We look ahead to today's Play-Off Semi-Final at The ReachTV Stadium After accumulating their highest ever points total at Step Two the Sports missed out on the National South title by just one point their third place finish at least sees them get a bye straight to the Play-Off Semi-Final where they face Maidstone United this afternoon That comes after the Stones beat the Sports’ Sussex rivals Worthing on Wednesday night with a couple of Ben Brookes’ penalties giving them a 2-0 win at Sussex Transport Community Stadium today sees them kick off their first play-off campaign since 2021/22 where they fell to a 2-0 defeat at Oxford CIty in the Play-Off Eliminator A lot has changed on and off the pitch since Danny Bloor’s side finished sixth and this group of players will be keen to get over the line and make it an unforgettable season Borough will be happy to be home and go into today’s tie defending a proud unbeaten record – 401 days and counting (that’s 1 year Rewind to a bonkers Good Friday afternoon which saw the Sports play over 35 minutes with not ten Pierce Bird had drawn Borough level with a spectacular strike when it was 10 v 11 after Sam Beard’s red card before Matt Rush made it 2-1 on 65 minutes Adam Murray then opted to twist to get back into the game but three goals inside the final five minutes saw the Stones run out 5-1 winners Borough have since beaten Maidstone here – with George Alexander’s strike enough to give the Sports a 1-0 win at the end of February with both teams looking to make the top-flight of Non-League football and they’ll need all of those aspects today Reach TV Stadium Priory Lane Eastbourne East Sussex BN23 7QH They’ll certainly need to do just that if Eastbourne Borough aren’t to progress they’ve not lost a single game at home all season long Maidstone United’s comfortable 2-0 victory at Worthing was their 11th away victory since August This is sure to be a game you can’t take your eyes off The story so far….Eastbourne Borough were one of six teams within a chance of the title on the last day this season and whilst they will still be feeling disappointed it was always out of their hands Adam Murray says he is proud of their season - but will the extra rest twist things in their favour Maidstone dug deep at Worthing and as we know from the past few years they’re very good at handling the big occasion Eastbourne Borough: George Alexander: 24Alfie Pavey: 7Jayden Davis: 6Jason Adigun: 6 Maidstone United: Aaron Blair: 19Solomon Wanjau-Smith: 8Ben Brookes: 7 Head-to-head: 26/11/24: Maidstone United 3-1 Eastbourne Borough 25/02/25: Eastbourne Borough 1-0 Maidstone UnitedWhat the managers say...Adam Murray Eastbourne Borough: “We’ve really enjoyed this week it's given us the chance to rest players that need it and we've got a couple of the boys back fit now which is huge for us there's going to be small margins in both games and it's about who can take advantage of the moment “We know we're in for a tough game on Sunday against a really top team with a top manager” Maidstone United: “We knew we had to play a perfect game on Wednesday “We have to take pride in the work we are doing “I saw the selflessness of each and everyone of the Maidstone United squad out at Worthing ensuring that we come to a tough place and put in a tremendous performance.” Pitch Hero Ltd Registered in ENGLAND | WF3 1DR | Company Number - 636 1033 Sports suffer last gasp Play-Off heartbreak Alfie Pavey’s superb solo effort just after the hour looked like it would be enough to take the tie to extra time after Jacob Berkeley-Agyepong had given the visitors a first half lead at The ReachTV Stadium And the ball looked firmly in Borough’s court when Charlie Seaman was sent off with eight minutes to go but Blair’s strike as the clock hit 90 proved enough to break the hearts of the hosts Maidstone enjoyed slightly more of the ball – but it was Borough who showed they weren’t afraid of having a go at goal Jason Adigun and Yahaya Bamba both had efforts deflect into the arms of Alexis Andre Jr early on before Seaman weaved his way through from the right but only to fire over at the other end Adigun then had a shot well blocked after some good build up play from the hosts before Camron Gbadebo saw a header clip the top of the bar from a tight angle it was Maidstone who got the breakthrough three minutes before the break A cross from the left was kept alive and George Fowler helped it into the path of Berkeley-Agyepong It was a difficult one to take for the Sports who knew they would have to find something special against a side known for their defensive resilience – and they produced just that on 63 minutes A hopeful long ball from Freddie Carter was kept alive by Pavey who shrugged off the challenge of both Reiss