‘Shafts of light’ that have given Eastbourne Borough hope of saving themselves

A 2-1 home win over Farnborough last Saturday, full of spirit and courage, finally brought the Sports tangible reward in the shape of three precious National South points. See 57 pictures by Lydia and Nick Redman from the victory here.

They remain in the relegation places – ironically even slipping a place after Welling United notched two wins in four days. But suddenly, everyone at Priory Lane is looking up instead of down.

And as manager Adam Murray overhauls his playing squad, the latest signing will have everyone beaming. Jake Hutchinson, local product and six-foot striker, enjoyed a fruitful half-season under Danny Bloor, scoring nine goals. Leaving League Two Colchester United, he headed north to Queen of the South – if that isn’t a contradiction. But the senior figures at Priory Lane have recruited Jake and brought him home, a mere 430 miles south.

The nicest of lads off the field, but a pounding, hungry striker on it, Jake is a good fit with Adam Murray’s squad. Faced with the need to refresh and re-ignite, the manager has turned a potential nightmare into a credible project. Some players – who were frankly just short of the standard – have moved on, but the new arrivals have hit the ground running.

Hutchinson himself will be battling for a striking slot, with front man Siya Ligendza on fire against Farnborough, young Aussie Finn Ballard McBride also making an impression, and the talents of Leone Gravata and Decarrey Sheriff adding fire-power from wide positions.

Spoiled for choice? It’s the best problem for a manager to have. Back in December, a beleaguered Mark Beard took just eleven fit players plus a reserve keeper to Hendon, went out of the FA Trophy and by New Years Day he had lost his job.

Murray now has options all over the field. Further back in the line-up, Pierce Bird, a key player in Murray’s title-winning AFC Fylde side, looks a great capture. And even long-term absentee Alex Finnie is close to a return to action.

It might not quite be total football, but there was a buoyancy and sense of belief about Borough as they faced down the physical threat of Farnborough – who were fortunate to keep eleven men on the field. The Sports had the priceless sprint start of a third-minute goal, and scorer Archie Procter summed it up afterwards.

“Well, the Gaffer’s been asking the wing-backs to get forward more! I just took it in my stride and picked my spot. We’re not going to get carried away, we know what we have to do,” said Procter. “We need to start building momentum and build the winning mentality. And the group is massively capable of doing that. We have the players, we have the staff, we have the belief!”

And how has it been, adapting to a new manager? Procter said: “I’ve loved it. His command of detail is second to none, and his way of playing suits us as a team. We’re a ball-playing team and he wants us to play front-foot – and we have the quality of players to do that.”

Murray is creating his own Eastbourne Borough, a team which looks to combine organised defence with open, flowing counter-attack. Players are responding: they take responsibility and they are greedy for the ball. It is a sea-change from the football with fear which shackled the Sports in the autumn. Adam’s predecessor Beard had some wretched luck, and he could not quite turn it around.

Now the Sports face a huge challenge to preserve their National South status. This weekend they head along the M4 to face the dangerous but inconsistent Bath City, in the Romans’ grand old amphitheatre of Twerton Park. No margins for error, no looking back.

The 23-24 season will be remembered, for either the wrong or the right reasons: the Drop, or the Great Escape. But listen up for the mood in the camp: they’re already whistling the theme tune...