Salisbury City FC v Eastbourne Borough FC (A)

The Whites headed to Eastbourne with a good run of three wins behind them, including victories over Sutton and Chelmsford City.

Ex-Whites Manager Tommy Widdrington’s side sat perilously close the relegation zone before kick-off, and he would undoubtedly have instilled in his men the importance of snatching three points away from his ex-employers.

The recent bout of inclement weather, coupled with some strong winds, meant for challenging conditions for the players – especially the goalkeepers. The game started with the wind blowing towards the Salisbury goal, and Eastbourne surged forward, attempting to capitalise on the conditions. Several shots were fired wide of goal, and the influence of the wind made for some unpredictable ball movement in the air and a stern test for Will Puddy, who provided some excellent saves under pressure in the first half.

Despite the pressure and the prevailing conditions, Eastbourne were unable to find a way through to goal, and the second half allowed the Whites to begin to take advantage of the wind and push forward.

The deadlock was broken after 60 minutes, when in-form Marvin Williams capitalised on a goalkeeping error and sunk the ball into the net.

The goal proved to be a catalyst for the Whites, and just six minutes later Charlie Griffin placed a superb curled strike into the Eastbourne goal, doubling the lead and increasing the volume of the travelling Whites supporters. Dan Fitchett was able to compound the misery for Eastbourne, rounding off a good performance with a goal in the 78th minute. Eastbourne still showed plenty of spirit, despite the scoreline, and Gary Hart was able to nod home a corner in the 87th minute to bring some consolation to Eastbourne.

The match brought to a close a highly successful first season back in the Blue Square Bet South, which saw the Whites clinch a top-ten finish, an incredible FA Cup run, and plenty of memorable goals and moments. COYW

FINAL LEAGUE TABLE

Pos		Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1		Woking	42	30	7	5	92	41	51	97
2		Dartford	42	26	10	6	89	40	49	88
3		Welling United	42	24	9	9	79	47	32	81
4		Sutton United	42	20	14	8	68	53	15	74
5		Basingstoke Town	42	20	11	11	65	50	15	71
6		Chelmsford	42	18	13	11	67	44	23	67
7		Dover	42	17	15	10	62	49	13	66
8		Boreham Wood	42	17	10	15	66	58	8	61
9		Tonbridge Angels	42	15	12	15	70	67	3	57
10		Salisbury City	42	15	12	15	55	54	1	57
11		Dorchester	42	16	8	18	58	65	-7	56
12		Eastleigh	42	15	9	18	57	63	-6	54
13		Weston-S-Mare	42	14	9	19	58	71	-13	51
14		Truro City	42	13	9	20	65	80	-15	48
15		Staines Town	42	12	10	20	53	63	-10	46
16		Farnborough *	42	15	6	21	52	79	-27	46
17		Bromley	42	10	15	17	52	66	-14	45
18		Eastbourne Borough	42	12	9	21	54	69	-15	45
19		Havant and Waterlooville	42	11	11	20	64	75	-11	44
20		Maidenhead United	42	11	10	21	49	74	-25	43
21		Hampton & Richmond	42	10	12	20	53	69	-16	42
22		Thurrock	42	5	11	26	33	84	-51	26

Farnborough deducted 5 points for breach of league financial rules