Huge tie with Portsmouth, AFC Bournemouth or Eastleigh could be possible reward for AFC Portchester's progression to Hampshire Senior Cup quarter-finals

Lee Wort's double either side of the break ensured the Royals ran out 2-0 winners in the 'El Creekio' derby third round tie with Wessex League Premier Division rivals Fareham Town.

Both sets of players and coaching staff were made to wait, with kick-off pushed back until 8.30pm, while electrical issues were resolved at The OnSite Group Stadium.

Portchester adapted better under difficult circumstances and have joined National League big-hitters Eastleigh, along with Southern League side AFC Totton and Lymington, in the last-eight phase so far.

Meanwhile, Pompey have a third round tie against Wessex Premier AFC Stoneham still outstanding while AFC Bournemouth under-23s face a trip to Farnborough at the same stage early next year.

Carter took former club Moneyfields to the Hampshire Senior Cup semi-finals last season, where they suffered a 3-2 defeat to the Cherries under-23s side at Dover Road in October 2020.

And the Royals boss would love for his players to be rewarded with a possible huge meeting with League One Pompey, Bournemouth or Eastleigh after making it into the last-eight.

Carter said: ‘The potential is there (for a big tie). I got to the quarter-finals last year with Moneyfields and we got beat by AFC Bournemouth under-23s – only 3-2 in the end – the competition has got some big clubs in it.

‘It’s pleasing to get through, it was another clean sheet - we’ve conceded once in four games now - which was important after conceding a few sloppy goals in a few games before then.

‘We’re starting to find a little bit of form and we need to continue that into the league now.’

But the Hampshire Senior Cup will now go on the backburner for a while for Portchester as they prepare to return to Wessex Premier action on Saturday.

The Royals welcome bottom-side Hythe & Dibden, with just one league win in 24 games, to The OnSite Group Stadium next.

However, Carter says his side cannot take anything for granted against Hythe - particularly after they thumped Amesbury 8-0 just a couple of weeks back.

The Royals boss added: ‘They’re in indifferent form, they’ve had a bit of a shake-up over there recently, they’re still sat bottom of the league but we won’t take that for granted.

‘We’re not expecting everything our own way, we need to keep our standards as high as they are at the moment, we need to make sure we get maximum points out of the game, really.’

Winger George Barker remains sidelined with an ankle injury while Portchester will be without suspended captain Steve Ramsey against Hythe.