‘An outstanding achievement’ – Fareham boss Simon Woods hails Wessex League play-off final glory

Picture by Ken WalkerPicture by Ken Walker
Picture by Ken Walker
Simon Woods hailed an “outstanding achievement” as Fareham Town celebrated their first promotion since the late 1970s.

Back in 1978-79, the Creeksiders finished runners-up to Hampshire League champions Newport IoW in a table which contained the likes of Gosport Borough Reserves, Waterlooville Reserves, Portsmouth Royal Navy, Moneyfield Sports and Havant Town.

Now Woods’ youthful squad have written a glorious new chapter in the club’s history, after winning the Wessex League Premier play-off final by beating Andover New Street in front of a four-figure Cams Alders crowd.

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For Woods, it was his first Wessex promotion since finishing as top scorer when Portchester won promotion from Division 1 in 2012 - and in his debut season as first-team boss after stepping up from the club’s under-23s.

Picture by Ken WalkerPicture by Ken Walker
Picture by Ken Walker

“There’s been a lot of nerves, a lot of anxiety, a lot of excitement,” he said of the build-up to Saturday’s final.

“The lads were outstanding today. There was a lot of pressure on them, a big crowd here. They were fantastic and deserved to win.

“It’s been a whirlwind since Tuesday. Lots of emotions, feelings I haven’t had for a while - probably since I got promoted with Portchester.

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“The crowd was excellent. We had great support from other clubs - a lot of Portchester were here today rooting for us. I think (Portchy chairman) Paul Kelly was in tears to be honest at the end.”

Woods added: “We have got such a young team, so many of these lads have come up through the under-23s.

“This has been a couple of years in the making and even people before me deserve some credit.

“The whole backroom team have been great - I was told (coach) Paul Barton would be my best signing - the committee have been really supportive and the team … honestly, I can’t praise them enough.

“It’s been an outstanding achievement. I’d be surprised if there’s many younger teams than us that have got out of this league.”

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