FA Cup nostalgia – when Portsmouth area non-league teams met in the world’s greatest knockout tournament
Baffins Milton Rovers host local rivals Horndean in a mouthwatering FA Cup preliminary qualifying round tie this weekend.
It will be a fairly rare clash between two mainland PO postcode clubs in the world’s greatest knockout club tournament.
It is only the fifth meeting in the last 12 seasons of two such teams, and in one of the previous meetings Portchester hammered Horndean at Five Heads Park.
Here, The News takes a look at those derby clashes.
2011/12
Moneyfields 2 Gosport Borough 1
Steve Hutchings bagged the winner as Moneys came from behind to dump higher division Gosport out in a preliminary round tie at Dover Road.
Justin Bennett gave the Southern League visitors the lead early in the second half but Jack Lee levelled with a close range volley and Hutchings, in his first season at Moneys, lobbed a decider.
Miles Rutherford’s men had gone into the tie having been involved in some high-scoring early-season Wessex Premier matches.
Moneys’ opening five games had resulted in a staggering 34 goals, including a 6-5 win against Romsey, a 4-3 victory at Brading and a 3-3 draw with Fareham.
Moneys had also beaten Wessex neighbours Fareham Town 2-1 in an extra preliminary qualifying round tie in 2009/10, Simon Stone grabbing the Reds’ consolation.
2012/13
Fareham Town 3 Hayling United 0
Goals from James Roden, Bryn Mckie and Nathan Kirby gave Fareham an extra preliminary qualifying round win against their then Wessex Premier rivals.
2013/14
Horndean 0 AFC Portchester 5
In only their third FA Cup campaign, the Royals romped to what remains their best-ever win in the competition.
Against a Deans side managed by current Portchester boss Dave Carter, the visitors netted in a one-sided first qualifying round tie through Jamie Musselwhite (2), Simon Woods (2) and Louie Castles.
2021/22
AFC Portchester 4 Horndean 2
Kieran Roberts struck a first-half hat-trick as the Royals claimed victory in an extra preliminary qualifying round tie.
In fact, all four of Portchester’s goals came before the interval, with Lee Wort having grabbed the hosts’ opener after only six minutes.
Connor Duffin (penalty) and Zak Willett replied for Deans, who were 4-1 in arrears at the interval.
Further back in time, Fareham Town dumped neighbours Gosport Borough out in 1976/77 and 1979/80.
Mick O’Neill struck twice in a 5-0 first qualifying round replay win at Privett Park in the first season, after a 1-1 draw at Fareham, while a goal from Stewart settled a third qualifying round tie in the Reds’ favour three years later.
In 1987/88, Waterlooville defeated neighbours Havant Town 2-0 in a first qualifying round tie - the same season that Ernie Bradwell’s Ville won promotion from the Southern League South division as runners-up.
The following season Ville defeated Gosport 1-0 en route to the first round proper, where they lost to Aylesbury.
Ville’s last FA Cup campaign before the merger with Havant Town came in the 1997/98 season when they thrashed Portsmouth Royal Navy - forerunners of today’s US Portsmouth - 7-0 in a second qualifying round replay.
As for Havant & Waterlooville, they twice knocked Bognor Regis out in the second qualifying round in the noughties.
They romped to a 4-0 win at Nyewood Lane in 2003, with Bobby Howe netting in the first minute. Further goals followed from Alec Masson, James Taylor and James Ford.
Three years later, goals from Andy Gurney and Jamie Slabber saw Hawks come from behind to win 2-1 away – the start of a memorable cup run that only ended at Anfield six rounds later.
Current Horndean boss Michael Birmingham started for Bognor in both of those cup defeats.