‘There was a lack of naivety’ – Gosport Borough’s nightmare Southern League run goes on with injury-time loss to Chesham

Shaquille Hippolyte sealed all three points for the third-placed visitors as Boro suffered a fifth successive league defeat.

They have now lost eight of their last nine Southern League fixtures, picking up a solitary point - and that was from an 89th minute leveller against Dorchester.

Boro have won only one of their last 12 league matches, against rock bottom North Leigh, and have now slipped into the bottom four.

‘As someone said, it never rains but it pours,’ lamented caretaker Boro boss Ben Kneller after his side conceded the winner just minutes after sub Kyal Williams’ leveller.

Indicative of Boro’s recent luck, Kneller was without regular keeper Pat O’Flaherty after it was found he had suffered broken ribs in a collision during the previous week’s 4-0 home caning by Bracknell.

In came Callum Smart for his debut, in a game where Kneller had to make three enforced changes.

Right-back Harry Kavanagh rolled his ankle in the first half and had to be replaced by Abdulai Baggie, with Brad Tarbuck moving to right-back.

Billie Busari, who hadn’t trained last week, came off at the interval and Rory Williams could only last an hour due to quad and shin issues.

There were three Boro debutants, with Smart joined by new signings Harry Medway and Brett Williams, who started at centre half and up front respectively.

All the scoring was condensed into the final half four with Williams giving Boro a lead which lasted barely a minute.

Tobias Braney put Chesham ahead on 81 minutes, but Boro replied through Williams. Hippolyte, though, had the final say.

‘The lads gave everything, they really did,’ said Kneller. ‘But again we leave with nothing.

‘They say you are at your most vulnerable when you’ve just scored, and that was us.

‘We switched off, there was a lack of naivety. Bracknell lost five of our balls last week and if we had done the same after our goals we might be having a very different conversation.’

Kneller could look to make a new defensive signing this coming week with Matt Briggs potentially out for a month with tendonitis.

Midfielder Andreas Robinson, one of the club’s big summer signings, is also likely to remain sidelined for a few more weeks.

Next up for Gosport in the league is a huge trip to Yate Town, one of the three clubs below them in the table, next weekend.

Prior to that, they try for a third time to host Hampshire Premier League outfit Locks Heath in the Portsmouth Senior Cup on Wednesday.