U18 CC F Brockenhurst 1 Gosport Borough 4

15 May 2026

Welcome back to the blog – been a while, hasn’t it!  11 whole days since Hamble Club won the League Cup Final.  Since then, AFC Stoneham have bounced back from that defeat by winning two finals (Russell Cotes and Southampton Senior) and they’re busy preparing for Sunday at Wembley in what is, presumably, the biggest day in the club’s history.  And we’ve also had the league allocations for Step 5 in 2026/27, which sees quite a few changes for the Wessex.  The most significant is the rise to 22 clubs, from 20 this season – four more games, therefore.  Welcome back to Bashley, Fareham Town and Horndean; welcome to Fleetlands, promoted from Division One, joined by Sturminster Newton United who move across from the Western League.  No surprise that Yateley were moved sideways; possibly more noteworthy that Wincanton Town have been reprieved and remain at Premier level and in our division.  No idea if the Brock management team is pleased with our allotment but that’s what it is – “subject to appeal”, which usually means: that’s what it is.  Some of the decisions are ‘controversial’, though, so who knows?  Time to reflect on that a bit more when the new season starts.  For now, I’m going to concentrate on the last two games of 2025/26.

First up: for the last time this season, coverage of a Brock game – the League Cup Final for the U-18s, up against Gosport Borough at Westleigh Park, home of Havant & Waterlooville.  Not a new ground for me, Brock played Moneys there in a league game a couple of years ago, also on a Friday night (a match that lives on in the memory for some moments of laughter, rather than the result).  The Badgers were superb in upsetting the odds in their semi-final against Cobham Sports, but Gosport represented another step up – runners-up in the league, narrowly pipped by Winchester (managed by Jordi Valero and featuring Harley Legg, top marks to both of them) – a tough evening ahead but it’s a cup game, always the chance of glory…

Ultimately, this proved a bridge too far for the Badgers, but they can hold their heads high: no shame in being beaten finalists, and despite the final scoreline it wasn’t all plain sailing for the yellows.  Unfortunately, while Gosport posted a squad list (the morning after the game), I haven’t been able to find their line-up anywhere so I can only identify most of their players by number - #4, for example, who shot across goal and wide on 13 minutes in Borough’s first attempt.  You could see that Gosport were a group who train and play together regularly, and Brock were struggling to gain any decent possession in the opposition half, but they were defending solidly until a calamity on 17 minutes when livewire #7 was sent clear on goal, keeper and defender seemed to arrive at the same moment as the attacker but somehow the ball spilled loose and #7 could roll it into an empty net.  Pardey made amends six minutes later, making an excellent parry from #10 and grabbing the rebound just before it crossed the line; #7 set up Ben Gray, brilliantly defended by Will Giles; and into first half stoppage time, a superb deep cross from Gray on the left, Bosworth arriving unmarked ten yards out but headed wide.  Phew!  HT 0-1

Brock will have been pleased to go in at the break only one down: Borough looked slicker and sharper, but hadn’t been able to pull clear thanks to some very solid defensive displays.  That all changed 20 seconds into the second half when Spencer Bosworth ran onto a through-ball, controlled brilliantly and curled his shot into the top corner.  Top goal.  Bosworth then almost turned provider for #7, but Giles got back to block… 51 minutes, some good fortune for the Badgers, a clearance rebounded off an identified striker and lobbed towards the goal… back off the post! – Pardey then made a fine save from #11 on the rebound.  But the chances were now coming thick and fast, one goal-saving tackle from O’Mara, another fine save from Pardey, but 55 minutes and it was 3-0, another great move, Bosworth and Gray combining before Bosworth smashed home for his second.  But huge credit to the young Badgers – heads didn’t drop and they dug deep and forced their way back into the game.  They were unlucky not to get one back almost immediately when the Gosport keeper left his box to clear and the ball ended up with Elliot Wells, 35 yards out, jinked inside one player and shot just wide.  Manny Stone was also wide from about 25 yards – and then, a super goal, ball played forward to Harry Swager who held off two defenders and beat the keeper from 15 yards to give Brock a sniff.  The Badgers were now in the ascendancy, and some of the Gosport defending was pretty desperate… 15 to go, Borough keeper goes down, within two seconds the whole team have run across to get their tactical pep-talk from the management team – shameful.  At this level?  Shameful.  We’ve not seen tactic so often this season, and the sooner that IFAB deals with it the better.  Anyway.  It didn’t change the momentum, Brock still pressing, and with six minutes to go there was another melee in the Gosport box… the ball bounced towards Swager, about ten yards out on the angle, under huge pressure and with no time – a half-chance, lifted over the bar.  Had that gone in, who knows?  But, you know, if wishes were horses; and two minutes later #4 sealed the game for Gosport with a low cross-shot from inside the box.  Still time for Pardey to make a couple of fine saves, and for Mahon to block a shot which looked sure to trouble the keeper… FT 1-4

Badgers, be proud.  OK, they’re only runners-up medals, but finalists is no mean achievement, and the team showed real guts and determination when they looked like being overrun at 3-0.  We were royally entertained by Joe Mahon’s personal fanclub, who were standing near us (they also described one touch from Gosport #11 as ‘filthy’, which I believe is a compliment these days, and they were right, superb skill).   Proud of every one of them, and hope we’ll get to see a few of them next season as they graduate to the Devs and maybe in some cases the first team.  meanwhile – time for Brock to enjoy a summer off!