Penalty heartbreak for youthful Portsmouth as Romsey Town claim dramatic cup victory

Pompey suffered penalty shoot-out heartbreak as jubilant Romsey Town claimed a Hampshire Senior Cup scalp.

Sam Hudson’s young side and the Wessex League Division One highfliers couldn’t be separated after 90 minutes with the scoreline goalless, thereby sending the second-round tie to spot-kicks.

It provided the dramatic finale a packed Bypass Stadium crowd demanded after a tight 90 minutes containing very few goal-scoring opportunities for either team.

Other than Ashton Sizer’s header hitting the bar on the stroke of half-time and a late scrambled save from keeper Conal McDermott, there was little to separate the sides in terms of chances.

Ultimately, the tie had to be settled on penalties, with Ciaran Martin and substitute Chinedu Agu both missing for Pompey.

It was left to Aaron Scott to win it for Romsey, crashing his spot-kick high into the roof of the net to earn a 7-6 victory for the non-leaguers.

And for Pompey, who were watched by John Mousinho, it represented a second penalty shoot-out elimination in three seasons in the Hampshire Senior Cup, having perished to Folland Sports in September 2024.

The Blues’ side consisted entirely of under-18 players, which included the likes of Fraser Thomas and Michael Ani, who featured in first-team friendlies during the summer.

However, there was no place in the 15-man squad for Brandon Downey, the highly-regarded Irish winger recruited from Crusaders at the end of last week, who is still awaiting his Blues debut.

When the match kicked off, on nine minutes Thomas broke down the middle and combined well with Dane Bailey to receive the ball back inside the box.

However, as he attempted to find a shooting opportunity, Thomas was crowded out by a number of home defenders and the promising move fizzled out.

At the other end, Romsey carved out the game’s first shot on target with a deep free-kick into the Blues’ penalty area found its way to Brandon Hill, whose well-struck snapshot was straight down the throat of McDermott.

On 16 minutes, Jermaine Osifo launched an attack down the left and fed Thomas, whose right-foot shot from outside the box curled narrowly past the wrong side of the post.

Then it took a brilliant finger-tipped save from keeper Miles Bartram to deny another effort from the impressive midfielder, following fine work by Bailey in the build up.

It was an encouraging spell from Pompey and, when Ciaran Martin delivered a dangerous corner from the right, a Romsey player had to hack the ball off his goalline after appearing to have struck his own team-mate.

Thomas became the first player booked during a bizarre incident on 33 minutes when he jumped on the back of Alex Wilson as both pursued the ball, then, from the piggyback position, kicked the nearby goalkeeper with both feet - and connected.

Pompey came agonisingly close to taking the lead on the stroke of half-time when Ani’s excellent cross from the right was headed against the bar by Ashton Sizer.

There were no substitutions at the break and, upon the restart, the sides continued to cancel each other out in a tight game.

Pompey made their first change on 61 minutes, with Jermaine Osifo replaced by Nathaniel Chioma, with Max Hammond swapping from the right to the left wing.

Moments later, Romsey’s Hill found himself clean through with just McDermott to beat and a golden chance to break the deadlock, yet lifted his shot over the bar.

On 77 minutes, McDermott did superbly diving to his left to keep out a deflected shot, before scrambling across his goal to safely gather.

With the match ticking down towards penalties, McDermott again came to the rescue when he rushed off his line to block Harry Prisk’s attempt, although the Romsey man was ruled offside anyway.

With the game finishing goalless, a penalty shoot-out ensued, with Reggie Buckland, Nathaniel Chioma, Michael Ani, Beau Mullins, Dane Bailey and Dexter Lee all netting.

However, Martin’s effort was saved, while Agu sent the penultimate penalty of the game wide, allowing Scott to settle matters and send the home crowd wild.

Pompey: McDermott, Ani, Sizer, Wilson, Mullins, Buckland, Martin, Hammond, (89 mins Lee), Thomas (75 mins Agu), Osifo (61 mins Chioma), Bailey.

Subs Not Used: Glover, Pfupa.

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