Cheshunt 1 (Josh Popoola 83)

Eastbourne Borough 0

Attendance: 402

A stop start first half saw nothing of note until a few minutes before the break when Cheshunt forced a number of corners & from one of them the visitors were forced to clear off the line three times in succession and Ken Charles rose highest to meet an Isaac Pitblado cross and head onto the far post.  Shiloh Remy replied for Eastbourne as he had a shot over the bar & Adam Desbois made a smart save to tip a shot around the post from Gravata, not aware the referee had already whistled a stop.

The second half saw the enforced change work for Cheshunt with skipper Joe Re injured , Lewis Hobbs stepped into the centre to partner Fraser Alexander, the duo winning everything & driving the Ambers forward in possession & in the press too. Eastbourne were not allowed to settle, the Ambers won the ball back high up the pitch regularly, with Tyrelle Newton unlucky not to score when he charged down a Lee Worgan clearance & the ball spun wide. Newton & Pitblado had shots go wide for Cheshunt, Newton then followed with a low volley just the wrong side of the post. On a rare excursion into the final third Alfie Brendle hit a thunderous shot that beat Adam Desbois but cannoned back into play off the inside of the post, an escape for Cheshunt  who made the most of it, taking all of the action  into the Eastbourne half as they desperately looked for the goal their work deserved. Josh Popoola came on and immediately ran at the defence at every opportunity on the right, with Zech Obiero wriggling free of challenges and pinning Eastbourne down on the left, a goal had to come, when it did, it was a scrappy poke over the line after several cleared attempts but they all count.  Late on Cheshunt’s Ken Charles saw red for a challenge borne out of frustration as he looked for a shooting opportunity and lost the ball. With Cheshunt down to ten men for the last few minutes Eastbourne at last pressured the home defence, but Jordon Thompson on debut & Taylor Mackenzie cleared when needed & Cheshunt ran the time added down comfortably.