Eastbourne Borough FC fell to a 3-1 defeat away at Hampton & Richmond, despite taking an early lead through Alexander. After a promising first half, Borough struggled to maintain their momentum, with Hampton capitalising on key moments to overturn the deficit. A penalty and a late third goal sealed the result for the home side.

The match began with Borough showing attacking intent, and they took the lead in the 17th minute. A clever piece of play saw C. Clarke hold off his marker before flicking the ball to Pitblado, whose first-time cross was met by Alexander to poke the ball past the Hampton keeper. Borough continued to push forward, with Diarra coming close from a corner, but Hampton held firm.

Hampton started to find their rhythm, and in the 54th minute, they equalised when a corner found Taylor free at the back post, and he headed home to level the score. Just minutes later, a controversial penalty decision went against Borough, with Wright penalised for a challenge inside the box. Vilhete stepped up and converted the spot-kick, giving Hampton a 2-1 lead.

Borough attempted to fight back, introducing Bamba and Klass to try and regain control of the midfield, but a quick counter-attack by Hampton saw substitute Gray extend the lead to 3-1 in the 67th minute. Despite some late pressure from Borough, with Bamba and Alexander both coming close, they were unable to claw back the deficit.

Wright made a crucial save in the closing stages to deny Masampu, but Hampton managed to see out the remainder of the match, securing all three points. Borough will look to regroup after this tough defeat and aim to bounce back in their next fixture. Thank you to the traveling Borough fans for their continued support throughout the match.