Saturday 22 December 2018

Eastbourne United Association 2 v 0 Little Common

Friday 21st December 2018
Southern Combination League Premier Division
The Oval, Eastbourne
Admission: £6.00
Programme: £1.00
Attendance: 102


Finishing work early today on the last day before the Christmas shutdown, I decided to kick off my festive holiday with some Friday night action, taking in this interesting looking derby between two clubs who share The Oval as their home ground.



In the two years since my last visit to The Oval, the fairly long metal stand which was acquired from Sidley United following their sad eviction from their home ground The Gullivers some five years ago now, has now been positioned close to the corner flag behind the goal closest to the entrance. Although it is intended to be all-seater, currently there are no plastic seats inside, only the metal frames, although a handful of spectators did make use of a plank of wood positioned along part of one row. This stand is in addition to the two along the length closest to the clubhouse, one all-seater and the other offering standing room. Set some way behind is the club house and a separate snack bar area, whilst around the rest of the pitch there is just hard standing, closely surrounded by wooden fencing. The 16 page programme had an attractive cover in colour, with all of the essentials to preview the match covered inside.




It would be fair to say that Eastbourne United have had a very difficult season so far, starting in pre-season when the club struggled to fulfil friendly fixtures, losing their manager Tobi Hutchison just a week before the start of the season, and a season of struggle has followed so far, which has included being unable to fulfil a fixture in late August, and they came into this game with just two points on the board, one of those coming on the opening day, and were nine points adrift at the bottom of the table, and eleven points from safety. However, there are signs of hope, with a new chairman taking the reins last month, a new manager appointed during the week, and two very good signings made, with new goalkeeper Jordan Hawkins dual-signing from Whitehawk, and the prolific Sam Schaaf, who usually hits the 20 goals a season mark in this division, following a very successful spell with Horsham YMCA. After enjoying a successful decade, building from intermediate football to consolidating in the top half of Division One during the last five years, finishing second and then as champions last year, Little Common have found life a little tougher in their first ever season in the top flight of the Southern Combination League, and came into this game in 16th place in the 20 team division, following four wins and three draws from their opening 17 league games. Their rise through the divisions has come at a price though, as they were forced to leave their home ground at Peartree Lane two seasons ago, as it was no longer considered suitable for senior football by ground-grading regulations, and so are now playing their home fixtures, this being the second of a three year agreement, although as things stand is difficult to see how they can return home to Little Common, with the local council not allowing the necessary permanent enclosure of the ground, and an alternative site not being forthcoming. When the two teams met back in August, Little Common won 4-0.




On an evening that saw many games in the south-east postponed due to recent prolonged heavy rain, The Oval's pitch survived thanks to dry conditions since the morning and throughout the match, although the pitch was to prove bobbly and very soft in places which, combined with a strong wind, made for tricky conditions. The first half, unsurprisingly, was low on quality, particularly in the final third, although it was the hosts who came closest to opening the scoring. On 12 minutes, a low mishit shot beat the keeper but was cleared off the line by Lewis Parsons, while on 26 minutes, the ball was crossed into the box but just evaded a decisive touch and the ball bounced wide.





The second half steadily grew in excitement as more decent chances were starting to be created, and on 61 minutes, Little Common's player-manager, always a big threat with his excellent deliveries at set-pieces, saw his corner float into the net, but the goal was disallowed for an infringement, without any real protests. But five minutes later, the deadlock was broken with a debut goal by Schaaf, who took possession of the ball in the penalty area with his back to goal, swivelled and fired the ball across the keeper and inside the far post. He came close to doubling his tally on 75 minutes when his far post goalbound shot was blocked, but two minutes later, his side were awarded a penalty when their player was fouled as he jumped to meet the ball sent in from a corner. Schaaf struck the ball down the middle to double Eastbourne United's lead. That felt like the decisive goal, but Little Common did come very close to at least grabbing a consolation, first when a goalbound shot was blocked and a free kick was smartly saved by the keeper low to his left. But Eastbourne United claimed their first win of the season, and although they still have a mountain to climb if they are to survive in the Premier Division this season, there can be a lot more hope than there was just a week or two ago. Little Common will most likely be battling to stay out of the relegation berths this season, although surely they would be happy with survival and consolidation in their first ever season at this level.




Video highlights of the match can be viewed by clicking here

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