A George Alexander hat-trick helped Eastbourne Borough bounce back to go fourth in the National League South standings with a 4-1 win over Weymouth.

Borough’s number 9 was spot on with a penalty with two poacher’s finishes completing his treble and taking him to 24 goals for the campaign.

That came after Yahaya Bamba had put the Sports in front after just five minutes at The ReachTV Stadium.

Weymouth, to their credit, never gave up though – with Jake McCarthy’s deflected effort pulling a goal back before half-time.

But the Sports saw out the game in front of a 1382-strong crowd, and with results elsewhere, are firmly back in the mix for top spot in the National League South.

Adam Murray made one change to the starting line-up, with Moussa Diarra coming in for Dominic Odusanya – who was named on the bench alongside Michael Klass and Pierce Bird, who also returned to the squad.

The Sports got off to the perfect start when they went in front after five minutes. Jason Adigun did well to find Bamba in space on the right-hand side, and he cut inside before his left-footed effort found the far corner.

Just four minutes later, it was 2-0. Adigun’s corner from the right picked out Ollie Kensdale in space at the far post, and his drive goalwards was turned into the roof of the net by an alert Alexander from six yards.

Borough then were given the chance to extend their lead on the half hour mark. Adigun did well to win possession before being upended in the area by Andreas Robinson, and referee Morgan Conn pointed to the spot. Alexander stepped up, and sent Lloyd Thomas the wrong way to make it 3-0.

The Sports didn’t have it all their own way, though, and Weymouth pulled a goal back before the break when McCarthy was teed up and his drive took a deflection on its way beyond Joe Wright.

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Thomas produced fine saves to deny Bamba and then Adigun in the second half, before Borough did make it 4-1 with three minutes to go – Alexander completing his fourth hat-trick of the campaign after turning Jack Clarke’s strike home from close range.

Defeat for Weymouth confirms their relegation, whilst Borough extend their unbeaten home record, which had already surpassed a calendar year, and close the gap on top spot to just two points.

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