Victory at last for Borough

As well as booking them a place in the second round draw today, Liam Enver-Marum’s solitary goal also ended an 11-week wait for a win.

The relief was clear to see on the faces of the Borough players as they trudged off the pitch at Park View Road after the final whistle.

On too many occasions this season they have been unable to capitalise on a winning position – nine times to be precise – but they showed real grit to repel Welling's search for an equaliser in the second half.

It was no coincidence either that their first success since beating Hayes and Yeading 3-1 way back on September 22 was achieved thanks to only a third clean sheet of the season.

Enver-Marum’s seventh goal of the campaign may have proved decisive but he acknowledged this win was earned thanks to a solidity at the back which has been sorely missing at times.

Now he hopes it will prove a springboard for Borough to not only enjoy a run in the Trophy but also to climb the table in Blue Square premier.

He said: “We said before the game that the performance did not really matter, all we cared about was the result.

“We have been playing well recently and not winning so it was nice to perhaps not play so well and win.

“We didn’t underestimate Welling and knew it would be tough but everybody worked so hard and we did the job we needed to do.

“Not winning for such a long time is not nice so this will boost everyone’s morale.

“We were buzzing in the changing rooms afterwards and now we have got to build on it and win in the league next week.”

What made this result even more impressive was the fact Borough only had 11 completely fit outfield players to choose from.

Nathan Crabb was on the bench despite having not trained for ten weeks while Matt Smart, Andy Atkin and Marc Pullan were all either carrying niggles or on the way back from illness and injury.

With that in mind this looked a real banana skin against a Welling team comfortably placed in mid-table in Blue Square south.

Borough got their noses ahead in the 20th minute when Dan Smith – making his first start for seven games – slid a clever ball through to Enver-Marum.

Charlie Mitten saved the striker’s initial effort with his legs and also blocked from the rebound but Enver-Marum managed to force the ball home with his knee at the third attempt.

Enver-Marum also had a fierce shot blocked at the near post by Mitten in the first half and glanced a header wide from Jamie Taylor’s cross but while the lead was just one goal Borough always looked vulnerable.

That fact was highlighted just seven minutes after the visitors had gone ahead when Graeme Andrews blazed over from six yards after Gary Elphick and Ben Austin made a mess of clearing a hopeful ball into the area.

Borough could have killed the game off on the counter attack after half-time but, without the buffer of a second goal, you could almost sense their nerves growing as the clocked ticked down.

In the end they were indebted to goalkeeper Danny Knowles for the second week running as he superbly turned Andy Pugh’s effort around a post at full stretch and also pushed away Michael Deane’s long range effort.

Boss Garry Wilson said: “There was a bit of a mental barrier after not winning for so long and you could see that towards the end of the game. Players were reluctant to get up the pitch and we were getting pushed back a bit. Now we have got that out of the way perhaps we will be able to kill games off a bit better.

“Everybody was desperate to get a win. It hadn't really affected morale as the spirit in the changing room is good but it was starting to annoy the players and this will give them a lift.”

Welling: Mitten, Sambrook (Hobbs, 78), Deane, Johnson, Andrews, Parkinson, Finn, Cutler, Hurrell (King, 85), Pugh, Fazakerley. Subs not used: Obersteller, Bakare.

Booked: Sambrook, Andrews.

Eastbourne: Knowles, Baker, Elphick, Austin, Jenkins, Taylor (Smart,90), Armstrong, Johnson, M Crabb, Smith (Atkin, 73), Enver-Marum. Subs not used: Jordan, N Crabb, Pullan.

Booked:Smith.