Club Background
While Eastbourne Town lays claim to being the oldest football club in Sussex Eastbourne Borough is one of the newer ones. Its origins are in Langney Sports (hence the nickname the current club still uses) but even that is quite recent. Formed in 1965 as a “parks” team playing on local recreation grounds it didn’t join a Senior League until 1983, enter the FA Vase until 1988 or the FA Cup until 1990. In 1999-2000 it finished as Sussex League Champions and so climbed out of county football for the first time, promoted to the Southern League Eastern Division.
At this point the club decided it should have a home of its own. It had been eyeing up empty marshland with a pitch there it had been playing on for the previous few years on the eastern edge of Langney and, with a £117,000 grant from the Football Foundation secured, also approached the borough council. It was probably no coincidence that the club changed its name, to Eastbourne Borough, at exactly this time, 2001 – more councillors than those representing Langney wards likely to be seduced by that. Part of the council owned wider Langney Sports Club site, the Priory Lane football stadium we see today was pretty much completed by 2008. In 2016 the pitch was changed from grass to 3G.
Meanwhile, on the pitch: under Gary Wilson, who would end up managing the club for 13 years, a duration one rarely sees these days, Borough moved up the pyramid through the Southern League Premier Division, Conference South and into Conference National. There they began to struggle, only defying relegation on the last day of the second season and, when relegation was looming in the third season, 2010-11, Wilson was sacked in January to be replaced by Tommy Widdrington. The change didn’t keep them up and The Sports were relegated back to Conference South (now National League South) where they have remained ever since.
Also rans for the next nine seasons in a row, rarely finishing above lower mid-table, they eventually appointed Danny Bloor in 2019. After the abandoned season of 2020-21 he got them to the play-offs in 2021-22, by far their best campaign for over a decade. However that’s as good as it got, defeated 2-0 by Oxford City at the first play-off stage. In 2022-23 they just missed the play-offs, finishing 8th.
Enter Simon Leslie, owner of Ink, an airline in-flight magazine publishing company, who bought the club in the summer of 2023. Out went old school Bloor, in came new-school stats driven Mark Beard, out went the old club badge, in came going full-time… the revolution was ON! Except, so far, it isn’t. One assumes Leslie has suddenly found that running a football club successfully is a lot harder than producing glossy in-flight magazines that nobody’s ever going to read. Eastbourne Borough (at time of writing) lie in the relegation zone.
We’ve Met Before
Previous Results for Yeovil Town First Team vs Eastbourne Borough
| 09/09/2023 | Home | NLS | W | 3-2 | 2728 | Nouble 13, 45+2, Owers 69 | |
| 23/12/2023 | Away | NLS | W | 1-0 | 1736 | Nouble 36 | |
Results Summary For Yeovil Town First Team vs Eastbourne Borough
| Home | Away | Overall | ||||||||||||
| W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A | W | D | L | F | A |
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
Club Statistics
RECENT RESULTS
| 24/10/2023 | Dartford | Home | NLS | D | 1-1 | 1301 | Holman 48 | |
| 28/10/2023 | Slough Town | Home | NLS | D | 3-3 | 1395 | Gravata 8, Sheriff 49, Emmerson 58 | |
| 04/11/2023 | Chippenham Town | Away | NLS | L | 2-4 | 508 | Holman 22, Gravata 77 | |
| 07/11/2023 | Maidstone United | Away | NLS | L | 0-2 | 1633 | ||
| 11/11/2023 | Braintree Town | Home | NLS | W | 3-1 | 1305 | Vigar 1, Holman 45+2, Gravata 80 | |
| 14/11/2023 | Tonbridge Angels | Home | NLS | L | 0-3 | 1136 | ||
| 18/11/2023 | Hendon | Away | FAT2R | L | 0-2 | 313 | ||
| 21/11/2023 | Dover Athletic | Away | NLS | D | 1-1 | 441 | Emmerson 40 | |
| 25/11/2023 | Hemel Hempstead Town | Away | NLS | L | 0-1 | 583 | ||
| 28/11/2023 | Torquay United | Home | NLS | L | 1-4 | 1183 | Kealy 61 (pen) | |
| 02/12/2023 | Taunton Town | Home | NLS | abandoned at half time, fog, with the score 1-2 | ||||
| 16/12/2023 | Welling United | Away | NLS | W | 2-0 | 909 | Carter 42, Kealy 53 | |
| 23/12/2023 | Yeovil Town | Home | NLS | |||||
LEAGUE ATTENDANCE STATISTICS
Highest League Attendance: 1,950
Lowest League Attendance: 1,136
Average League Attendance: 1,345
CURRENT LEAGUE SEQUENCE STATISTICS
| Games Without A Win: | 0 | Games Without A Home Win: | 2 | |
| Games Without An Away Win: | 0 | Games Without Defeat: | 1 | |
| Games Without A Home Defeat: | 0 | Games Without An Away Defeat: | 1 | |
| Games Without A Draw: | 3 | Games Without A Score Draw: | 3 | |
| Games Without A No-Score Draw: | 23 | Games Without Scoring: | 0 | |
| Games Without Conceding: | 1 | Home Results Sequence: | DDWLL | |
| Away Results Sequence: | LLDLW | Overall Results Sequence: | DDLLWLDLLW |
Club Information
Address : Priory Lane, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN23 7QH. (Current sponsorship name: The SO Legal Stadium at Priory Lane.)
