfield but Hammond did well with his approach play before finishing well into the bottom corner.

one down at half time, U's started brightly again but the big two mins of the match centered around an unbelievable miss by the home side, firing a great chance over the bar and then U's equalising after JT's control and then cross was met by his strike partner, Slabber. After the equaliser, U's looked far more the assured side but with all three subs used, Rhys's unfortunate injury left U's having to see out the last 2o odd mins with 10 men. A few minor scares and a good point in the circumstances earned.

Today's ref was the guy we had at H&W and he at least was consistent in that in both games he missed a lot for both sides and did nothing to halt the spree of fouls the home side committed before they scored. He's just not that great.

seven out of nine against top half opposition, two away from the 'Lane is a great return after so much inactivity in recent weeks. The downside of course Rhy's injury. Really wish him a speedy and full recovery, especially as he is looking to coaching in the future.

[os]

We started well and JT's shot was going in until their keeper touched it onto the bar, and we were in control up until they scored. That goal came from a rare error in midfield leaving Elvis Hammond a run on goal which he took well. It was against the run of play and it seemed to unsettle us as we never really got into any stride before the break, although Eastbourne themselves were hardly threatening.

We started the second half on top and were looking for the equaliser when a break saw Elvis Hammond miss a open goal from a few yards out, blasting well over. We went straight down the other end where JT hung a tantalising cross under the bar for Slabs to loop his header over the keeper. U's then looked more likely to grab all 3 points as Dos made 3 subs in quick succession. The the incident which has marred the day as Rhys went done after a challenge and as reported has done some serious damage to his knee. UPDATE on that shortly via Dos's post match interview.

We did really well to hold on for the final 30mins as Eastbourne went in search of the winner but we held firm for a valuable point which was as good as a win in the context of the table.

We have done some damage to our rivals playoff hopes in the last week and done ours a power of good.

[billy]

I had a suspicion that Elvis would score.

[Amber Aleman]

Eastbourne today were certainly a better side than the one we ripped apart 4-0 at GGL back in October. Elvis scythed through our defence like a knife through butter to give them the lead, but we rallied after half-time and Jamie S's perfectly weighted header from just a few yards out brought us level.

Following Rhys Weston's painful departure it was a backs-to-the-wall job, with crosses raining into our box, but our remaining defenders worked like Trojans, and with the occasional break by Binnsy or Gav relieving the pressure, no home player could find the decisive touch.

The draw takes us above Ebbsfleet (who didn't play today) to third. 11 points from our five away games in 2014 is a very respectable return, particularly as the likes of Chelmsford, Basingstoke and Dover are not easy places to collect wins. We've still to visit Bromley and Stortford, but all our other remaining away games are against sides in the bottom eight.

[Andy K]

Not much to add from what was already said. A useful away point against a useful side.

Really hope Rhys isn't as bad as first imagined, and a speedy recovery.

Dale's yellow card means he's hit 5 for the season, so if I right that means he misses the game at Farnborough.

Bright side - we're unbeaten in 2014 still and have the best form in the league - no one else has been unbeaten in the last 6 league games.

[Millsy]

Feb 23, 2014 0:02:49 GMT Andy K said:

Dale's yellow card means he's hit 5 for the season, so if I right that means he misses the game at Farnborough.

If there's a plus side to the number of postponements, it's that the cut-off dates for cautions are thrown askew in as much that far fewer games (and therefore fewer opportunities to get a caution) have been played than expected.

The cut off dates for receiving a sanction as a result of accumulating cautions are:
Number of Cautions Cut off Date (inclusive)
5 31st December 2012
10 Second Sunday in April
15 End of the Season


Edit - Dale's on six by the way!