Former Hawks double promotion winner Mike Carter relishing Westleigh Park return in Hampshire FA Cup derby

The midfielder was part of Lee Bradbury’s Hawks side that clinched the Isthmian League (2016/17) and Conference South (2017/18) titles in successive seasons.

After a second spell at Gosport Borough, Carter joined AFC Totton in the summer in search of a ‘new challenge.’

He probably didn’t expect to be making a first return to Westleigh Park since he left over three years ago.

But the FA Cup draw has given the Stags an attractive Hampshire derby at two tiers higher Hawks this weekend.

Carter knows it will be a far tougher test than Totton’s 9-2 first qualifying round romp at Wincanton Town.

‘We played the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, and now we’ve got probably the hardest draw we could have been given,’ Carter told The News. ‘We’ve had it both ways.’

Carter joined Hawks in January 2017, one of a handful of players to quit Gosport due to the club’s financial problems at the time.

He made 14 appearances in that season’s Isthmian League title triumph, and another 34 the following term as Hawks - armed with momentum and a ‘winning mentality’ - booked their place at the top table of non-league football.

Carter’s debut National League campaign, though, was hit hard by an injury which saw him sidelined from early September to March. In all, he made just 14 fifth tier appearances.

‘I think they were favourites to win that (Isthmian) league,’ he recalled. ‘A lot of the players had played in the league above, it was a good place to come into.

‘I don’t think we were surprised (to go up again), we knew we were a good side. We had a perfect balance - you had players like Brian Stock who had played much higher, you had youngsters like Alfie Rutherford, and then you had a lot of us in the middle of our careers.’

Sadly, Hawks’ maiden season in the National League culminated in relegation with Carter having to watch a large chunk from the sidelines.

‘It was a tough learning curve,’ he said. ‘We were a part-time team in what was virtually professional football. We were up against it from the start.’

Carter left Westleigh Park at the end of the 2018/19 season when Paul Doswell was appointed manager.

Due to the extra training sessions that were being introduced, he decided it wouldn’t have made financial sense for him to give up his day job.

Along with his Hawks colleagues Rory Williams and Matt Paterson, Carter signed for Gosport, then under the new management of another ex-Westleigh colleague in Lee Molyneaux.

He could have remained at Privett Park for the 2022/23 campaign, but decided to take a step down into the Southern League Division 1 South.

‘I felt it was time for a change, to be honest,’ he stated. ‘I enjoyed my time at Gosport but it was time for a bit of a new challenge.

‘I could have stayed at Gosport, but sometimes you need a change, something to take you out of your comfort zone.’

Carter has started both of Totton’s FA Cup ties on the bench, but he was captain when they defeated Slimbridge on penalties in midweek in an FA Trophy tie originally due to be played last weekend.

An FA Vase Wembley winner with Sholing in 2014, Carter also has a great FA Cup memory - playing for Gosport against Colchester United in the first round proper in 2014/15.

He was among the scorers when Boro beat Willand 3-1 in Devon in the fourth qualifying round.

What chance does he have of creating another superb cup memory this weekend?

‘We played Havant in pre-season and it was a bit of a wake-up call,’ Carter recalled of a 5-1 friendly thrashing at the Snows Stadium.

‘We will have to be at our very best and they will need to have an off-day, but you never know with cup football.

‘We’ll just have to give it our best and hope it’s enough.’