Telephone Number : 01323 766265
Email : web@ebfc.co.uk
Chairman : Simon Leslie
CEO : Alan Williams
Club Secretary : John Bonar
Safety Officer : Tony Carmody
Team Manager : Mark Beard
Capacity : 4,151
Seated : 542
Covered Terrace : 2500
Surface : artificial
Record Attendance : 3,770 v Oxford United, FA Cup First Round Proper, 05/10/2005
Colours : red and white shirt, red shorts, red socks
Nickname : The Sports
Programme : there was one last season produced for them by MatchDay Creative priced £3.00; can find no indication as to whether there is or isn’t one this term.
Ticketing
Tickets for our trip to Priory Lane (current sponsorship name “The SO Legal Stadium at Priory Lane”) on Saturday 23rd December with a 3.00 p.m. kick-off are available through the host club’s on-line ticketing portal: HERE. This is definitely one to buy in advance with walk-up purchase on the day carrying a FIVE POUND surcharge for an adult ticket.
As things currently stand at time of writing The Sports are NOT intending to impose segregation for our visit. (When they do have segregation away fans get the River End of the stadium). Turnstiles open from 2.00 p.m.
Prices :
On-line prices:
Adult: £13.00
Concession (over 65’s and Blue Light Card holders*): £9.00
Under 18 & Student*: £4.00
Under 12: FREE, (but need to be accompanied by a paying adult and need to collect the FREE ticket from the box office on match day)
(* be prepared to show relevant ID proof of status at the turnstiles)
On the gate prices increase to: £18.00 adult; £12.00 concession; £6.00 Under 18 & Student.
Disabled
Perhaps there aren’t any people with disabilities in Eastbourne: the club doesn’t appear to think so, not a mention of any policies, facilities or provision I can find.
Official Away Travel
The Green & White Supporters’ Club is running away travel to Eastbourne Borough on Saturday 23rd December, kick-off 3.00 p.m. kick-off.
Details are as follows:
Members: Adult £30; Concession £28
Non-Members: Adult £33; Concession £31
Coach departs Huish Park: 8.15 a.m.
To book, call Paul Hadlow on 07736 044570 (after 6.00 p.m. please) or email him on paulhadlow@outlook.com.
If you are getting in touch by email, please make it clear which match you are booking for and that you give your full name, the names of people that are travelling and a contact telephone number.
You may be asked to pay a £5 deposit to reserve your seat.
Directions To The Ground
General
Huish Park to Priory Lane is 161 miles, and it’s an old-school 161 miles with not a lot of motorway. The stadium is out on the eastern edge of the town (in the suburb of Langney).
By Road
The vast majority of Yeovil fans will be approaching Eastbourne from the West or North via Cop Hall Roundabout. Take the Polegate Bypass (A27) and after a little under two miles at the next roundabout, Golden Jubilee, take the second exit onto the A22. Within 100 yards or so there’s another roundabout… and a choice. If plans involve visiting central Eastbourne pre-match take the second exit (staying on the A22) which will take you down (subsequently via the A2290 and A259) to the centre. If heading straight for the ground take the first exit onto Dittons Road (B2247).
