Gosport suffer Hampshire derby defeat in Glenn Howes’ first game

Credit: Elliot Norton

Gosport remain 10th in the league after suffering their first loss in the league since late August, and their first under new manager Glenn Howes.

The defeat brings to end an unbeaten league run of five games.

The first two goals couldn’t have been more different.

Basignstoke took the lead just after 20 minutes, after a parried shot from Ben Cook was fired in by Chieck Sylla, only for Benny Read to fire level just seven minutes later with a beauty of a strike that soared into the top left corner.

Basingstoke restored their lead after Gosport failed to clear the ball properly, a flick over the top left Captain Billy Upton in acres of space, flicking the ball past Ryan Hall, the ball bouncing slowly into the back of the net just before half-time.

The goal meant that Glenn Howes would need to fight back again if they wanted to keep their unbeaten run going under the new manager, following Howes’ appointment as sole head coach on Thursday after the departure of joint head coach Danny Hollands on Wednesday.

Howes made only one change to the line-up that was victorious over Hungerford last week, as Michael Fernandes replaced the former Winchester City player Trevor Caborn.

The second half was action-packed as Gosport fought back from a goal down to lead 3-2 after a brilliant team goal was finished with a tap-in from Ethan Taylor, assisted by Rafa Ramos.

The pair linked up again 19 minutes later, with Taylor feeding Ramos through on goal, with the forward firing the ball into the bottom left corner.

Their lead lasted just six minutes as Basignstoke’s James Dickson chipped his free kick into the Gosport net, with the Gosport players seemingly lost to how it happened. The goal saw Basignstoke level with less than ten minutes of regular time left to play.

Gosport tried to restore the lead they once held, but ultimately ended up gifting the win to Basignstoke as Goalkeeper Ryan Hall’s mistake put the ball on a plate for Sylla to score his second of the game and Basignstoke’s fourth.

Full time and a 4-3 defeat for Howes’ men after what could’ve easily been a 3-2 win, with mistakes in the end proving costly as Gosport miss out on an opportunity to close the gap to the playoff places.

While the victory for Basingstoke sees them move clear of the drop zone and into 12th, just two points behind their Hampshire rivals.

Gosport head coach Glenn Howes told WINOL:

“When you concede four goals in the manner we did at home, it’s not great, and we understand that.”