Bexhill United 1 v 6 Eastbourne Town

Friday 9th August 2019
FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round
The Saffrons, Eastbourne
Admission (including programme) £7.00
Attendance: 210

I initially thought I may miss out on taking in a game in the opening round of this season's FA Cup, when Charlton were scheduled to play at home on the Saturday. Happily for me, there was a local game that was switched to a Friday evening fixture, and with plenty of personal interest in the two clubs, this was a game that I would look forward to taking in.

In the draw, Bexhill were the home team, however playing football at their home ground, The Polegrove, is always impossible during August as the ground is shared with Bexhill Cricket
Club. Therefore it was agreed that the official visiting team would host this game instead at The Saffrons. Nothing has changed since last season, and it remains one of the more charming and perfectly adequate grounds in the Southern Combination League. Apparently a new scaffold stand will soon be erected, after "Pier Pressure", a group of vocal fans, have successfully raised fund via  crowdfunding. A printed programmes was included with admission, and the cover was very well designed, and the 16 pages inside contained sufficient information to preview the match. A team sheet was available just before kick-off, and line-ups were also written up on a board on the back wall of the stand behind the goal.

This match already looked a hard enough proposition for Bexhill United anyway, even without surrendering home advantage to their opponents. They had a great season last season, playing an exciting brand of football and looked a good bet for promotion from the Southern Combination Division One, before falling away a little at the end, eventually finishing in fourth place, but having scored 92 goals from 32 league games, the joint highest in the division, and with the best goal difference, plus 63. The disappointment of missing out on promotion was compensated slightly by being one of the relatively few Step 6 to qualify for this season's FA Cup competition, the first time in four seasons and only the second time since 1981, then as Bexhill Town. Having kept pretty much all of last season's squad, and having made some additions, they will surely be there or thereabouts again for promotion this season, although they started this league season with a 2-1 defeat at newly relegated Arundel. Eastbourne Town are almost always one of the stronger clubs in the division above, and last season finished in third place in the Premier Division, scoring 99 goals from 38 league games, the second highest in the division. They've had a great start to this season, winning 0-5 at newly promoted Steyning Town, and then 2-0 at home to AFC Uckfield in midweek.

On an overcast but very windy evening, Bexhill started impressively on the front foot, and with two minutes played they saw a shot following a corner fly just past the post. And on 8 minutes, Bexhill did take the lead, Jack Shonk's free kick  from well outside the penalty area going in off the left hand post. At that stage, a shock looked like it might be on the cards, but unfortunately for Bexhill, their lead only lasted three minutes, George Taggart taking advantage of no-one really closing him down to drill the ball low inside the near post from just outside the area. As gamely as Bexhill battled on, it seemed only a matter of time before Eastbourne would take the lead, which they did on 28 minutes, Taggart running forward with the ball before striking it low past the keeper's dive. On 34 minutes, Eastbourne opened up a two goal lead with a peach of a goal, Tyler Scrafton curling the ball from outside the area over the keeper and into the far side of the net, and the tie was all over bar the shouting barely a minute later, when Scrafton connected with a cross from the right, heading the ball home from a central position.

Realistically, all Bexhill had to play for was pride, and they did compete well in the second half, creating a few decent chances, but it was Eastbourne who score again, Scrafton claiming his hat trick on 71 minutes, taking the ball in a central position following a low cross from the left, and he placed the ball into the right side of the goal past the keeper. And on 78 minutes, Eastbourne scored their sixth, Brad Prichard tucking the ball home after an initial shot was parried into the danger area by the keeper. The scoreline could easily have been uglier for Bexhill, but 1-6 was how it remained, and the scoreline did rather reflect a gulf between the two clubs, certainly in terms of defensive capabilities. Eastbourne Town will travel to south-west London in the next round in a fortnight to play either Sutton Common Rovers or Molesey, their game going to a replay after a 1-1 draw on Saturday.