Full Bloodied Start To Pre Season - Baffins Milton Rovers vs. Gosport Borough

Stand at Kendalls Stadium with the watersports centre in the background

After the abomination of a Euros campaign from England I was more than keen to get back to non league football. I had intended to go to Wealdstone but upon hearing that Baffins Milton Rovers were producing a programme I headed to Portsmouth. This is Baffins Milton's first season in the first division of The Wessex League and it looks like there has been a lot of work done on the ground. Gosport Borough are preparing for another season in The Conference South and I had seen them in a home FA Trophy tie against Nuneaton which had finished goalless. As this was kind of a Portsmouth derby I was hoping for a bit more bite then a standard pre season match and that's exactly what I got.

Kick off of the 2016-17 season!

The game starts evenly and Gosport have a free kick close to the byline which is too close to the Baffins Milton keeper. The Baffins Milton forward is then played in but he slips at the crucial moment and the chance goes begging. Gosport come close with a couple of headed chances from close range. The visitors take the lead as the winger goes through a half challenge and he is able to put the ball past the keeper and into the net. They double their lead when the winger in chopped down and the spot kick is duly dispatched. In the final moments of the half Baffins Milton win a penalty of their own when the attacker is felled and the penalty goes in off the post.

Baffins Milton attack the Watersports Centre End

Baffins Milton create a decent chance at the start of the second half when the ball is drilled across the edge of the six yard box but no one gets a touch. It is however Gosport who get the next goal. They break through the defence out wide and the forward slots home to make it 1-3. Baffins Milton get into a good position when the forward is found with a pull back but he takes too long and the eventual shot goes well over the bar. The game is now very open and the Gosport winger is unlikely to strike the upright after a shot from distance. The visitors come close to getting a fourth when a cross finds a man at the back post but the Baffins Milton defender does well to block the chance. Gosport do get a fourth in the closing stages but Baffins Milton showed some good flashes. 

Baffins Milton defend an attack with the clubhouse in the background

As I indicated earlier, Baffins Milton play in Portsmouth with Hilsea being the closest station to the ground. Trains depart from Waterloo with the trip taking the best part of two hours. From the station, Kendalls Stadium is about twenty minutes walk away. If you arrive in plenty of time you can walk in the opposite direction to the ground to The Phoenix Hotel which is a friendly side street pub with Sky Sports. In The Morrison's complex next to the ground is The Compass Rose which does the job. The clubhouse is a portacabin behind one of the goals which provides a decent selection of drinks and tasty looking hot dogs.

The benches watch on in the first half