Eastbrook Reserves’ second season may have come to a disappointing end, but after being promoted two divisions a sixth place finish was very impressive.

The season started positively, in an away game against eventual winners Riverside Magic, Eastbrook recovered from a slow start to narrowly lose 2-0. Their next fixture against Sherfield English marked a final appearance for Sam Whieldon in goal but even his man-of-the-match performance could not stop them going to down 3-1. Despite being dumped out of both cup competitions, Eastbrook then went on the claim a fantastic 16 points from a possible 21 before December. During this time there were wins over Burridge FC, Chamberlayne Reserves & Sherfield English, while Dan Harket-Burgess netted enough goals to make him leading goal scorer & Niki McPhail established himself and the regular number one, with the help of Ross Borer.

During most of December and early January, snow forced a winter break and a friendly against Eastbrook’s first team which ended in narrow defeat, but sadly the season would take a nosedive from here. During the start of 2011 players such as Matt McAllister & Keith Smith were regularly unavailable while Ross Chandler & Ben Johnson regularly featured for the first team, meaning players such as Chris Purchase & Alan Woodhouse needed to step up & while their efforts could not be questioned, their match fitness was well below par. As the season drew to a close it became clear that Eastbrook were going to complete the season without another win, and as their season finished early they were left to watch themselves slide down the league table.

In a season managed by caretaker manager Gary Burgess, and including many changes to the squad, a sixth place finish can be considered a massive achievement, but Eastbrook Reserves will know they are in for a tough 2011/12 season. Only time will tell if further changes will be made to the squad or if players promoted to the first team will be replaced, but for now Eastbrook Reserves must focus on a long pre-season while they wait to see which division they will be competing in next year…