Eastbourne Borough rediscovered their goalscoring touch to put a huge dent in Crawley’s play-off hopes.

Second-half goals from Marc Pullan and Nathan Crabb set Borough on their way to victory in a pulsating Sussex derby at Priory Lane before Neil Jenkins put through his own net to set up an exciting finish.

With Stevenage winning 2-0 at York it means Reds are now seven points off the play-off zone with seven games remaining and cannot afford to lose against leaders Burton on Saturday.

The frustration got too much for assistant manager Paul Raynor who was sent to the stands and was then confronted by fans as he was led to the changing rooms while boss Steve Evans refused to speak to some members of the media after the game.

That left only Borough manager Garry Wilson to reflect on his first ever victory over Crawley in his ten years in charge at Priory Lane.

Wilson said: “We don’t go out there to mess up other teams’ seasons but when you play against a club who is fighting for something it helps to motivate you.

“It was a great result for us as we want to finish the season on a high and this has given everybody a lift after some disappointing results.

“We’ve never beaten Crawley before and that shows how far we have come. They are a good side so it was enjoyable to win such an exciting game of football.”

Borough had managed just four goals in their previous seven games and their answer to that barren run was an adventurous 4-3-3 formation which saw the Crabb brothers Nathan and Matt support Allan Tait down the flanks when they were in possession and drop back into midfield when Crawley had the ball.

There was little opportunity to see how effective the system was though as Borough spent a large part of the opening 45 minutes defending.

Crawley showed their intent right from the start as two corners within the opening three minutes caused panic in the Borough area. From the first Adam Quinn’s downward header was off target and then a poor punch from Lee Hook required Ben Austin to head off his own line.

Simon Weatherstone also sent a volley over from 20 yards, Chris Giles headed just wide from another corner and Reds had an appeal for a penalty waved away for a push on Jake Wright.

It was a surprise therefore that the best opportunity of the first half fell to Borough as they caught Crawley on the counter attack. Matt Crabb drove forward with the ball and picked out Tait with a clever pass but his shot from ten yards was well saved low down by Simon Rayner.

Borough’s delivery from set-pieces had been woeful in the first half but they got it right to take the lead just 50 seconds after the restart.

Pullan was the only player to react as Jenkins swung over a long free-kick and time seemed to stand still as his header looped over Rayner and went in off the bar.

It was only his second goal in 160 appearances for Borough and the former Crawley defender almost looked bewildered as the ball hit the back of the net.

Suddenly Crawley were rattled and an uncharacteristic mistake from Jake Wright saw Borough double the lead.

Wright attempted to shepherd Matt Smart’s pass behind for a goal kick but Nathan Crabb robbed him of the ball and before surprising Rayner with a fine shot from an acute angle.

Borough were bouncing now but Crawley were handed a way back into the game by another of their former players.

Michael Malcolm’s corner appeared to be covered by Jenkins at the near post but he made a hash of his clearance and the ball deflected over Hook into the roof of the net.

The game opened up as Crawley pushed for an equaliser and Borough almost took advantage as Matt Crabb launched another dangerous counter attack. Crabb again picked out Tait who went down under a challenge from Quinn but John Farries turned down a loud shout for a penalty.

Eastbourne: Hook 6, Austin 7, Baker 7, Pullan 9, Jenkins 6, Armstrong 6, Smart 6 (Lovett, 90), Brown 7, M Crabb 8, Tait 7, N Crabb 7 (Jeffery, 89). Subs not used: Mingle, Harding, Wormull.

Booked: None.

Crawley: Rayner 6, Giles 6, Wright 5, Quinn 7, Wilson 6, Killeen 6 (Rankin, 70), Weatherstone 6 (Malcolm, 58), Bulman 6, Forrest 6, Cook 7, Matthews 6. Subs not used: Gaia, Hurren, Shaw, Booked: Bulman, Wilson.

Referee: John Farries (Oxfordshire).

Attendance: 1,268.