Only twelve places separated the two sides coming into this Sussex Senior Cup tie, with Midhurst & Easebourne sitting top of the division below Town.
Midhurst set out to cause an upset, making life difficult for Town in the early stages, but it would only last until the 11th minute. Dan Rogers was on hand to fire home a rebound to put Eastbourne one ahead following a nice move.
It wasn’t long until Town doubled their lead. Aaron Hopkinson spotted the keeper off his line and executed an audacious chip from 25 yards on the 15th minute. They would continue to add pressure and were rewarded just past the half hour mark. A long ball over the top found the feet of Aaron Capon, who slotted it past the keeper with ease.
The second half was much of the same story, Midhurst would have flashes of promise but indecisiveness in the final third let them down. However there was no incisiveness from substitute Leke Ademola, who fired Town four ahead, finishing off his own rebound that originally struck the post.
A poor attempt at a dribble from keeper Dan Bird gifted Eastbourne a sixth on the 60th. An original effort was blocked on the line, allowing Jack Samways to volley the ball into the empty net from quite some distance.
A brilliant performance at The Saffrons would be topped off by a sixth for Town. Fletcher Holman tucked away a Ademola cross in the 68th minute to confirm Eastbourne’s place in the second round.
