Crowborough started brightly at Beckenham Town, with Rushy and Lyons setting the early tone and forcing an attempt inside the opening two minutes. Despite the heavy conditions, the tempo was lively early on. Beckenham did create an opening on seven minutes, but a poor final pass let Crowborough off the hook. Elliott followed with an effort of his own soon after, his shot rebounding off a Beckenham player and falling safely into the keeper’s hands, before Rushy tried his luck from distance on sixteen minutes, sending the ball high but showing positive intent.

As the half went on, the pitch began to have a bigger say in how the game unfolded. Beckenham enjoyed a spell of pressure and won a corner on twenty two minutes, but Grant was clearly fouled in the box and did well to earn Crowborough a goal kick. Another Beckenham corner on twenty eight minutes caused a moment of panic, either handled or simply scrambled clear, but again the Crows survived. The best football of the half came on thirty minutes when Forster surged forward, gliding past challenges before feeding Rushy, whose curling effort looked destined for the net until the Beckenham keeper reacted well to deny him. Beckenham responded with an effort that was saved on thirty six minutes, and Crowborough broke quickly the other way, only for a header to drift narrowly wide. It was not a flowing first half by any means, but the conditions made that almost unavoidable.

The second half began in much the same fashion, with frustration creeping in early. A questionable decision on forty seven minutes handed Beckenham a free kick in a dangerous area, though it came to nothing after being handled. Grant was then called into action on fifty one minutes, producing an outstanding save even as the referee spotted a foul in the build up. Much of the early second half was played in Crowborough’s half and, with the Crows struggling to find any real spark, Beckenham eventually made it count on fifty two minutes by taking the lead.

Crowborough almost responded in remarkable fashion on the hour mark, somehow failing to score despite having three clear chances in quick succession, a moment that summed up the afternoon. The physical nature of the game continued, and on sixty three minutes Forster was pulled back in a handsy challenge that finally brought a yellow card. Two minutes later the pressure paid off, with Duncan finding the net to bring Crowborough level and breathe new life into the contest.

The equaliser lifted the Crows, who pushed forward with renewed energy, but the match remained scrappy and stop start. Rushy was sandwiched while trying to receive the ball on sixty eight minutes, and as a Beckenham player went to ground, a free kick was awarded. Any momentum was short lived, as Beckenham retook the lead from a corner on seventy minutes. From there, the game drifted further into frustration, with time wasting becoming more obvious and the tempo repeatedly broken, including the strange sight of a player laying on the ball as a defensive tactic. Goldsmith was shown a yellow card on seventy seven minutes as tensions rose.

Crowborough made changes in an attempt to turn the tide, with Mayhew, Rushy and Forster replaced by Ajayi, Ayoola and Pearson, before Lyons and Turner made way for King Bassett and Reed. Despite the late effort and fresh legs, a way back never quite materialised, and the final whistle confirmed a 2–1 defeat.

The pitch was the pinnacle of boggy with players sinking with every step and warm up needing to happen off the pitch. However, while the conditions were dreadful, they can be no excuse. On the day, Crowborough simply did not produce enough and Beckenham did. Credit goes to Elliott Duncan deservedly taking the Player of the Match title for Crowborough after a tireless performance and a crucial goal. It can be said that despite Beckenham’s league position, this was a side clearly lifted by a new manager bounce, and they capitalised on that momentum to take all three points.