Once upon a time, in a land far far away, there was a BIG football club .... fire breathing dragons sent throngs of burning flames at all that crossed their path and many a foe shuddered at the mere thought of being visited by such a monster!

It is a sign of the times gone by that the threat now is no more than that of a wet Swan Vesta, hardly a spark, more of a whimper. Yes the “Mighty” Wrexham were back in town. With the glow of the 5-0 scoreboard from Tuesday night still in the minds of the locals, was there really anything to fear from far flung North Wales? On the evidence of their past visits, we Eastbourne faithful had a smug confidence (to a degree) and we now accept what once were fixtures of magnitude in our stride.

If there is pressure on Dean Saunders then he hides it well. When I say hides it, I meant to say that each time the Wrexham coach arrives at Priory Lane, Mr Saunders seems more interested in finishing watching the “live” game on Sky and not going to the dressing room with his players! I could never Imagine G and N doing this but Mr Saunders is a high profile figure so maybe he feels more secure sat on a bus!

With a black cloud over head it was looking as if we may have some rough weather for the afternoon but thankfully the threatening clouds passed over with no release of rain and the sun treated us to an unexpected appearance and as the teams took to the field to warm up the Priory Lane grass looked in top condition. As kick-off approached the chosen 11 made their way to the dressing room for the final words of briefing, leaving the substitutes to keep warm with goalbound shots.

It was at this moment that a very foolish act of bravado took place. A certain owl by the name of Ollie decided to challenge Rikki Banks to the coveted keeper’s jersey and took his place between the sticks to show just how agile a 7ft high bird of prey can be. To be fair to Ollie, a slight breeze did get under the winds leaving him unbalanced and the legend of owls being able to see 360 degrees is apparently a myth. All credit must go to the fact that Ollie did get a wing to a Dan Brown rocket but alas with a wing bent double, poor Ollie collapsed on the grass and decided that maybe centre forward is more his calling ..... (one Daniel Brown was overheard to say in the bar after the game that he gave it some wellie to hit poor Ollie. Nasty man!) The 90 minutes of game play treated the followers of the Sports to the usual heart in mouth fun and games the we have have grown accustomed to in BN23. After the ease of the midweek game, our 11 players decided to give us more value for money and every emotion known to the humble soccer fan was experienced, from the euphoria of an early lead, the pain of going behind, back in front, pegged level and then finally sealing the three points! We sure know how to ride the surf of anguish in Sussex.

So with the win under our belts we have to return to Mr Saunders for the final words this week. It would appear that the whole world has now ganged up on the unfortunate manager as everyone and everything got the blame for his loss. Personally, I lay the blame firmly at Dean’s feet. Well strictly speaking at his shirt and shorts. Throughout the afternoon, he was on the touchline in a red shirt and black shorts. Was he really surprised then when his players kept going over to that side of the pitch to man mark him? If you dress to look like the opposition then don’t whinge when you confuse your own players!!

I started this blog in the style of a fairytale, so will end it in the style of a childhood song from years ago. You must all remember “Puff the Magic Dragon”? (younger readers, Google it) All together now........

Dean the Wrexham Dragon,

Came to the sea,

He tried to blame the howling winds,

And the referee,

He failed to hold his hands up,

And accept what had been seen,

His huffing, puffing, North Wales wrecks,

Outplayed by the better team.

More nonsense later this week after Histon!!