Borough begin pre-season with huge Horndean win

By Connor Steel

GOSPORT BOROUGH began their first preparations for this upcoming 2025/26 league campaign as they travelled to Horndean on Tuesday evening (July 8); comfortably beating their opponents seven-two after a very stylish and clinical performance throughout this first pre-season tie that was watched by a ‘great crowd’ at the Kingsmere Group Stadium.

The visitors came out quickly in warm conditions and scored their opener within eleven minutes; Zak Sharp doing well to divert a corner delivery into the goal through a crowd of bodies. It should have been two-nil shortly after this as Dan Wooden fired over under pressure within the fifteenth minute; the away defenders also stifling any Horndean pressure.

Horndean equalised as a fine passing move was threaded into the feet of Brandon Chebby, who cut inside and lashed home into the corner for one-all before a water break. And this is how it stayed until the forty-third minute of play when Gosport retook their earlier advantage; Wooden collecting Harvey Solley’s ball on the break and netting to make it 2-1.

Borough changed their whole side for this 2nd half and made it three-one after fifty minutes through Rafa Ramos; who jinxed through this defence and calmly placing home. This striker slammed the left post on the hour mark after another muscly run forward, before the visitors scored their fourth on sixty-four minutes; Ethan Taylor blasting inside the corner.

Ramos was in neat form and added this second goal in the sixty-ninth minute to make it 5-1; a score that became five-two when Horndean’s winger slammed home a ‘good’ finish moments later. A hat-trick was completed for Ramos when he controlled a poor clearance and tapped home; this striker lastly adding a fourth on eighty-five minutes to end this tie.

With the artificial pitch surface in development for the AEI Stadium, it appears to be a full calendar of away fixtures for Gosport as they get gametime into their players and prepare for the ‘new campaign’ starting in early August. The next game will see them visit Littlehampton on Friday, before they play Infinity on Saturday afternoon to finish a busy week.

PICTURED BY GOSPORT BOROUGH MEDIA: Rafa Ramos scores one of four great goals on his ‘return’ for Gosport.