Greenidge and Temi Eweka before rifling a shot low past Andre Jr Eweka then denied Bamba from putting the Sports in front as Adam Murray’s men looked to turn the tie around with Adigun shooting off target with 15 minutes to go Seaman was then shown a second yellow card with 82 minutes gone following a late challenge on Jack Clarke in midfield Brad Barry then had a free-kick well kept out by Andre Jr before sub George Alexander skewed a good chance wide of the mark after a great ball in from Courtney Clarke the Sports were dealt the ultimate sucker punch Riley Court played the ball over the top of the defence and Blair broke through on goal but nothing would fall their way as their promotion dreams came to an end Eastbourne Borough’s dream of promotion to the top division of non-league football are over.  The Sports lost 2-1 at home to Maidstone in the semi-final in front of more than 3,400 at Priory Lane - with the visitors scoring in the 90th minute Borough were undefeated at home all season in the league but went the same way as Worthing in the play-offs – losing to a Maidstone side who were well off the title race but qualified for the knockouts by finishing seventh in the league They will now face Boreham Wood in the final in 2 weeks time leaving Adam Murray’s Borough to fight it out with Worthing and Horsham in next season’s National South which turned out to be a fairly even match with neither side able to break the deadlock in the first 30 minutes Yahaya Bamba and Jason Adigun both had attempts at goal blocked while Maidstone struck the Borough bar albeit with an effort which would have possibly been chalked off for offside had it gone in Maidstone took the lead through Jacob Berkeley-Agypong It was getting tense as the second half continued but that tension was lifted on 63 minutes when Alfie Pavey levelled for Eastbourne beating two defenders before finishing clinically Maidstone were reduced to ten men when Charlie Seaman was shown his second yellow card the Stones broke Borough’s hearts when Aaron Blair restored their lead in the 90th minute It was a very nervy and edgy 6 minutes of added-time with Borough giving it everything they had to try and find a equaliser It was such a cruel blow to end a fantastic season for Borough who will be determined to go again next season!  Hear from Adam Murray following the 2-1 defeat against Maidstone United Hear from forward Alfie Pavey following the narrow defeat against Maidstone British fans will have plenty to cheer about at the Lexus Eastbourne Open this summer as British No.2 and rising star Jacob Fearnley adds his name to the line-up for 2025 Fearnley is the second player to confirm his place in the ATP 250 draw from 21-28 June – joining three-time former champion and world No.4 Taylor Fritz The second of two combined ATP and WTA Tour-level events this summer – the women’s event will also see defending champion Daria Kasatkina, Wimbledon title winner Barbora Krejcikova and Britain’s Sonay Kartal light up the courts on the south coast The Lexus Eastbourne Open will also welcome some of the best wheelchair tennis stars this year – bringing together many of the biggest names in the sport Limited tickets are still available for the Lexus Eastbourne Open this summer Get yours now and secure your seats to one of the biggest events of the grass court season Buy tickets "I made my ATP Tour debut in Eastbourne last year so this is an event that is special for me," said Fearnley "Getting to compete in front of your home fans is always an incredible feeling and being on the south coast in Eastbourne makes it one of the most unique events in the calendar "Winning the title in Nottingham last summer gave me a huge amount of confidence and it's helped me get where I am today I think it's a great surface for my game so hopefully I can challenge for more success this year." Not only did Fearnley pick up his first Grand Slam win on his singles debut at SW19 the young Brit went on to take a set off seven-time champion Novak Djokovic on Centre Court in front of a packed out crowd The Texas Christian University graduate has soared up the rankings ever since He finished the 2024 season with four ATP Challenger titles and broke into the ATP top 100 in just his first six months on tour So far this season, he’s had his best run at a major to date – reaching the third round at the Australian Open, made his Davis Cup debut for the Lexus GB team in Japan and qualified for two ATP Masters 1000 events in Miami and Madrid He’s now up at a career-high ranking of world No.68 more experience on the grass and having established himself on the ATP Tour Fearnley will be one of the players to watch in Eastbourne this summer You can catch Fearnley alongside more of the world’s best