United look to build on their midweek victory over Chester when they travel south to Eastbourne this Saturday.
Gary Wilson's Borough are without a home victory since mid-September and remain winless in their past nine matches, so the U's will be confident of enhancing a record which has seen them lose just twice on the road this season.
The Sports looked certainties to secure their second away win of the campaign at Hayes & Yeading on Tuesday evening, but Jamie Taylor's early goal was cruelly cancelled out when the London side converted an injury-time penalty. This was their second blow in three days following the second-half abandonment of last Saturday's game at Chester. Borough currently lie 20th having won just five times this term, and have struggled to maintain the form shown last season when finishing a respectable thirteenth in their debut Blue Square Premier campaign.
Garry Wilson guided the East Sussex club to promotion in May 2008 following a Blue Square South Play-off Final win over Hampton & Richmond. They had been close to promotion in 2005, but Altrincham pipped them to the prize in the North/South Final that year.
Formed in 1964 under previous moniker Langney FC they commenced life in the Eastbourne & District Football League, before changing their name to Langney Sports Club in 1968. The 1973/4 season concluded with promotion to the Eastbourne & Hastings Premier Division, by 1983 they became founder members of Sussex County League Division Three and, within a year, came the move to current home Priory Lane. This acted as a commercial springboard, with subsequent promotions meaning elevation to Division One. Momentum continued and the 1999/00 saw another title delivered, with Dr Marten's Southern League Eastern Division football being played for the first time.
Garry Wilson
A further increase in profile meant the name switch to Eastbourne Borough during May 2001. Their judgement paid immediate dividends via increased gates, and promotion to the Dr Martens Premier Division was clinched in 2003. The Sports were then elected to the Conference South for the commencement of the 2004/05 campaign. Remarkably, under the tutelage of Garry Wilson they again surpassed expectations and concluded the season in fifth place, but eventually lost out in that Play-off Final with Altrincham.
Wilson then re-built his squad over the two seasons, blooding youth players and talent from local leagues. Strong top-half finishes were achieved in 2006 and 2007, before they reached the top of the non-league pyramid after a race for the Championship with Lewes. The Rooks took the title, with Borough finding success via the aforementioned Play-off win over Hampton & Richmond.
Last season United did the double over Borough, winning 3-0 at Priory Lane and 2-1 at the Abbey.
The Squad
Throughout Borough's 2007/08 promotion campaign, the quartet of Ben Austin, Marc Pullan, Neil Jenkins and Darren Baker held the defence together magnificently. Last season, as you would expect with a step up in class, they took time to adapt. Loyalty personified, Baker has been with the Sports since 1992, pulling on his Boro shirt a staggering 843 times, with the four between them amassing just shy of 1,600 appearances for the club.
Left-back Jenkins will return to the side after a 3-match suspension, his place at the back taken by the recognisable face of Danny Brown during that time, whilst Marc Pullan faces a late fitness test following injury. The quartet are being pushed for places this year, with former Havant & Waterlooville Captain Gary Elphick and bench warmer Ollie Rowe hotting up the competition. General consistency within the back line will be of comfort to current goalkeeper Danny Knowles, who has been fighting for the shirt with former Chesterfield man Michael Jordan.
Danny Brown would ordinarily have sat in midfield this Saturday, but a tenth booking of the season in midweek means he misses out through suspension. Browny joined the Sports on loan from United last November and, after impressing, made the move permanent in January.
A popular character during his time at the Abbey, he generally adds steel to the hub of Boro's play, whilst complimenting influential Club Captain Paul Armstrong, who played alongside Brown during their time at Crawley and has recently returned to the squad following injury. Another former Crawley stalwart is Simon Weatherstone, who joined Borough in May and has admirably filled Armstrong's boots. Also in midfield on Saturday could be Matt Smart, who has been at Boro since 2001, or the long-serving brotherly duo of Matt & Nathan Crabb, although, the latter faces a match day fitness test.
Both are capable of showing most defenders a clean pair of heels, but will looking over their shoulders for Simon Johnson, who has impressed since his elevation from the youth side. Northampton loanee Joe Benjamin and Dan Smith, recruited from Plymouth, also are also vying for places.
The prolific form shown by striker Andy Atkin in the 2007/08 promotion campaign deserted him at times last year, and he will have been disappointed with his eight-goal haul. Atkin has bagged just two this season, with his regular starting berth snaffled by ex-United man Liam Marum.
Seemingly calling himself Enver-Marum these days, the 22-year old was snapped up from relegated Woking during the summer and has bagged eight goals to date. Partnering Liam up front against the U's will be Jamie Taylor, who joined from Grays in the close-season and has also bulged the onion bag on eight occasions. Keeping Atkin company whilst he warms up on the touchlines will be Southampton loanee Kayne McLaggon, who has notched one goal in three appearances.
The Season So Far
The Sports opened their campaign with a disappointing 3-0 loss at Wrexham, but the tears were soon wiped away thanks to a 1-0 home win over newly promoted Wimbledon; Neil Jenkins proving the match winner. This was followed up by a 1-1 draw with Rushden at Priory Lane, before the away day blues continued thanks to a 1-0 loss at struggling Grays.
Since then further defeats on the road have come at Stevenage (0-2) Oxford (0-4) Histon (0-2) and Gateshead (0-3). Solace can be found in draws with Salisbury, Forest Green Rovers, Mansfield and their midweek trip to Hayes & Yeading. The cherry on far-from-iced cake came at Kidderminster when goals from Nathan Crabb and Jamie Taylor sealed a 2-0 success.
The home record reads slightly better, but their three wins in front of the faithful came much earlier in the season. The maximum points gained over AFC Wimbledon are complemented by victories against Hayes & Yeading (3-1) and Barrow (2-1). As well as Rushden, the likes of Chester, Histon and Tamworth have all left clutching a point. The earlier mentioned nine-match winless run has kicked in since the Marum-inspired victory over Hayes, with Kettering, Mansfield and lowly Ebbsfleet leaving the Lane with victories.
Tomorrow will mark Borough's last home game of 2009, with tricky away days at Altrincham, Crawley and Luton, plus a trip to Welling United in the FA Trophy to come before the New Year
Doug Shulman
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