Crowborough Athletic got the job done in a bruising, controversial encounter, beating East Grinstead 3–1 in a match that will be remembered far more for its edge and incidents than its aesthetics. It was not pretty, but it was eventually effective, and in a game full of frustration, stoppages, and questionable moments, the Crows kept their discipline and took all three points.

The match got underway and within the first minute Crowborough were awarded a free kick inside the opening five seconds, immediately setting the tone. 3 minutes in, East Grinstead took the lead, a goal that came entirely from Crowboroughs error and acted as a real wake up call. 5 minutes in, the Crows wasted a straightforward chance to draw level, and by the 6th the referee was already counting the East Grinstead goalkeeper for time, something rarely seen, yet alone so early into a match.

Crowborough began to grow into the game. In the 9th an East Grinstead corner was overhit from one side of the pitch straight out on the opposite flank, handing Crowborough a throw in. The sought after reveller arrived in the 13th as Muggeridge struck to bring the Crows back into the contest. Lyons went agonisingly close in the 22nd after meeting a long cross from Forster, but his effort drifted wide. Two minutes later, Forster saw an attempt saved on the line as the pressure continued to build.

The physical nature of the contest escalated further as the half wore on. At 28 minutes, Lambden was struck in the back and went to ground, the incident overlooked as East Grinstead went on to earn a corner that appeared more likely a goal kick. Tempers flared following a 50/50 between Rushy and his opposite number, with East Grinstead awarded a free kick that was handled. By this stage it was clear this was far from a pretty game of football and I for one felt like we had already done well over the 90 minutes.

However we hadnt, the drama was just starting and at 33 minutes Muggeridge was taken out by East Grinstead’s number seven and required treatment, with the referee again ruling no foul. Shortly after, the opposition had a player down, and once play was able to properly resume Lyons was quick to act forcing a save straight into the keeper’s hands. As the half drew to a close, the indication of a minimum of four minutes added time was given. At the time I did put empathis on the word minimum bexause of the carnage already unravelling on the pitch.
In the third minute of added time, Boddy produced a crucial save on the line to keep the scores level heading into the break.

The second half got underway with the match still finely poised. As we see from our Crows often, just minutes into the second half, they found the next breakthrough. Lyons struck to put the Crows two one ahead and swing the momentum firmly in our favour. Shortly after, Goldsmith came close to extending the lead, his effort skimming the crossbar but at this point you couldnt fault any of their efforts.
At 53 minutes, East Grinstead’s Hopkinson brought down Muggeridge for the second time and was this time shown a yellow card.

East Grinstead continued with their aggressive approach despite falling behind. At sixty three minutes, Goldsmith was taken out by two players, yet the outcome was inexplicably a drop ball in East Grinstead’s favour, one of a ridiculous number of drop balls throughout the afternoon. Frustrations peaked and Duncan entered the book in the 69th. Changes followed as Crowborough looked rest legs, with Pring replacing Lamben, Duncan making way for Pearson in the 71st and shortly after, Paye off for Zabadne.

The tension only increased as the match entered its closing stages with East Grinstead picking up another yellow. At 80 minutes, Rushy was taken down, drawing an increasingly vocal reaction from the crowd and there was a messy 30 seconds of play that I cant even begin to descibe, however eventually the whistle was blown to stop the carnage unravelling on the pitch. 82 minutes brought the decisive moment as Rushy played in Forster and he finished clinically to make it 3-1.
Samuel Smikle was replaced by Ayoola and then Forster coming off for Swainston. In the 88th minute, East Grinstead’s number four was shown a yellow card but notably the Crows did well to remain unphased by the uncoventual play. At 95 minutes, things boiled over completely as Crowborough went to take a corner. East Grinstead chose that moment to embrace full chaos, with pushing and shoving breaking. Of course it ended like this. A fitting snapshot of the afternoon, scrappy, ill tempered, and needlessly dramatic right to the end.

Eventually we reached the finish line with The Crows securing a three one victory. It was brutal to watch, and probably to play, but we got there. In a controversial encounter where much went unnoticed or ignored, where East Grinstead relied heavily on aggression, and where drop balls disrupted any sense of flow, Crowborough showed resilience, discipline, and enough quality in key moments to take all three points. It was not pretty, but it was the result that mattered, and on a day like this, that was more than enough.