Travelling along Dittons Road, go straight on at the next roundabout and then after 250 yards (immediately after the Red Lion pub) turn right at the traffic lights onto Lion Hill (B2104). Follow the B2104 (it becomes Friday Street) until the left turn into Pennine Way. Follow Pennine Way to the roundabout at its end, taking the second exit. This is Priory Road and around 500 yards along turn left into Priory Lane for the stadium and car park.
Parking
The stadium has parking for approximately 400 vehicles split between the larger River End car park and and smaller Priory End car park. Definitely select the latter (if given any option) as the only exit from the River End is along what appears to be a single track lane running the whole length of the stadium site. One would surmise exit from this car park is slooow.
By Rail
As the crow flies the nearest railway station is Pevensey Bay two miles from the ground but it’s a tiny halt with very few trains stopping and apparently no weekend services at all. The next nearest station is Hampden Park at 2.3 miles from the ground. This is the penultimate stop before the line terminates at Eastbourne Station but less than half the services to and from Eastbourne actually stop here. There is a taxi rank; and a bus service (called The Loop, the clockwise option) runs past the station and close to Priory Lane. However the clue is in that name: you’ll slowly meander through an awful lot of Eastbourne housing estates along the route.
So Eastbourne Station it probably is, and that’s an even more inconvenient 3.3 miles (see By Bus or By Taxi below) from the stadium. All services are operated by Southern with a typical two trains an hour connecting west (Brighton), three connecting east (Hastings), and two north (London Victoria via Gatwick International).
By Bus
The bus route that runs closest to the stadium is called The Loop operated by Stagecoach. This has clockwise and anti-clockwise services out to the suburb of Langney, with both running four times an hour through the bulk of the day. By the looks of the route map the anti-clockwise option from central Eastbourne (Cornfield Road stop C2, close by the railway station) is somewhat shorter and therefore should be a bit quicker, but you’ll still need to allow a good half hour+. Depending which direction you are approaching from / leaving by the nearest bus stops up by the ground appear to be: Shelley Walk or Dickens Way if going anti-clockwise; and Priory Lane or Shelley Walk if going clockwise. These are all no more than two or three minutes walk from the stadium.
By Taxi
A selection of Eastbourne taxi companies can be found here.
Web Resources
Web Sites
Eastbourne Borough FC – formulaic Official Site that’s one of the poorer ones in the NLS, with little useful information. Doesn’t appear to bother to produce even basic things like match reports.
Unofficial Eastbourne Borough Supporters Forum
Social Media
@ebfc_official – official Twitter account.
Local Press
What little remains of a local newspaper presence in Sussex displays a paltry interest in Non-League football in the county. The Eastbourne edition of The Sussex Express / Eastbourne & Hailsham Herald (in its on-line format via SussexWorld) carries occasional items on The Sports.
Food & Drink
General
Stuck out as it is on the very eastern edge of Eastbourne there are no pubs close to the stadium. The four nearest on that side of town (from North to South) are: Friday Street Farm (1 mile, below); Kingfisher Tavern (1 mile); The Mill, a Greene King Hungry Horse (1.4 miles); Martello Inn (0.8 of a mile). As far as can tell the Martello has been CLOSED since October 2023 when the licensees walked out overnight leaving no explanation. Thus the three remaining are between 20 and 30 minutes walk away.
More centrally, Eastbourne is pretty typical of British seaside towns that have seen better days: quite a lot of pubs and bars, many of which are adequate (and some less so) but little that stands out. Beerarama (below), which opened in 2022, is Eastbourne’s first (and so far only) attempt at a ‘craft’ beer bar. There are two Spoons, both listed below. Apart from that one might as well go in any one pub as another.
Club Bar
The clubhouse has two bars, the larger Sports Bar & Grill and the smaller Founders Bar. It is open for food and drinks from noon with visiting supporters welcome. Elsewhere in the stadium there’s a tea bar and a food bar.
Local Pubs
Beerarama: ‘Craft’ beer bottle shop with six keg lines, sometimes a couple of cask options, and a wide range of cans and bottles in six fridges. Tends to focus on the “A List” end of the market: you’ll frequently find offerings here from the likes of ABYSS, Beak, Polly’s, The Kernel, Utopian, Verdant, Yonder etc. Food is limited to home made pastrami and salt beef sandwiches. Opening hours are quite complicated so just giving the Saturday ones: 1.00 p.m. – 11.00 p.m. (according to its website, though the local CAMRA branch claims it opens at noon). Right in the centre of town six minutes walk from the train station and thus 3.1 miles from the stadium.
