Portchester earn quadruple in Moneyfields win
By Connor Steel
AFC PORTCHESTER secured a “truly historic” quadruple of trophies for 2024/25 as they played Moneyfields FC in the Portsmouth Senior Cup Final last Tuesday night (May 20); where they beat the local outfit on penalties following a hard fought and attacking encounter which finished one-apiece enjoyed by a big atmosphere at the PMC Stadium at Baffins.
The Royals started strongly under cloud-less evening skies and could have been ahead within the third minute through Harrison Brook, who forced Moneyfields keeper Callum Smart to make a great save from a swerving effort. Josh Clack also saw Smart make another stop as the low attempt was parried away from danger despite a ‘bobble’ on this surface.
In response Moneyfields went close as James Franklyn collected Lawrence Cooper’s delivery and tried to chip the ball over the Portchester keeper, who was alert for the danger as he punched it away. And Portchester were celebrating on 27 minutes when a corner was whipped into Connor Duffin who nodded home into the near corner under this pressure.
Moneyfields dominated possession and there was large appeals for a penalty when Lewis Beale latched onto a deeper ball before falling down in the box; the officials rejecting ideas of a penalty in a fifty-fifty decision. Cooper further proved a threatening force down the left, but saw his pass float out of play past Franklyn in added time to finish this first period.
Momentum from Moneyfields continued into the second half as Harry Sargeant broke into a space and fired a low pass across the area that was narrowly missed by the feet of Beale to lash just wide. This missed opportunity did force them into two substitutions before the hour mark as Harry Thorpe and Jordan Pile entered the fray to give them fresh boosts.
Thorpe saw a curling shot denied by Steve Mowthorpe after 63 minutes as he hit a ball from Joel Brown, whose corner was headed by Tom Cain off target despite arguably being fouled. There was however no appeal from this Moneyfields contingent and the play moved into the final twenty minutes with further changes being made across both two benches.
Portchester were reduced to ten men after eighty-four minutes as Duffin fouled Smart and was given his second yellow card by the referee, who showed bookings across the two teams for “tetchy” behaviour. But the drama was not finished when Moneyfields levelled in the second minute of added time through Jafer Mahammedkier tapping home a good ball.
A penalty shootout followed the final whistle with both teams missing their first attempt before Jordan Pile’s effort hit the bar; whilst Portchester scored this second. There were a miss from Tom Jeffes as Portchester netted the shots to make it two-one going into their final penalties which were soon netted as the Royals came out on top despite a second miss.
This victory means that Gav Spurway’s team add the competition to their League, Wessex Cup and Russell Cotes Cup successes secured during this season; which marks a huge achievement. These two sides will be playing two matches during this 2025-26 year with fixtures set to be announced this summer which also includes pre-season from early July.
PICTURED BY AFC PORTCHESTER MEDIA: The sides contest in Portsmouth Divisional Senior Cup final on Tuesday.
