Matt Paterson double sees Gosport Borough bypass Melksham in FA Trophy

Matt Paterson opened the scoring for Gosport Borough  Picture: Chris MoorhouseMatt Paterson opened the scoring for Gosport Borough  Picture: Chris Moorhouse
Matt Paterson opened the scoring for Gosport Borough Picture: Chris Moorhouse | JPIMedia
Gosport Borough booked their place in the next round of the FA Trophy with a 4-2 win against Melksham Town.

Borough got off to the best possible start by taking the lead through Matt Paterson.

Rory Williams’ superb run saw him then pick out the striker and, after taking a touch, Paterson made no mistake by firing home.

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Melksham nearly found themselves 2-0 down 13 minutes later when good play between Chris Flood and Paterson nearly resulted in an own goal.

Yet on 19 minutes the away side nearly drew level, denied only when Patrick O'Flaherty did well to keep Daniel Ojo’s effort out.

Play was stopped on 35 minutes as a visiting player received treatment for a head injury.

When the game resumed, the hosts doubled their lead just before the interval.

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The ball was played through to Theo Lewis, and he composed himself before coolly slotting the ball beyond the reach of the visiting keeper.

Lewis missed a golden opportunity to stretch Borough’s lead immediately after the restart.

And the hosts paid then price when Luke Ballinger halved the deficit with a goal on 51 minutes.

Flood restored Gosport’s two-goal advantage two minutes later, after his effort was adjudged to have crossed the line by the referee’s assistant.

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But once again Melksham hit back, with Josh Ford netting just before the hour mark to make it 3-2.

There was plenty of time for more drama – but it didn’t arrival until the 87th minute.

With a place in the next round in their sights, Paterson booked Borough’s progress by finishing off a fine move involving Pat Suraci and Flood.

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