V Horsham YMCA

[yellowperil]

todays game against horsham ymca is on ,see you there

[athenian]

Town 0 Horsham YMCA 0

[bourneagain]

Good result, good crowd, good start to 2010.

The team looked organised and committed and were unlucky not to score today. A fine penalty save late in the game from Russ Tanner made 0-0 a good result.

Well done the Yellow Army and Danny Bloor in his first match as manager.

[yellowperil]

thanks to the Evening Argus for this copy about saturdays game ,another new signing i see

By Howard Griggs »


Danny Bloor insists Eastbourne Town can stay up after launching his reign as manager with a battling point.

Town remain in the relegation zone in Ryman division one south but Bloor saw enough qualities in Saturday’s goalless draw with Horsham YMCA to suggest they can beat the drop.

He knows he needs new players and more are expected to arrive this week but a stalemate against a team they had lost 9-0 to on Boxing Day was enough to warm the home fans on a bitterly cold afternoon.

Bloor offered cautious optimism after the game and rightly so as it needed the woodwork and another penalty save from Russell Tanner to ensure it finished goalless.

But the improvement from the Boxing Day humiliation, which prompted the resignation of Ady Colwell, was clear to see.

Bloor said: “The effort, commitment and workrate were absolutely superb. You can’t fault the boys on that and a draw is a good building block.

“I saw a lot of hard work out there. It is going to be hard work and it is about me getting the players assessed as soon as possible.

“But what I have seen with the workrate and maybe with the addition of another couple of players I think we have a good chance of staying up.”

Bloor, the former Burgess Hill and Worthing boss, was only appointed four days before the game but still had time to bring in 35-year-old ex-Albion defender Stuart Tuck, who made a big difference in defence.

Tuck made a great block early on to signal his arrival and spent most of the afternoon talking his new team-mates through the game.

He lasted an hour before going off with cramp, having not played for a while, but it is testament to Bloor’s new charges that they held on for a deserved point after Tuck’s departure.

The game itself was a scrappy affair. Shaheen Sadough and Steve Metcalf missed decent chances for YM in the first half but Town had their moments too.

The guile of Matt Geard stood out like a shining light for the visitors and he was involved in the best two chances of the second half. Geard was involved in the move which ended with Terry Dodd hitting the crossbar on 58 minutes and he also sprayed the ball out wide on 72 minutes for Tom Lawley who was brought down by Jon Marzetti for a clear penalty.

Luke Gedling took the spot-kick but Tanner guessed right to make his sixth penalty save of the campaign.

While YM had the better chances, Town had the more chances with the pick of them being lively substitute Arron Hopkinson’s opening which he scooped over the bar.

The hosts also had a penalty claim of their own turned down, when Nigel Brake made a clumsy challenge on Scott McDonald, and visiting boss Chris White admitted it was a fair result.

White said: “We were on a hiding to nothing (after the 9-0 win) and there would have been a backlash without a change in manager, let alone Danny coming in who knows most of my players and is good friends with me.

“I am pleased with four points from these two games. We have had a very good last six weeks and as long as we are solid at the back then we will be fine because we always have the capability to score goals in the side. There is plenty of hard work to go but we are making progress.”

Bloor will hope to do the same and fast. He has already signed former Eastbourne Borough defender Dominic Douglas, in addition to Tuck, and others will follow but he is also pleased with the players he has inherited.

He said: “Danny Simmonds’ performance wasn’t a surprise to me. Adam Davidson, Peter Featherstone, Greg Manton and Chris Dicker all played well, Russell Tanner saved a penalty and you can see why Ollie Rowe has played in the Conference this season.

“We lacked a bit of confidence but that is hardly a surprise after losing 9-0 and being second from bottom. We will install some confidence in them. It will take a bit of time but we will get there.”

Eastbourne Town: Tanner, Featherstone, Dicker, Rowe, Tuck (sub Hopkinson 61), Manton (sub Dixon 71), Simmonds, Davidson, McDonald, Marzetti, Holles (sub Goodwin 25). Subs not used: Putland, Baitup.

Horsham YMCA: Di-Bernardo, Watts, Brake, Gedling, Cooney, Metcalf, Lawley, Huckett (sub Pulling 83), Dodd (sub Geddes 78), Sadough (sub Westcott 68), Geard. Subs not used: Timms, Cooke.

Referee: Phil Nicholas.

[tislarkin]

Some 0-0 draws can be really boring but to my mind this match was well worth turning up to watch!! ;D
Considering the previous game between these sides was a whitewash, this for Town was a result!!