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

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.

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.

“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.

“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.”