Gosport Borough 1-0 Sholing

Scorer :  Sam Hookey 57

Date: Tuesday 26 December 2023, 12:30pm – Southern League Premier South

Venue: AEI Stadium   Attendance: 1,041

Gosport Borough: Toby Steward, Harry Kavanagh, Harry Medway (Zak Sharp 65), Joe Morrison, Sam Hookey, Danny Hollands, Brad Tarbuck, Harvey Rew (Lucias Vine 80), Dan Wooden ©, Antonio Diaz (Billie Busari 44), Jake Scrimshaw.  Unused Subs : Ashley Akpan

Sholing : Ryan Gosney, Brad Targett (Charlie Wagstaffe 42), Marv McLean, Owen Roundell, Dan Miller (Rob Flooks 7), Byron Mason ©, Charlie Davis, Keane Anderson, Dan Mason, Jake Hesketh (Jake Cope 23), Karlos Gregory.  Unused subs : Ryan Harfield, Mathias Tepe

Man of the Match : Owen Roundell

Match Stats (home side first) : Possession : 49% / 51% - Shots on Target : 5 / 2 - Shots off Target : 9 / 6 - Final Third Entries : 36 / 26

A narrow defeat to 3rd place Gosport, where the injury-hit Boatmen battled hard, but were undone by one moment of quality in an even game.  

Team News : One change from the Merthyr game as Charlie Davis replaced Charlie Wagstaffe in midfield. Jake Flannigan & George Milner-Smith continued to miss out.

A large Boxing Day crowd was drawn to the lunchtime kick off where Sholing started brightly, Brad Targett's cross from the right almost found Davis, but two Gosport defenders slid in to block the effort away on the edge of the 6 yard box.  Then the first of three first half injuries as after only 7 mins, Dan Miller pulled up and Rob Flooks had to come on in his place.

A lovely ball down the right channel put Targett away and into the area, but he seemed in two minds about shooting and passing and the good opportunity fizzled out.  Boatmen were playing out from the back, but a brilliant goalline clearance by Owen Roundell spared our blushes when a misplaced pass gave Gosport a big chance to take the lead.

Wooden was found in the box, but Gosney was quickly off his line to get something on the shot to divert it wide.  Hesketh was pulling the strings in midfield, so it was a big blow to see him limp off on 23 mins.  Jake Cope replaced him in the middle.

A cross by Charlie Davis was headed over by Byron Mason and a minute later we had used all our subs by the 43rd minute as Brad Targett clutched his hamstring and Charlie Wagstaffe came on.   HT 0-0

There was a lengthy stoppage as Medway had to be stretchered off with what looked like a knee injury.  Gosport took the lead on 57 minutes when the ball came to Sam Hookey 20 yards out and he smashed a first time daisy cutter that arrowed into the bottom corner.

Sholing didn't let their heads drop and pushed for an equaliser. A great flick on by Dan Mason found Jake Cope, but his shot lacked the power to worry the keeper.  Then from a deep cross, Owen Roundell headed over the keeper and into the net, but the celebrations were cut short by the linesman's flag.

An increasing number of bizarre calls from the official, understandably frustrated the Boatmen.  As the bookings racked up, the referee decided he didn't like something Paul Doswell said and showed him a second yellow, much to the disbelief of Dos and the bench.

Rob Flooks received a head injury and after trying to soldier on, he had to go off, leaving us down to 10 men for the final 20 minutes or so, but we continued to play our football and work hard.   Jake Cope turned the last defender who then hauled him down, the referee deciding it wasn't a goalscoring opportunity and booked the Gosport player. Owen Roundell went within a few inches of equalising late on, but his header just cleared the crossbar. 10 minutes of added time saw Gosport run the clock down to ensure the win.   FT 1-0

Dos : "First 25 minutes I thought we were very good and Gosport couldn't handle what we were doing. Brad Targett was terrorising their left back and it was all looking positive. I hate to blame bad luck, but to have 3 of our best players in Miller, Hesketh & Targett all go off injured in the first half was incredible and it's compounded when Rob Flooks gets concussion in the 2nd half to leave us down to 10 men when chasing the game".

"The authorities at our level need to look at firstly, allowing concussion substitutes in line with higher up in the game and also being able to use 5 substitutes during the match."

"There was a good shout for what we thought was a handball in the first half when Charlie Davis's effort was blocked and it looked a tight offside call when Owen Roundell scored"  
 
"The lads never let their heads drop against a good side and we created enough chances to get something, but that's the story for us at the moment, not taking chances"
 
"With Eastleigh notifying us they needed Luka Chalwell yesterday with their first team squad, it means we are looking to bring in 1 or 2 strikers.  We were close to signing Billie Busari, who Gosport pipped us to this week." 
 
"I'm very disappointed with the two yellow cards I received. The referee wished me "Happy Christmas" as he showed me the first yellow, which I found disrespectful.  Then in the second half, after another decision went against us, the referee reacted to me saying "what's going on here!?" and walked over and showed me the red card.  Our VEO was behind the dugout and captured all the audio of the incident". 
 
"We have a few days to let players rest and try to work on the injuries, let's hope the new year gives us more luck with that side of things, but what I do know for sure, is that 2024 will be a very exciting time for Sholing, with some big things happening!  Make sure you buy a programme at the Bracknell game to see the first of our big projects"
 

Next Game : Sholing v Bracknell Town - New Years Day 3pm - Southern Premier

Photos courtesy of EspieJaz, swipe to view