At about half past nine on Wednesday night, there didn’t seem to be much requirement for a blog on our visit to Gosport. 2-0 down and heading into the last five minutes, it hadn’t been a bad performance at all but it was literally and figuratively nothing to write home about. Then Danny Hollands got caught in possession and my plan of playing Football Manager on the laptop on my way home was drastically changed.
This was a fixture that had been planned for a previous Saturday, but Gosport’s involvement in the FA Cup meant it had been rearranged for this particular Wednesday, and it was also now new manager Tom Killick’s first league game in charge. It would appear that Tom is the manager and Tommy was the player – an important distinction to make. As first games go, Tom couldn’t have asked for a tougher start with the FA Trophy defeat at Merthyr last Saturday being against a side placed second in the league, and away at Gosport who occupy top spot of the table. I’m sure Tom will have learnt a lot from these two games and the performances in them.
As with my recent trip to Plymouth Parkway to watch us, an evening which in hindsight would have been better spent doing something more enjoyable such as having a migraine, I was faced with the same transport based problems as before. Gosport on a Saturday is a nice easy trip with options of how to get there by public transport, with the train into Pompey and Gosport Ferry being the preferred option. Midweek is not so simple with the last train from Portsmouth departing annoyingly early, the ground not ideally placed for the ferry for a quick get away, and the fact that I’d missed the last train into Gosport by the narrow margin of 70 years. To the rescue came club photographer Phil Standfield, who was driving and had a spare seat, so in with him I hopped as we made our way towards Privett Park. There will be more on some of Phil’s excellent camera work later.
It was a nice and uneventful drive up as Phil’s plan to follow the minibus into the ground so he could park worked, although he was given a scare when the bus stopped at Ringwood for either a pickup, or for Steve Dodge to quickly nip into the BP garage there for a snack. The bus soon overtook us again and we were able to get back to the main topic of conversation and that was our two new signings that hadn’t actually been announced yet. An eagled eyed Dev had noticed that Drew Eccott-Young and Adam Forster had been added to the list of registered players on the Southern League website, and none of us really knew who they were. A quick Google search enlightened us to the fact that Eccott-Young was a versatile right sided player had recently been at Hamworthy United before their unfortunate withdrawal from the league, and that Adam Forster was a goalkeeper who was at Bath City. With nothing official from the club yet, it was guesswork as to how or if they’d feature. We’d soon find out.
At the ground early enough to get parked up, Phil and I made towards our separate entrances. Phil was passed on the way out by someone who had to move the minibus as we’d not told the home side we were bringing one, only that a coach wasn’t coming. Start as you mean to go on. Getting in for the reduced price of £8, with my work ID once again coming up trumps, I popped my head in the bar briefly before deciding to sample some of the local cuisine. The bacon cheeseburger and chips did a wonderful job – things seem to have improved since a hot dog offered here last season gained some online infamy for looking unappetising at best. As I finished off my dinner I was in the ideal place to get a team sheet off Darren and see just how we were going to line up, and the XI included both of our new signings.
Adam Forster took Lloyd Thomas’ place in goal, and there was no sign of Lloyd on the bench. Word started to go round that he had left the club, although there was some confusion when he turned up midway through the first half and stood with some of us behind the goal. We wish him well wherever he ends up. Drew Eccott-Young, who I’ll just refer to as Drew for the rest of the blog as it is quite a lot to type given how frequently he’ll feature, would also start as he fitted in at right back. Jack Dickson wasn’t in the squad, despite being available after his suspension, but his absence was through illness and nothing more serious. The back four was Drew, Jordi Foot, Spetch and Ollie Haste, with the midfield three being Moysey, Ngalo and Corby Moore. The front three of Shaq, Leighton and Barnett completed the side, and there was the welcome sight of Olaf taking part in the warm up, although he did not make the bench. Hopefully he’ll be fully fit for Hendon in a week or so.
Tom Killick went from suited and booted, having obviously come straight from work, to full tracksuit as the warmups progressed, and a few more Magpies fans filed in as Bargey and Co and the Kellaways arrived. We all agreed a point would be a more than acceptable result. A minute’s applause was held before kickoff to mark the passing of the former Gosport secretary, Brian Cosgrove, who had a several decades long affiliation with the club and was a key figure in keeping the club running in tougher times, and we started off the game kicking towards the clubhouse end, now complete with a gurt big yellow double-decker bus that also doubles up as a bar. The early stages of the game involved little of note, but we were quick to close down and not shy of making a tackle as we looked to gain the upper hand.
