Lot more at stake than just ‘El Creekio’ bragging rights when Fareham Town and AFC Portchester clash in huge Wessex League Cup tie

Fareham (red) v Portchester in front of a bumper crowd of 621 in January this year. Another large attendance is expected on Tuesday for the Wessex League Cup semi-final between the 'El Creekio' rivals. Picture: Martin Denyer.

The pair go head-to-head in front of what should be another bumper derby crowd at Cams Alders on Tuesday (7.45pm) in the semi-final of the Wessex League Cup.

No extra motivation is surely needed on such a big occasion, but Portchester know the final - against Shaftesbury - is being played at their home On-Site Group Stadium ground.

Fareham are searching for their first ‘El Creekio’ success of the season. An injury time leveller gave them an early-season Wessex Premier point at Portchy before the Royals came from 0-2 down to win 3-2 in early January.

That latter fixture attracted a remarkable crowd of 621, the biggest Wessex League attendance since 2015/16 and Fareham’s largest home crowd since 1988.

Portchester also triumphed 2-0 in a Hampshire Senior Cup tie before Christmas, thanks to two goals from 37-goal top scorer Lee Wort.

The Royals have had an extra day’s rest, having drawn 1-1 with Moneyfields last Friday - the day before Fareham’s 2-1 loss at Brockenhurst.

‘We looked a bit leggy (against Moneyfields),’ said Royals boss Dave Carter. ‘That was our fourth game in 10 days.

‘We didn’t play well in the first half, we didn’t pass the ball well. They had a rollicking at half-time.

‘Overall, I didn’t think we did enough to win. Hopefully the extra day’s rest has done the players the world of good.’

Portchester are aiming to win the Wessex League Cup for the third time in seven seasons, after lifting the silverware in 2014/15 and 2017/18. A third win would put them level with AFC Totton as the competition’s second most successful side (Thatcham Town won it four times between 1991-1997).

Fareham, in contrast, have never reached the final since entering the Wessex League in the late 1990s.

Reds boss Pete Stiles said: ‘We’re expecting a big gate. I feel sorry for our supporters, they back us in big numbers but we haven’t given them much to cheer about recently. It would be nice to get to the final for them.

‘It doesn’t matter that the semi is against Portchester, it would just be nice to get to a semi-final after losing one (to Moneyfields in the Portsmouth Senior Cup) last year.’

Stiles will need to make at least one change as keeper Tom Price is cup tied. Kieran Clark, who replaced defender Archie Wilcox at Brockenhurst after he went off with a shoulder injury, is also ineligible for the same reason.

Carter welcomes Steve Ramsey back into the squad after holiday commitments, but striker Rafa Ramos is cup tied.

Tuesday’s game is the biggest cup tie between the two local rivals since the 2014 Russell Cotes Cup final.

On that occasion, the Royals triumphed 2-0 in a game marred by three red cards - for Portchester pair Joe Noakes and Joe Bye and Fareham’s Robbie Pitman.

Fareham, meanwhile, will be hoping league form goes out of the window: they have only picked up one point from their last seven league games, while Portchester have only lost two of their last 17, winning 10.

Fareham have also lost eight of their last 10 home league games, winning just once.