Beerarama, 7B Bolton Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 3JU. Tel: 01323 734969. Map: Beerarama.
Cornfield Garage: One of two Wetherspoons (see The London & County, below) in central Eastbourne, this one is a bit further from the railway station at five minutes walk (0.2 of a mile) and a couple of minutes from Beerarama (above) if cut through using an alley that connects Cornfield and Bolton Roads. As the name gives away, on the site of a former garage. Opens 8.00 a.m. every day, closing midnight Sunday to Thursday and 1.00 a.m. Friday & Saturday. Children allowed until 9.00 p.m. 3.2 miles from Priory Lane.
Cornfield Garage, 21-23 Cornfield Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 4QD. Tel: 01323 419670. Map: Cornfield Garage.
Friday Street Farm: Old farmhouse converted into a pub in the 1970s. Menu is pretty typical mid-range ‘family dining’ fare available noon – 9.00 p.m. on a Saturday. Three handpumps with rotating offerings mostly from Sussex breweries so you might see Bedlam, Harvey’s, Long Man, Three Acre, Without A Paddle etc. Keg is mainly mainstream multinational though it does seem to quite often have something by SALT on so is dabbling with ‘craft’ there too. The only Lager have definite evidence for is Staropramen Premium but doubtless it has others. Beer garden and car park. Exactly one mile (so 20 minutes walk) from the stadium.
Friday Street Farm, 15 Friday Street, Langney, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN23 8AP. Tel: 01323 766049. Map: The Farm @ Friday Street.
London & County: One of two Wetherspoons (see Cornfield Garage, above) in central Eastbourne, this bank conversion is one minute (sixty yards) from the railway station. Opens 8.00 a.m. every day, closing midnight Sunday to Thursday and 1.00 a.m. Friday & Saturday. Children allowed until 8.00 p.m. 3.3 miles from Priory Lane.
The London & County, 46 Terminus Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 3LX. Tel: 01323 746310. Map: London & County.
Stage Door: Owned by the council since 2017 as part of Eastbourne Conference Centre, for those who want to walk down to see the sea this is one of the better pub options that way (though don’t think one can actually see the sea whilst in the pub as it’s in the next street back from the Grand Parade seafront). Six handpumps with several always occupied by Harvey’s, usually something from Long Man, and others varying. Has a real cider, usually by SeaCider. Around ten keg taps with mainstream multinational offerings. The kitchen (menu is mid-range pub food style) is open noon – 2.30 p.m. and 5.00 p.m. – 8.00 p.m. every day (except Sunday when it’s noon – 4.00 p.m.) Opens from noon every day, closing 11.00 p.m. Monday to Thursday, midnight Friday & Saturday, 10.30 p.m. Sunday. 3.4 miles from the stadium.
The Stage Door, 10 Compton Street, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 4BW. Tel: 01323 415509. Map: Stage Door.
Likelihood the Natives Will Understand You: No idea. Eastbourne has a historical club, Eastbourne Town. Seems they didn’t like that one enough, so invented a new one: Eastbourne Borough. Can’t bring myself to care that much one way or the other about recently manufactured clubs.
Top-Tip: Buy tickets in advance, buy tickets in advance, BUY TICKETS IN ADVANCE!!
Local Amenities: Pier Watch (regular readers will know I like to recount the regular mishaps of piers). Eastbourne’s has: blown down in a storm (New Year’s Day 1877); blown up in 1942 when local police tied a mine to it under the mistaken impression it had been defused – it hadn’t; partly burnt down in 1970; and again in 2014.
Other Points Of Interest: Eastbourne has another team, Eastbourne Town, much more conveniently situated about half a mile from the railway station and the town centre. It was from them that we got Yemi Odubade in 2004 after he’d scored 70+ goals in two campaigns at The Saffrons. Unfortunately, although having the status of the oldest senior club still in existence in Sussex, it is way down the pyramid in the Southern Combination these days.
[No responsibility is taken for any inaccuracies. This page is entirely the product of bias and prejudice. ]