Our first chance of note came a quarter of an hour in as an Ngalo shot was comfortably saved down low to his right by Gosport keeper Toby Steward, and we had some decent possession without really threatening to trouble the Portsmouth loanee keeper further. At the other end Gosport had their first real chance as a Dave Tarpey effort was headed off the line by an alert Drew who read the situation perfectly. Good work from Shaq saw him curl an effort on target, but it was too close to Steward to really trouble him, and Gosport missed a golden chance as they fired wide of Forster’s right hand post when well placed. As half time approached we had our best chance of the half as a quickly taken freekick allowed the lively Shaq to break free of his marker and pull the ball back from the byline. The cutback was excellent but unfortunately, in the politest possible way, it fell to the wrong man in Will Spetch and his left footed effort went wide. We also had a late shout for a penalty turned down as Haste went down in the box just before the break. I’d love to comment on this but my view was obscured by the post and the stanchion. It could have been a nailed on penalty, or the most blatant dive ever, and I’d not have had a clue. I’ll go with nailed on pen and claim some sort of agenda against us. The halftime whistle blew soon after and the 0-0 scoreline was a pretty fair reflection of what was a decent enough half for both sides.
Switching ends, the small gathering of us felt we were well placed to push on a bit and had hopes of a good start to the second half. These hopes did not come to fruition. A slightly ragged first 15 followed as we didn’t see much of the ball and didn’t really use it when we had it. There was a sense of inevitability about the Gosport goal that came on the hour mark, and the fact it was an ex-Magpie in Brad Tarbuck to score it kind of capped it off. Tarbuck’s run and one-two with Rafael Ramos seemed all too easy, and he slid the ball past Forster to give the hosts the lead. It got worse minutes later as we went 2-0. Drew’s attempted clearance from a ball over the top was a fraction slower than it had to be, and he didn’t see Ramos come in alongside him as he ended up kicking the Gosport man rather than the ball. A penalty all day long, and one that was easily converted by Rory Williams.
We soon made our first change of the game straight after the goal in the 68th minute, Louie Slough coming on for Moysey as we looked like we went to a back three. It looked like we’d get a goal back shortly after, with a set piece from our lefthand side, but a tremendous double save from Steward kept the score at 2-0. His first save low down to his right with an outstretched hand was impressive, but his quick recovery to get up and fling himself towards the ball when it looked like Shaq had an empty net to aim at was incredible. Steward’s touch saw Shaq’s effort thud onto the post and clear, with looks of disbelief from all showing how good a save it was. It really didn’t look like it was going to be our night as the rain began to get harder as we stood behind the goal of a very open end.
Our second change soon came as Barnett was replaced by Lewis Waterfield as we looked to make something happen. We managed to resist the temptation to go long and panic – any long balls were easy for Gosport’s Charlie Wassmer, who looked like an anorexic Dolph Lundgren – and we seemed content to try and hold our shape rather become a bit headless and leave Gosport chances to pick us off. This paid off with four minutes to play as we got ourselves a lifeline. Danny Hollands had his pocket picked by Waterfield in the middle, and as Waterfield took the ball forward, things opened up a bit for him. No one behind the goal wanted him to shoot, but thankfully, Lewis knows his own game far better than any of us, and his drilled effort from 20 odd yards beat Steward low to his right. 2-1 and all of a sudden, it was game on. Steward might be a bit disappointed to be beaten from that range and the ball didn’t seem to be right in the corner, but we couldn’t care less. Now it was time to really put the pressure on as Spetch and Haste took up far more attacking positions as we pushed for a late equaliser.
A minimum of six minutes of added time was indicated and we thought we had an equaliser after four of those, only for the goal to be ruled out for handball. A long free-kick was flicked on and a now more unsettled Steward looked to have been out-jumped by a leaping Leighton Thomas. Both Leighton and his header rolled towards the goal and both eventually crossed the line, only for the ref to rule the goal out. Now, we were the wrong side to really get a proper look at it, but Phil’s photos do show Leighton’s hands and arms very close to the ball. The unison appeals from the home players indicate they may have all seen the same thing, but anyone Dorch on and off the pitch felt aggrieved. Luckily, that feeling didn’t last long.
