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Luck deserts valiant Beavers
Hampton & Richmond Borough 0 Eastbourne Borough 2
The valiant Beavers had no luck in the Blue Square South play-off final.
Hampton were denied by a goal-line clearance and a superb save by Eastbourne keeper Lee Hook, and had a legitimate penalty shout waved away before Eastbourne scored two late goals to clinch promotion.
Hampton deserved more. Most spectators at the game, even Eastbourne's, conceded that Hampton were the better side.
"We were rubbish! " said Eastbourne's assistant manager after the game, but it is the Sussex side who will be playing in the Blue Square Premier next season.
To be fair, no one at the Beveree expected to be in such an exalted position when the season got under way with a 2-0 home defeat to Eastbourne.
The target was to stay in Blue Square South, gain 50 points and look to push on in 2008-09. As it now stands, pushing on would involve taking the championship, a feat not beyond this group of players.
The match kicked off 15 minutes late after the Eastbourne coach broke down and their players had to be driven in cars.
The M25 was in its usual slow mode and the 50 miles between Hampton & Stevenage took two hours.
In the 13th minute, Orlando Jeffrey's header from Ryan Lake's was cleared off the line with Hook beaten, Darren Budd the man in the right place.
Five minutes before half-time, Eastbourne scrambled away efforts from Stuart Lake and Ian Hodges.
Eastbourne were finding it impossible to get past Alan Inns, Dean Wells and Jeffrey at the back, and the Hampton midfield were running their socks off.
The second half also went mostly Hampton's way. Five minutes after the break, Hook used his legs to deny Lawrence Yaku and then, in the 54th minute, Hampton were denied what they thought was a stonewall penalty.
Darren Baker appeared to elbow the ball away from Yaku, and camera angles suggested that referee Ron Ganfield should have seen it.
In the 68th minute, Graham Harper capped an excellent run with an almost inch-perfect throughball for Yaku.
In intercepting, Marc Pullen drew a full-length save from his own keeper!
Hook was at it again in the 78th minute, following a weak punch from a Ryan Lake cross, the left full-back recovered the ball and hit a drive destined for the bottom corner, until the keekper flung himself full length to his right to palm the ball onto the upright and away for a corner.
In the 82nd minute, the officials missed a subtle pull on Shaun McAuley and, almost immediately, Eastbourne went up the field and scored.
Andy Atkin struck a shot on the turn, Matt Lovett diverted the ball on to the cross bar but it fell to an unmarked Nathan Crabb who, having only come on two minutes earlier, was left with a simple sidefoot shot.
With time running out, Glenn Harris almost turned supersub himself when he just missed getting on to the end of Hodges' flick and Inns then drove a shot inches wide of the far post.
In injury-time, Eastbourne scored again, with Hampton pushing forward.
Paul Armstrong beat the offside trap and sprinted away to make it 2-0.
Skipper Wells put in another towering performance but, in reality, the whole team did Hampton and their supporters proud. They didn't let themselves or anyone else down.
Disappointment for the players, yes, and of course the supporters. And a word about the fans who kept up support for 90 minutes and after the game as well.
Even when Hampton went behind, the support didn't flag. There must have been close to 750 Hampton fans at the game, almost equalling the Eastbourne support.
Most supporters were realistic after the event that perhaps this success came a season too early.
The club now has a breathing space to start to plan further improvements to the ground and bring in fresh investment on the back of this successful season.
Hampton: Matt Lovett; Graham Harper, Ryan Lake (Glenn Harris, 85), Orlando Jeffrey, Stuart Lake, Dean Wells, Alan Inns, Elliott Godfrey (Shaun McAuley,78), Ian Hodges, Lawrence Yaku, Francis Quarm. Subs not used: Rob Paris, Marcello Fernandes & Barrie Matthews.
4:35pm Friday 9th May 2008
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