Eastbourne Borough 1 v 2 Basingstoke Nine-man Eastbourne Borough suffered a demoralising defeat at the hands of Basingstoke Town as a double from Manny Williams in added time condemned the Sports to defeat at Priory Lane.

Up until added time it looked as though Tommy Widdrington’s side were going to hang-on for a vital three points, but Basingstoke stole the victory after a late Borough capitulation.

It was game void of clear-cut chances, but it was filled with controversy as referee Ian Cooper made some calls which were often berated by the Borough supporters and Widdrington in the dugout.

After a shaky start, Borough began to get a foothold in the game; but Elliot Romain’s afternoon nearly came to a premature end, as Tom Bird’s high-foot caught the forward flush in the face. But being his first challenge the referee let him off with nothing.

The Sports first real chance fell to Darren Lok, a corner was floated in and after a bit of ping-ball in the box, the ball fell to Lok who fired over from 10 yards.

The game swung on its head just after half-hour mark as Marvin Hamilton was shown a straight red after a lunging tackle; it was dangerous play from Hamilton, but Borough felt aggrieved that Bird’s challenge earlier on went unpunished.

Immediately after the restart Borough took the lead through a thunderbolt from Kane Haysman; the ball fell to Haysman 20 yards, the midfield man took one touch and rifled the ball into the top corner, to give Borough a precious lead.

After taking the lead, Borough have found it difficult to get up the pitch due to having one less man, but at the back they were resilient in keeping the one goal advantage intact.

With the game entering added time, Basingstoke scored an equaliser through Manny Williams to break Borough’s resistance. A Chris Flood header rebounded off the bar and Williams reacted the quickest to tap-in.

Borough’s lack of discipline in previous games has meant key men missed Saturday’s game, and in the aftermath of Basingstoke’s goal, the Sports lack of discipline raised its head again, as Borough’s captain Ian Simpemba was dismissed for foul and abusive language.

Simpemba was complaining about a free-kick he felt his side should have been given; but in protesting he stepped over the mark, and paid with a red card.

The Sports only had three minutes to hang on; but Williams struck again to break Borough’s hearts. The usually ever-reliable Sam Beale miscued his clearance and Basingstoke played their cards right as Williams tapped in to win the game at the death.

It was a cruel way for Borough to lose; but they now must turn their attention to the Sussex Senior Cup on Tuesday evening as they host Three Bridges.

Teams Eastbourne Borough: D. Gregory, M. Hamilton (sent-off, 33), S. Beale, B. Bosma (N. Pinney, 83), I. Simpemba (c, sent-off 90+5), K. Khinda-John, M. Baptista (R. Worrall, 65), N. Collier, E. Romain (G McCallum, 74), D. Lok, K. Haysman Substitutes: R. Tate, L. Rogers Basingstoke Town: A. Howe, N. Smart, T. Bird, J. Brown, J. Gasson (c), R. Case, S. McAuley (L. Soares, 58), G. Southam, L. Enver-Marum (R. Vine, 83), C. Flood, M. Williams Substitutes: H. Gilkes, J. Harper, R. Rice Attendance: 438