Moneyfields midfielder James Franklyn reaches Wessex League goals milestone in first season in the Premier League

The attacking midfielder had been US Portsmouth’s leading marksman in each of the previous two pandemic-hit campaigns.

He has taken that form into a higher level and has become the 10th Wessex League Premier player this season to net 20 times. He is the first one, though, that doesn’t operate as a striker. He also doesn’t take penalties.

Franklyn’s 19th and 20th goals came during Moneys’ 5-1 home victory over a Christchurch side who had only lost one of their previous eight league matches. During that run, they had drawn with Horndean and Baffins and beaten Brockenhurst.

Moneys, in contrast, entered the game on the back of a wretched 2-0 midweek home defeat to Hamble Club.

The hosts four made changes, with the injured Jordan Pile absent and Evan Harris, Elliott Turnbull and Adam Cripps dropping to the bench. In came Danny Burroughs - his first league start of the season - Tyler Moret, Josh Hazell and Rob Evans.

It was Hazell, coming in at left wing-back, who opened the scoring early on. Then Moret, making only his second league start of the season after netting a hat-trick for the reserves the previous weekend, set up Tom Cain to head in a second.

Franklyn then took centre stage before Harris came off the bench to fire in a low cross that the Priory keeper helped into the net.

With boss Glenn Turnbull once again self-isolating, assistant manager Fraser Quirke oversaw the victory.

‘It was a great performance, the polar opposite of the Hamble display,’ he remarked.

‘It was certainly a step in the right direction, for sure.

‘We talked beforehand - it wasn’t an angry discussion - of needing to get the basics right. If we could deliver that to a good level everything would flow from that.

‘Everybody raised their games, everybody delivered a strong performance.’

Glenn Turnbull is hoping to be back for Tuesday’s short trip to former club US Portsmouth.