EASTBOURNE BOROUGH 2 (1)

An accomplished performance from Eastbourne established their promotion credentials at York Road, with a goal at the beginning of each half efficiently sweeping away the Magpies' chances.
Borough were quickest out of the blocks with a demonstration of their fast counter attacking style which has led to an impressive away record of 25 out of 36 points with no defeats.
Adam Wilde was first to threaten for Eastbourne in the fourth minute, sprinting clear down the left wing, but Magpies goalkeeper Chico Ramos was quickly out of his goal to block the shot.
Five minutes later Ramos was left helpless to prevent Eastbourne taking the lead.  Pat Harding delivered a cross from the right wing which found Darren Budd at the far post.  Budd was then afforded the time and space to pick his shot, clinically scoring from close range.

Maidenhead worked hard to get a foothold in the game but their attacks foundered on a doggedly determined Eastbourne defence.  Twice United had a half chance to equalise.  Firstly Manny Williams picked up a loose ball on the edge of the penalty area and embarked on one of his trademark mazy runs, only for his shot to go wide.  Finally as half time loomed, Grant Cooper met an Ashley Smith corner from the right with a firm header, only for an Eastbourne player to deflect the effort away for another corner.  Meanwhile Ramos had almost gifted Eastbourne a second at the other end, his error providing Harding with a golden opportunity to score.  Ramos managed to block his first shot and then had Cooper to thank for dealing with the follow up effort.
This meant Eastbourne had to wait until after the half time interval to double their, but they didn't take long to do so, attacking directly from the kick off.  Budd ran clear of the United defence only to be brought down by Ramos, leaving Ukrainian referee Oleksandr Saliy with no option but to point to the spot within twenty seconds of the restart.  Paul Armstrong stepped up to despatch the spot kick which he did with aplomb to Ramos' right, high above the keeper's outstretched arm.
As with the first half you could not fault United's commitment in trying to get back into the game but there was no way through the Eastbourne defence.  Instead as the attacks became more desperate it was Borough who took advantage of the space in the United half, Neil Jenkins and Harding drawing finger tip saves from Ramos, and Wes Daly clearing off the line from the head of Andy Atkins.
Deep into stoppage time Maidenhead at last got something to show for their efforts, Williams latching onto a long ball to score his twentieth goal of the season, but it was a case of too little too late as the referee blew his whistle within seconds of the kick off.

Magpies: Ramos, Smith, Fyfield, Lee, Nisbet (HT Hinds), Cooper, Daly (80 Romeo), Brown Da,  Williams, Hastings (83 James), Hamsher (64 James).  Unused subs: Makofo, Wells.
Goal: Williams 90+2.  Crowd: 325
Cautions: Nisbet 32, Ramos 46.
MUSA Man of the Match: Chico Ramos
EB: Hook, Lovett, Jenkins (72 Crabb M), Budd, Austin, Pullan, Harding, Armstrong, Atkin, Tait (75 Crabb N), Wilde (72 Baker).
Unused subs: Ballard, Barton.
Goals: Budd 9, Armstrong 47 pen.