As the football season draws to a close, Daniel Ford takes a look at how women’s teams in Eastbourne have fared.
Eastbourne Borough Women will face Watford in the semi-final of the Combined Counties Cup – making a mockery of the decision by the football authorities not to promote them last season.
The arrival of manager Billy Wood in September 2023 turned the team into a powerhouse in Sussex women’s football. But, despite their impressive performances, their bid to be pushed up to the higher London and South East Regional League was rejected.
Wood left in May 2024 to try his luck in men’s football (first Uckfield Town, now Lancing) but under new boss Chris Day the talented squad have stormed towards a perfect season.
They have already secured the Sussex County Women’s and Girls Football League (SCWGFL) Premier title without conceding a goal and trounced Pagham 13-0 to lift the Sussex FA Women’s Challenge Trophy.
“The fans have been amazing and we are just looking forward to the future”
chris day
As well as their big game against Watford (to be played before 18 April), they also have finals in the SCWGFL Challenge Cup against Hailsham Town (17 May) and the Eastbourne FA Chairman’s Cup coming up.
“I believe it’s called the quintuple,” said the understandably delighted manager Chris Day in an online club interview.
“The main aim was promotion and that’s guaranteed now, so [we] can put some structure around the club now. The fans have been amazing and we are just looking forward to the future.”
Under Day, Borough have smashed in 79 goals in the league – including a 22-0 win over neighbours Eastbourne Town and a 19-0 win over Worthing Town.
With scores like this and a star-studded line-up, including 30-goal Rebecca Simmons, Nicola Baitup, Kellie Larkin (ex-England U19 international), and Charlotte Gurr (who was selected for England’s futsal squad for the UEFA Championship qualifiers last year), it’s little wonder that they have eight walkover wins after their opposition team failed to fulfil their fixture. Who can blame them?
Quite what the football authorities were thinking by leaving Borough in the county league remains a mystery.
It is only a decade ago that Eastbourne Town Women missed out on promotion to the national league by four points and reached the third round of the Women’s FA Cup before losing to Derby County.
But they have struggled this season after losing key players and finished only one off the bottom of the SGWFL Premier with just one win (plus a walkover).
“Our start wasn’t the best,” admitted manager Sarah Walshaw. The club folded their Development side at the start of the season after so many players moved on, but Walshaw, backed by stalwart defender Sarah Da Silva, remains upbeat.
“We began again, one team recruiting new players and keeping some old. We battled through the season and bonded together. We may have been losing a lot on the pitch but off the pitch, we were stronger than ever.”
Eastbourne United Women folded last season as their players dispersed to other clubs but the flag for women’s football at the Oval is still flying high thanks to the Eastbourne United Recreational team (who switched from playing at Borough).
The Rec team sit second in the Women’s Flex Ultra League – a relatively new concept where teams are given a three-week window for their fixture but left to decide on the exact day and time.
For United, the chosen time is Friday nights at the shiny new facilities at the Oval where they now train and play their matches.
:: Main image: Charlotte Gurr in action, left in red. Photo: Daniel Ford
Daniel Ford is the author of Fish, Chips & Football, a book that covers a season of football in Eastbourne and along the coast. To order: www.chasemysnail.com
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