tennis stars at the Lexus Eastbourne Open this summer – get your tickets now Buy tickets © Copyright 2025 LTA Operations Limited We use cookies to store information about how you use our website – such as the pages you visit – so we can ace your experience when you're browsing All information about the cookies we use and why we use them are in our Cookie Policy You can control which additional cookies we use in the settings below: which always need to be turned on to help our website function and enable you to use all of our features such as information about your browser type and version without collecting any personal data which relates to you These cookies allow our website to remember the choices you make (such as your username your preferred language or where you live) to give you a faster and more personalised experience when browsing This means we can show you more of the content we think you’d like to see Performance cookies are used to collect data about how you use our website so we can continue to improve it in the future these cookies track the pages you go to most often All data is gathered anonymously and is only used to benefit the functionality of the site We have several partners who may also set cookies on our behalf when you visit our website This allows them to deliver tailored LTA advertising within their domains We use cookies on our site to ACE your experience improve the quality of our site and show you content we think you’ll be interested in Let us know if you agree to cookies or if you’d prefer to manage your own settings Borough's top scorer looks ahead to Play-Off Semi-Final encounter on Sunday Borough boss Adam Murray looks ahead to Sunday's tie at The ReachTV Stadium The Stones are heading to the Sussex coast this Sunday to play Eastbourne Borough in the Vanarama National League South play-off semi-final we are allocating a batch for the players who got us there and to the supporters’ club to facilitate a combined coach and admission ticket package We are fully aware we could sell that amount several times over but them’s the breaks We are also aware that how they’re sold and to who will also be subject to much debate (we’ve wrestled with all the scenarios in the past 12 hours) and coming to a consensus is nigh on impossible If we could serve all season ticket holders plus a general sale – as happened in the FA Cup fourth and fifth rounds last season – that would be the ideal scenario but we’re dealing with a much smaller capacity There will be a priority sale for season ticket holders (one per season ticket holder) on Friday (2 May) from 6pm Approx two thirds of the tickets will be available the second batch will be available on general sale (maximum of two person) we will monitor the queue and provide a cut-off point to avoid supporters queueing for nothing Any supporter requiring disabled access/parking the match will be shown on the big screen in the Spitfire Lounge It will also be available on the National League TV channel Worthing rose to the summit of the National League South after a hard-fought point on the road to Eastbourne Borough A spirited display from a 10-man Worthing earned them a crucial point away to fellow title contenders Eastbourne Borough on Good Friday The Rebels were numerically disadvantaged for over 65 minutes at the ReachTV Stadium following Aaran Racine’s first-half dismissal but showed courage and character in abundance to frustrate the hosts It was a frenetic start on the South Coast with the bumper crowd of 3,622 buoying both sides on Yahaya Bamba burst into the area in the opening exchanges but couldn’t pick out a teammate in the middle Jack Spong then tried his luck from all of 35 yards and goalkeeper Joe Wright scampered across his goalline to parry the free-kick clear of danger Both teams were keen to impose themselves on proceedings with a plethora of full-blooded challenges flying in left Sam Beard was robustly dealing with the threat of Bamba by any means necessary Mo Faal had a presentable opportunity to break the deadlock following neat and intricate build-up play from the Rebels which allowed a combination of Camron Gbadebo and the goalkeeper to smother his eventual close-range effort the complexion of the contest completely changed as player-coach Racine was shown a straight red card referee Harry Jones deemed that the veteran defender had elbowed George Alexander A nightmare return to the starting eleven for the former club captain Chris Agutter’s outfit took the lead in East Sussex A swift counter-attack down the right-flank resulted in Glen Rea picking up possession on the edge of the box The midfielder composed himself before slotting a finish past Joe Wright to send the away faithful into raptures Worthing may have been