Match report by Rob Hammett
Weston finished their Vanarama National League South campaign on the South Coast at Eastbourne Borough, but were defeated by three goals to nil.
A bumper home crowd was in attendance for the last game of the season, as Eastbourne were one of six clubs still with a chance of winning the National League South championship.
The home side started the game on top, and their cause was helped when Seagulls’ captain Emlyn Lewis received his marching orders after the referee deemed that he had held back Eastbourne forward Alfie Pavey. Although the resulting free-kick was wasted, an already difficult game became even harder.
But The Seagulls defended well and were keeping the home side at bay, that was until Kai Woollard-Innocent broke the deadlock with a stunning long-range effort that found the top corner, his second goal of the season against Weston.
The Sports were even more confident by now, and they quickly doubled their lead when neat build-up play saw the ball find Jack Clarke, and he finished emphatically from close-range to make it two.
Weston had an excellent chance to reduce the arrears before half-time when Luke Coulson’s forward pass found Louis Britton, who used his strength to outmuscle a Sports defender before rounding home goalkeeper Joe Wright, but the former Bristol City striker was unable to get his shot on target as the ball went over the bar.
HALF-TIME: Eastbourne Borough 2-0 Weston-super-Mare AFC
Despite Eastbourne’s lead, they continued to attack at the start of the second-half as Sam Avery was superbly placed to clear off the line as the home side nearly made it three. Freddie Carter then hit the crossbar as Eastbourne’s one man advantage became increasingly difficult to contend with.
On the hour, Eastbourne eventually grabbed their third when Pavey set up Camrod Gbadebo who headed the ball home.
To Weston’s credit, they kept plugging away and started to threaten again and James Waite drilled just wide after Josh Seberry’s ball over the top.
Substitutes Brandon Bak and Reuben Reid combined well and Reid’s stinging shot was parried by the gloves of Wright, while another substitute Sam Pearson was denied when his shot on target was cleared off the line by Moussa Diarra with Wright stranded.
Eastbourne did have other chances to extend their lead, but some wasteful finishing and tidy goalkeeping from Max Harris ensured there were no further goals.
The Seagulls’ players, staff and fans can now reflect on an excellent season, filled with many highs, as we now enter the summer months before we all return with excited anticipation for the 2025/26 season.
FULL-TIME: Eastbourne Borough 3-0 Weston-super-Mare AFC (Woollard-Innocent 29′, Clarke 35′, Gbadebo 60′)
Weston: Harris; Jenkins (Pearson 63′), E. Lewis, Avery, Seberry, Kadji, Hicks, Coulson, B. Kempster (Dodd 63′), Britton (Bak 85′), Waite (Reid 63′)
Attendance: 2,754
Man of the Match: Jake Hicks. An encouraging first league start for the teenager.
