Gosport Borough 0 Bracknell Town 4 (12th November 2022)
I might have an appalling record with Bracknell home games, but it’s a bit different away from home, where I have now seen five wins in seven, and only one defeat, although that defeat, it has to be said, was an 0-8 lumping during the club’s darker days.
Unlike that era, there’s pride at the club now, not least due to the battling performance v League One promotion chasers Ipswich. That wasn’t actually the clincher in enticing me to a Gosport ground that I have had my eye on for a long time though.
A prospect of possibly the last decent day of the year had me making a day of it with a short visit to the historic dockyards across the water in Portsmouth. HMS Victory was disappointingly covered in scaffolding but was worth a visit all the same. Directly behind me in the queue was LBC radio host James O’Brien, surprisingly discussing non-league football rather than Brexit.
Given that James seemed to be there with family/friends, I am guessing he didn’t also make his way to Gosport v Bracknell, but a fair splash of red among the 725 present show the efforts of Bracknell are appreciated. There were more there than at some home games I went to in the past.
The strong support the home team have is getting tested of late. While still mid table, they kicked off in the midst of a terrible run on one win in 14 games, and things weren’t about to get any easier.
After an impeccably observed silence for Remembrance Day, no doubt more keenly felt in an area with such a strong connection to the armed services, the question really was whether Bracknell would carry on where they left off v Ipswich on Monday night, or whether tiredness, both mental and physical, would take a toll.
Unfortunately for Gosport, it was the former. While perhaps, understandably, Bracknell couldn’t match Monday’s intensity, the very same tigerish commitment at the back was present, restricting the home side increasingly as the first half wore on. With a wind at Gosport’s backs, and the Bracknell keeper spending the half looking into a low sun, this was Gosport’s chance to capitalise on any hint of FA Cup hangover. Instead it was Bracknell who went in front, heading in from close range as the home keeper clawed despairingly at a ball that had long since crossed the line.
Gosport’s best spell was the first 20 minutes or so of the second half, but came up against a Bracknell keeper surpassing his performance against Ipswich with some outstanding play.
As so often happens, failure to score gets punished. In truth Bracknell had threatened a few times, but Bracknell’s second came just as you felt that Gosport were starting to doubt they’d get their first.
To their credit, while quietened, the Gosport fans stayed behind their team, but it wasn’t rewarded. It was like déjà vu in reverse for Bracknell, playing the Ipswich role and picking the home side off on the break, with a third stroked in on 88 minutes, and a fourth going in off the post after being headed back across the keeper in injury time.
As the sun set behind Gosport’s fine main stand, and very much set on Gosport’s afternoon, they would be forgiven for thinking a 0-4 defeat didn’t really reflect the home side’s efforts, but when you are on a bad run, things to tend to snowball.
Bracknell, in contrast, appear to be using their cup run as a springboard for their season’s achievements, rather than a mattress. I might even take in a few more of their games, although with my weirdly bi-polar experiences depending on the location, those connected with Bracknell might prefer it if I only went when they were away.
Stadiums and Cities 