Former Portsmouth pair Pitman and Brook at the double as AFC Portchester extend winning Wessex League start to nine matches

Brett Pitman took his seasonal league and cup tally to 14 as the Royals recovered from conceding an early penalty to beat Hythe & Dibden 4-2 - their ninth successive league win.

Young Harrison Brook - who made one sub appearance for Pompey in the EFL Trophy - also netted twice as Portchester stayed three points ahead of Bemerton at the top of the Premier Division table.

Dave Carter’s side are now one of just five clubs in the top 10 tiers of English football - a total of 52 divisions in all - still boasting an unblemished league record in 2022/23.

The others are Lowestoft (Isthmian League North, eighth tier), Erith & Belvedere (Southern Counties East, ninth tier), Pilkington (North West Counties League Division 1 North, 10th tier) and Real Bedford (Spartans South Midlands League Division 1, 10th tier).

Hythe had led after Elliott Wheeler had conceded a penalty, but Portchester were ahead at half-time when Brook converted an Ashton Leigh cross and Pitman got on the end of a corner.

Hythe levelled immediately after the restart but Pitman restored the Royals lead and Brook completed the latest triumph - Portchester’s 10th straight win in all competitions.

The club are now just two away from equalling their all-time Wessex winning record of 11 matches, established in the second tier in 2011/12.

Carter said the euphoria of the previous Tuesday’s injury-time winner against Bemerton - enabling the Royals to leapfrog Harlequins into top spot - had a knock-on effect.

‘It was comfortable in the end,’ he remarked. ‘It was ok, we’d had a massive game (against Bemerton) and we were a bit hungover, a bit lacklustre.

‘Hythe are a good passing side, but we dominated the second half, got the job done, got the three points.’

Brook is no doubt enjoying learning off Pitman, with all his years of Championship and EFL experience, but Carter says their strike partnership works both ways.

‘It’s good for Brett as well - Harrison is full of running, full of energy, and he’s getting better and more confident every game.’

Carter is delighted that Portchester are one of only five clubs in the top 10 tiers still yet to drop a point.

Yet he knows there can be no letting up. ‘It’s good (the 100 per cent record), but we’ve got to maintain it - Bemerton and Horndean both won 8-0 at the weekend.

‘It’s never easy, but we have to try and maintain our winning ways.’

Midfielder James Cowan faces another fortnight out due to a cracked rib. That means he will miss Wednesday’s Wessex League Cup tie against Baffins, the club he skippered last season.’

Pitman, meanwhile, has been overtaken at the top of the Wessex League Premier goalscoring charts despite his double against Hythe.

That’s because AFC Stoneham striker Duarte Martins struck his second league hat-trick in eight days in a 4-0 win against Blackfield.

Martins had previously hit three in a 4-1 win at US Portsmouth, and now has 10 goals in his last five league and cup outings.

In all, he has 15 goals in 2022/23 - one more than Pitman has managed since his high-profile arrival in the ninth tier of English football.