Portsmouth 0, Aldershot & Farnham 3

Aldershot and Farnham once again maintained their perfect start to the season with a convincing win against high-flying Portsmouth.

It was a result that made it seven wins out of seven for A&F at the top of Hampshire/Surrey 2 and a five-point lead over Andover.

However, it wasn’t just the result that satisfied player-coach Ian Jennings, it was the manner in which the team did it that pleased him the most.

From the first whistle, Aldershot & Farnham made their intentions clear with decisive attacks coming from a variety of angles, in particular from Scott Perry and Rob Jervis. This was something the coach had specifically asked for in the pre-game meeting.

Portsmouth’s goalkeeper was continually tested and while he was almost single-handedly keeping the scores level, it was only a matter of time before the breakthrough would come.

After a couple of Scott Perry corners were saved, one courtesy of the crossbar, Jennings stepped in to mix things up. His corner was placed down to the goalkeeper’s right to put Aldershot & Farnham 1-0 up.

Any random attacks the opposition had were comfortably dealt with by the defence, with Robbie Edwards and Ewan Hammond having particularly tidy games.

And the second goal was only a matter of time. Sure enough, a lovely sweeping move from defence to attack gave Johnny Groves the ideal opportunity to catch the goalkeeper off guard, after a great pass by Jervis off his reverse stick.

The interval came with the score remaining at 2-0 and the half-time brief was more of the same with even more control.

The team duly obliged and as the game was nearing its inevitable conclusion, two became three. This one was courtesy of another penetrating attack by Perry, duly finished off by Jervis after Buchanan’s shot to the far post led to a simple tap in.

This, in the coach’s opinion, was the team’s best performance. Portsmouth may not have been the best team they have played so far, but this was very much a sixpointer, as are the next three games. And the message is clear – more of the same next week please!

Today, Aldershot & Farnham are at home to fourth-placed Wanderers as they continue their quest for a place in Hampshire/Surrey 1 next season.