numerically disadvantaged but they held the advantage going into the break The hosts commenced the second period with a renewed sense of impetus Both Agutter and Eastbourne manager Adam Murray decided to make two alterations apiece at the interval with Alfie Pavey and Jayden Davis entering the fold for the hosts Sam Packham and Odei Martin-Sorondo were introduced for the visitors with Agutter looking to solidify the disjointed defensive structure the Rebels continued to ask questions of the opposition backline A neat interchange between Faal and Danny Cashman culminated with the former having a chance although the 6’5 forward had little time to react and blazed over from inside the area Jack Clarke’s dangerous free-kick was met by the head of substitute Alfie Pavey Lucas Covalan could only watch as the ball flew past him and into the back of the net The momentum swung firmly in the Sports’ favour and they continued to mount pressure on Worthing’s net Jayden Davis occupied acres of space and advanced on goal but his finish was tame and rolled straight into the goalkeeper’s hands The lively Cashman immediately went up the other end up and teed up Odei The Spaniard’s side-footed attempt whistled just wide of the post Covolan then produced heroics to keep the scores level Eastbourne’s goal scorer Pavey nodded goalward from a matter of yards out only for the Brazilian stopper to react smartly and deny the striker from point-blank range Pavey spurned a glorious opportunity to claim the full complement of points The striker inexplicably missed the target from a couple of yards out and the Worthing backline collectively blew a huge sigh of relief Tommy Willard managed to spin adroitly and fashion a shot towards goal but Wright gathered with ease Harry Jones blew his whistle for the final time to end a breath-taking affair Torquay’s narrow win away to Truro City meant the Rebels climbed to the summit of the National League South with only two games left to play Chris Agutter and his players welcome Dorking Wanders to the Sussex Transport Community Stadium on Easter Monday for their final home match of the regular season Sussex Transport Community Stadium Woodside Road Worthing West Sussex BN14 7HQ Gilbert Investments Limited & Barry Hunter Information for supporters ahead of our Play-Off fixture the Sports finished the regular National League South season in third spot therefore receiving a bye straight through to the Play-Off Semi Finals Borough will face the winner of the Play-Off Eliminator B – which is between Worthing (4th) and Maidstone United (7th) on Sunday 4th May 2025 at The ReachTV Stadium Worthing and Maidstone face each other on Wednesday night (April 30th) We will update you further regarding ticket information on Monday (April 28th) please note that the fixture is treated as a Cup fixture – meaning Season Tickets do not apply and gate receipts are shared with our opponents as per league regulations We look forward to welcoming you all to what promises to be an exciting day Sunday's match at The ReachTV Stadium is a sell-out Supporters can no longer buy tickets for the match and we look forward to welcoming you to The ReachTV Stadium Key information ahead of the game on Sunday at The ReachTV Stadium Turnstiles will open at the earlier time of 12.30pm with two bars open inside The ReachTV Stadium serving alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks to home supporters We will also have our Main Tea Bar and Priory Lane Pizza serving hot food and hot and cold beverages around the ground from turnstiles opening at 12.30pm Home fans have parking available on the grass at the front of the ReachTV Stadium whilst away supporters will park in the River End car park at the back of the ground The Sports Bar & Grill welcomes home supporters from 11am where supporters must produce your match ticket to gain entry Away supporters have access to the River Bar inside the ground when turnstiles open from 12.30pm in addition to ice cream to keep you cool in the warm weather Don’t forget our Club Shop will also be open from 11am – remember to get your home shirts for just £16 while stocks last and bars and tea bars all stocked and ready to go for the big game – we can’t wait to welcome you Please note that The Sports Bar & Grill will not be serving food on the day Tickets must be bought in advance of Worthing fixture This means that there will be NO sale of tickets on the day of the game at The ReachTV Stadium they will go off sale on Thursday 17 April at 5pm Supporters can still purchase tickets online until then or in person at the club on Tuesday (9am-4pm) Wednesday (9am-4pm) and Thursday (9am-5pm) Buy your tickets here Under 12 tickets can also be collected during these times – one per Adult ticket