Football can be a cruel game and Eastbourne Borough were certainly taught a harsh lesson in their debut match in non-league’s top flight.

If Borough are to extend their Blue Square premier adventure beyond a single season they must learn to be more ruthless in front of goal – and fast.

That was the clear message after they had more than matched a Rushden and Diamonds side tipped to challenge for promotion this season only to end up with nothing to show for their efforts.

Even Diamonds boss Garry Hill admitted his side were lucky to head back to Northamptonshire with maximum points after being on the ropes for most of the second half.

That was little consolation to Borough manager Garry Wilson who knows that results rather than plaudits and hard luck stories are the only things that matter if his side are to beat the odds and survive.

Wilson said: “We gave a good account of ourselves but we simply cannot affort to miss the chances we did. Garry Hill admitted they were lucky after the game and said how well we had played but we don’t want to be nearly men.

“Pats on the back are no good to us if we lose. The way we played showed we are good enough to be at this level but the question is are we good enough to finish teams off.

“We cannot miss the chances we did and expect to beat teams of Rushden’s standard. Teams at this level are so experienced that they get one chance and put it in the back of the net.”

Former Rushden players Simon Wormull and Jean-Michel Sigere were guilty of the worst misses but they were by no means alone in squandering chances.

The home side could have taken the lead after only 30 seconds when Smart’s header was blocked by Alan Marriott and Sigere also had an early sight of goal as Borough came racing out of the blocks.

They were stopped in their tracks in the 26th minute though when Neil Jenkins’ clumsy challenge sent Lee Tomlin tumbling in the area and former Birmingham and Hull midfielder Curtis Woodhouse, who quit football for two years to try his luck as a boxer, delivered the knockout punch from the spot.

That could have knocked the stuffing out of Borough but, after a brief wobble where Tomlin threatened to win the game on his own, they regrouped and then went in search of an equaliser.

Sigere had a penalty appeal waved away and shot wide from close range following fine work from Atkin before being denied by Marriott after being sent clear by Smart.

Rushden had their chances too with Marcus Kelly hitting the bar and Woodhouse sending a cheeky 25-yard lob inches too high but they were brief moments of respite in the face of a barrage from Borough.

It looked like the pressure would finally tell when Wormull was put clean through by fellow substitute Allan Tait with 14 minutes to go.

The majority of the 1,609 crowd held their breath in anticipation as the summer signing from Lewes – who had only been on the pitch 12 minutes – shaped to place his shot past Marriott only to balloon the ball way over the bar.

That proved to be Borough’s last chance to salvage something from the game and their one consolation was that they proved they are not out of their depth in such company.

Assistant boss Nick Greenwood said: “It is one game so it is difficult to get a sense of perspective but the amount of chances we created shows we have got nothing to fear at this level.

“We don’t want to feel sorry for ourselves. The performance was encouraging but we have now got to transfer that into results. We let a point get away from us on Saturday and we can’t afford to let that happen too often over the course of the season.”