Three more games on a Bank Holiday weekend have brought the superfan up to 191 for the season and 5,523 all told. They included a Conference South Play-Off Semi-Final and a Sussex Senior Cup Final, both at the same ground.
Eastbourne Borough had won the first leg 2-0 at Braintree and at Saturday’s return at Priory Lane there didn’t seem to be any danger of them not going through to the Play-Off Final. A goal a minute before half-time made it 3-0 on aggregate, the same player having notched all three goals, and it made for a more relaxed second period.
I saw my first 'Langney Sports' fixture – Borough’s old name – in the Sussex County League Division Three in 1985. They were playing Cooksbridge, who don’t even exist now. The Sports are just one win from the Conference Premier and it hardly seems possible.
During Saturday’s game a Braintree player was injured and a Borough player helped to carry him off. A few minutes later a Borough player was substituted and he went over to shake the Braintree manager’s hand. What is there not to like?
Darren Baker, a central defender, has made more appearances for Borough than Ryan Giggs has made for Manchester United. And Darren still looks about 19!
The first eight minutes of Cinque Ports v Kings Arms at Old Town Rec on Sunday were very much 'ad hoc' in terms of the match officials. The appointed referee hadn’t shown his face by the 10.30 kick-off time and a big chap with wild ginger hair and wearing a 'Requiem on Tour' black T-shirt took control. I was surprised he had a whistle.
The linesman on my side, in white shirt and long blue trousers, spent all of those eight minutes on his mobile ‘phone but still managed to keep up with play and flag for a couple of offsides.
The proper ref, in proper gear, raced over at 10.38 and the first issue was whether the game should kick off again. There was no score at that point and the official decided that play should continue, restarting it with a throw-in as the ball had gone into touch. The Kings Arms players were puffing hard on a warm day and shipped a few goals near the end to lose 7-1.
On Bank Holiday Monday, an even warmer day, it was another £1.70 bus journey on a 1C to Langney. Borough were hosting the 121st Sussex Senior Cup Final between Brighton & Hove Albion and Crawley Town. Albion scored just before the break and survived a second-half battering from the Conference Premier side to lift the Cup for the third time in five years.