Putting AFC Portchester’s record Wessex League attendance against Fareham Town in context

Indeed, it’s a crowd figure that many League One and League Two clubs struggled to get anywhere near when hosting EFL Trophy ties this season.

An attendance branded ‘phenomenal’ by the chairman of the club who welcomed breaking numbers on Bank Holiday Monday.

That was the word used by AFC Portchester’s Paul Kelly after a stunning 1,598 turned up to watch the Wessex League Premier derby with Fareham Town at the On-Site Group Stadium.

Not bad, for the ninth tier of English football. And in a division where the overall average, just a few weeks ago, was under 130.

Monday’s crowd is believed to be the highest for a league game across the 16 step 5 divisions in 2022/23.

And a quick glance at higher non-league football shows puts Portchester’s new record in some kind of context.

Thirteen National League clubs - the top tier of English non-league football - have recorded lower crowds than Portchy v Fareham this season.

They include former EFL clubs Aldershot, Barnet, Dagenham & Redbridge, Torquay and Gateshead.

Meanwhile, there have only been 17 higher gates in the National League South - three tiers higher than the Wessex Premier - all season.

Only Dulwich (seven times), Dartford (three), Ebbsfleet (three), St Albans (twice), Bath (once) and Worthing (once) have attracted a bigger crowd.

That means 19 of the NLS clubs have not welcomed a crowd bigger than saw the latest instalment of ‘El Creekio’.

Among them Havant & Waterlooville, whose seasonal best is the 1,251 that saw them lose to fellow title challengers Ebbsfleet in November.

Twenty two of the 24 National League North clubs this season have been watched by smaller home crowds than the new Wessex record.

The only exceptions are Kidderminster Harriers - who attracted a NLS seasonal best 3,421 for the derby with Hereford on New Year’s Day - and Chester.

Portchy v Fareham was watched by a bigger crowd than any Southern League Premier South fixture in 2022/23.

The highest is the 1,385 Boxing Day derby between Plymouth Parkway and tenants Truro, while the only other four-figure gate was the 1,234 who saw leaders Weston-super-Mare beat Parkway on Monday.

Gosport Borough’s seasonal best is the 864 who watched them draw with Winchester City on Monday.

Portchy v Fareham also eclipsed the highest crowd recorded in the Southern League Central this term - the 1,424 that saw Nuneaton Borough host leaders Tamworth.

Only two higher attendances have been recorded in the Isthmian League Premier, the same step 3 level as the Southern League Premier South.

They were the crowds that watched the two Sussex derbies between Hastings United and Lewes - 1,677 at Hastings on Boxing Day and 1,639 at Lewes in August.

Lewes staged another Sussex derby on Monday, against Bognor, but that crowd - 1,295 - fell well short of the one at Portchester.

In contrast, the third step 3 league in England - the Northern Premier League - has seen eight crowds of over 2,000, with leaders South Shields attracting six of them.

The season’s highest was recorded on Boxing Day when Shields - managed by ex-England striker Kevin Phillips - welcomed 2,356 for a game against Whitby Town.

It is also worth comparing the new Wessex crowd to the attendances Portchy v Fareham attracted less than a decade ago.

Their first ever league meeting in Cranleigh Road, in February 2013, was watched by just 143.

The following season, 171 saw Portchy thrash the Reds 5-0 two days after Christmas.

No-one could have imagined that one day the fixture would welcome just shy of 1,600!