Door to escape hatch is open – now can Eastbourne Borough get through it?

The Sports recovered from a terrible start – conceding a slapstick goal on ten minutes from an attempted short goal-kick – and equalised before half-time and then produced the best 45 minutes of football under Adam Murray’s six-week managership.

The victory followed a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Chelmsford City last Saturday, when Borough had looked second-best – prompting Murray into a call to arms: “It’s about mentality, it’s about mind-set. I understand that these players have had a tough season, and it’s not easy for them to change that mentality.

“We have to go out and play with no fear. Go for the throat in every game. It’s not a conscious thing, but it can happen in football – and in a situation like ours – that players go hiding. Whether you’re twenty years old or thirty years old, we need men.”

Eastbourne Borough v Chelmsford in Lydia and Nick Redman’s pictures.

Eastbourne Borough v Havant in Lydia and Nick Redman’s pictures.

And they answered the call. At half-time on Tuesday, with the game tied at 1-1 – thanks to Moussa Diarra’s towering header from a corner – it could have gone either way. The Hawks have a spine of hardened, experienced players, while Borough’s meagre goal-scoring record has often let them down. But Borough played the entire second half on the front foot – taking risks in the final third, and slicing Havant apart.

DeCarrey Sheriff drilled the Sports ahead through a crowded penalty area, and then, off the bench, local hero Leone Gravata produced a devastating half-hour of explosive running. The performance deserved more than just an odd-goal victory, but Murray wasn’t complaining.

“It’s not easy for players to be told by your coaches and manager to be brave and positive with the ball – and then to make an early error. But the reaction was outstanding. In our position, we have to be the team that goes after the next goal. We cannot just sit back. We are trying to free them up, we are trying to take the chains off them.

“We have some really good footballers in this squad, and we saw big chunks of that against Havant. I am really chuffed with the mentality of them.”

Tuesday’s victory puts the Sports respectively six points and nine points clear of Havant and Dover, and Murray’s men can begin to look up the table rather than down. Borough have virtually no margin for error.

Tomorrow (Saturday) should have brought a 400-mile round trip to Weston-super-Mare, who are not safe from the relegation quicksand, but that was called off after a Friday pitch inspection. That will mean another long midweek trip for the Sports.

Then after a blank midweek, the Sports will take a shorter trip on Saturday, March 2, to Tonbridge Angels, before a Tuesday night visit to Hampton and Richmond Borough. Murray expects to have a fully fit squad, although he will be without centre-back Alex Finney, suspended after a late sending-off against Chelmsford.

The final word – at Tuesday’s final whistle – should come from owner Simon Leslie: “We have to sing, we have to be loud, we have to be proud! We have to be energetic and positive!”

Eastbourne Borough’s season is far from over.