In their penultimate pre-season game, Eastbourne Borough FC faced a narrow 1-0 defeat against AFC Totton at Totton’s home ground on the evening of July 30th. Following the match, Adam shared his thoughts on the team’s performance and the lessons learned as they prepare for the upcoming season.

“It was exactly what I expected it to be,” Adam began, “we knew it would be a really tough opponent today. Again, we made a few changes to look at different bits and bobs. Going into the last week of pre-season, we kind of know the areas we’re strong, and we know the areas that we need to get better at.”

Despite the defeat, Adam highlighted the value of the game “Tonight’s a really positive workout,” he stated. “There was a lot I took out of the game that I’ve learned about individuals and the group as a whole, especially in these last two games. Now, I’ve taken an awful lot of learning out of these last two games, which has been brilliant for me and my coaching team, moving into the start of the season.”

Adam reassured the fans, “Pre-season… We could go all pre-season unbeaten, and it means absolutely nothing,” he explained. “It’s about getting as many people fit as we possibly can for the first game of the season and making sure we’re going into it with as many players as we can performing. You get nothing in pre-season for winning games, and my experience tells me that. So, yes, the result is a result. I’m not going to lose any sleep over that.”

Reflecting on the game, Adam noted areas for improvement, “We didn’t have quite as many chances today,” he admitted. “I don’t think we were good enough in the final third today. The ball was coming back too easily. We would give the ball away too easily once we got up the pitch, which meant we were defending more than we normally do. And that’s nothing tactical. That’s individuals having to be better with the ball and showing better quality, which I know they’ve got.”

Adam also praised AFC Totton for their performance, “Credit to them as well because they caused us problems at times. But we’ll take more out of the game today than there are negatives.”

Looking ahead, “We feel in a good place now for the first game of the season,” he said. “We’re just in our mind looking at a couple of different things that we might have to do down the line in the season. But we kind of know where we want to go for the start of the season. So, Lewes will just be another tick-box for us, and we’ll get out of it our last bits and bobs on Saturday.”

Adam’s reflections demonstrate a balanced perspective, focusing on the positives and the essential lessons learned from a challenging pre-season fixture. As the team prepares for their final pre-season game and the start of the new season, the emphasis remains on continuous improvement and readiness.