As we went into minute seven of time added on, we got a corner. Adam Forster got the nod from the bench to go up for it and we had everyone except the corner taker, Corby Moore, in the box. As always with these type of last chance set pieces, it is utter chaos with 21 players and two keepers in the box, and no one having any idea who to mark. Moore’s corner was a horrible one to defend as it came in right under Steward’s bar, and it was Forster who went up to challenge his opposite number. Neither man was able to get a meaningful touch on the ball but Ollie Haste was and he stooped to head home the equaliser.
The celebrations that followed are the kind that make standing in the pissing rain and travelling all the miles we do worth it. Haste leapt into the air and then into the fans, and every player and all the subs soon followed. It was pretty likely that more players than fans were celebrating at one point, with beer all over the place, fans over the advertising boards, and players going the other way as well. The goal was celebrated as far away as Mallorca where El Generalè is currently based on manoeuvres. Hopefully the on going entertainment he interrupted by shouting “get the fuck in” understood the gravity of the situation. After a good 20 seconds of us all going absolutely mental, there was the small matter of having to actually finish the game and we had a free-kick in an attacking position that could have led to an unlikely winner, but a draw was the final result, and it was probably the fairest one as well given how the game panned out. The players showed the fans their appreciation and vice versa, and there was a first airing of ‘Tommy Killick’s Black & White Army’ as we took a point which seemed very unlikely with five minutes to play.
Heading back home, it was time to see what we might have missed during the game by having a quick check of the social media. Although most seemed to agree that 2-2 was a fair result, some had reservations on various things. One man claimed the Dorch equaliser had cost him a $13,000 bet, another claimed match fixing, and one Gosport fan seemed more irritated about our celebrations after the equaliser. We only made noise when we scored, apparently, and didn’t travel in big enough numbers for their liking. We must not forget that Privett Park is often compared to Galatasaray when it comes to atmosphere, and I assume the return fixture will be segregated for the baying masses of Gosport fans who will no doubt flock to the Avenue.
There was also some confusion as to who actually got the equaliser. Although most thought it was Haste, a couple had said it was Spetch, and there was even more bemused looks when Flash Scores gave the goal to Ngalo. It was reminiscent of a late winner we scored at Tonbridge in the dying days of the Conference South when we weren’t sure who got our injury time winner. It was either Mark Jermyn, Nathan Walker, or Clive Makoni… All was soon revealed as Haste was given the goal on the Club’s social media, and the fifteen or so of us behind the goal breathed a collective sigh of relief as we realised we didn’t need to make an optician’s appointment as a matter of urgency. Flash Scores had also left a lot of confused people the disallowed goal and the one that stood had caused chaos in the WhatsApp group as Flash Scores went 2-2, back to 2-1, and then 2-2 again in the space of two minutes, causing much confusion. All’s well that ends well.
Despite the pissing rain, Phil got us home quickly and nicking a point in that manner does make a journey go a bit quicker. Phil wasn’t sure how his photos would turn out given the light at the ground, but he needn’t have worried as the pictures came out brilliantly – the ones of the celebrations were as good as we’d hoped they would be. An unsung hero for local sports, Phil makes life much easier for me with Dorch football and cricket related content with his images, and I’m sure many other local clubs like Dorch Sports and Puddletown CC would agree. The album from this game is a cracker, even if he did need to get out the wide angle lens for a picture of our bench as staff outnumbered players by a total of six (TK, Glenn, Woodsy, Dodge, Churchy, and Godrek) to our five playing subs.
On the whole, it was a hard earned point, definitely one gained rather than two dropped. The two debutants were steady considering they hadn’t played at this standard all season, and both look like they’ll be more than useful additions. No one had a particularly bad game, and I’ll give man of the match to Ollie Haste who had a very good game that was capped off with a deserved goal. With three more games to go this month away at Hendon followed by Sholing and Hayes & Yeading at home, you’d imagine Tom will have a far better idea of how he sees the squad, who he wants to keep a hold of and where he thinks we can improve. We were disciplined and worked hard on Wednesday; something that is very easy to associate with Tom’s Poole sides of recent years, and it is an interesting towards exciting time to be a Dorch fan. I’m actually looking forward to a trip to Hendon, something very few people if any have ever said. Up The Magpies, hopefully we’ll give the North London arm of the Celebration Police some work next Saturday having raised the ire of the Hampshire branch this week. SV.
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