Eastbourne Borough Women made it three wins in a row after a fine performance against Whitehawk Women in the Sussex County Women & Girls Football League Challenge Cup.

Charlotte Gurr scored a hat-trick in the first half, with Becky Simmons scoring twice for the Sports. Sophia Burnipp and Abbie Tucker then added further goals after the break to complete the 7-1 win at Priory Lane.

The win books Borough’s place in the Quarter-Finals, where they will face Saltdean United Development for a place in the last four.

The last-16 tie had been switched from The Enclosed Ground to Priory Lane due to the heavy rain in the week, and Borough made the most of their home advantage.

Kellie Larkin picked the ball up in midfield and found Gurr in space. The midfielder drifted across to the left and her strike from 25 yards out clipped the underside of the bar and bounced into the net.

And the Sports doubled their advantage just before the half-hour mark. Borough worked the ball well and Gurr played the ball out to Tucker on the right – her shot was well saved by the Hawks keeper, but Gurr was quickest to react. Her shot was kept out again by the keeper, but Simmons pounced to fire home to make it 2-0.

Moments later it was 3-0. Phoebe Cram linked up well with Larkin and then Gurr before she found the feet of Simmons inside the area, who turned away from her marker before finding the far corner.

The Sports weren’t sitting back, however, and kept pushing forwards. Larkin’s ball forwards found Simmons. She shifted the ball across and found Gurr, who took a touch before her shot from just inside the area went beyond the reach of the keeper to make it 4-0.

Gurr wasn’t to be denied a hat-trick, and the midfielder completed it in style before half-time. Larkin won the ball in midfield and her first-time pass into Gurr saw her have space for a shot, and her strike from outside the area found the top corner.

At 5-0 up at the break, Borough were now kicking into the wind in conditions that weren’t ideal for either team. However, this didn’t stop them from extending their lead shortly after the restart.

Gurr’s ball out to the right was helped on its way by Cram and found Burnipp, and her cross/shot looped over everyone and found the far corner.

However, Whitehawk kept fighting and grabbed a goal when the Sports were caught in possession at the back and the Hawks striker made no mistake, firing past Sophia Moule.

Despite that setback, the Sports switched back on and got a seventh goal with 20 minutes to go. A great team move with 14 passes in the build up saw Larkin play the ball through to Tucker, who beat the keeper to it before slotting in.

Three wins in a row – and 21 goals scored in the process – and Billy Wood’s side will be looking to continue that run when they travel to Horsham in their last game of 2023 next Sunday (17th December).