‘We got away with one’ – Baffins Milton Rovers boss Thompson on late, late Wessex League derby victory against US Portsmouth

Brad Lethbridge, seen here in action for Pompey, scored on his Baffins debut against US Portsmouth. Picture: Graham Hunt.

Rovers struck twice late on to record a 2-1 victory over their Portsea Island neighbours in the Wessex League Premier Division.

USP had looked on course for victory at The PMC Stadium thanks to an early goal from Cameron Quirke.

But former Pompey striker Brad Lethbridge, on his Baffins debut, levelled in the 86th minute.

And Kelvin Robinson completed the late recovery with a winner in the third minute of stoppage time.

‘We made hard work of it,’ Thompson told The News. ‘If I’m being honest, we didn’t deserve to win that game at all.

‘US made it hard for us, they did the ugly side of things well and we didn’t. They didn’t let us get into our rhythm.

‘They didn’t really create much after their goal, but then neither did we. It was a very flat performance. We got away with one, we didn’t deserve the three points at all.

‘In all my time as a manager, I’ve never chopped and changed formation as much as I did in the second half.

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‘We went three at the back, we made five subs - I could have made five subs at half-time, the lads knew I wasn’t happy.’

The equaliser came when Lethbridge, dual signed from Bognor Regis Town, collected a ball from Josh Rose out wide, cut inside and produced a ‘great finish.’

Robinson then scored his second goal in four games, having grabbed Rovers’ consolation in a 2-1 loss at Hythe & Dibden last weekend.

Thompson handed former AFC Bournemouth academy midfielder Tom Dinsmore as a second half sub. But, after completing 60 minutes for the reserves last weekend, he suffered a recurrence of a knee injury and had to go off.

That has ruled him out of contention for this Saturday’s home game against rock bottom Alresford.

Jason Parish serves the final game of a three-match ban, awarded following a red card against Bemerton.

Alresford have suffered 18 successive league defeats since lifting the curtain on 2022/23 by winning at Shaftesbury.

But, following the introduction of new players, they have shown improvement in recent weeks.

Moneyfields scored three times in the final 14 minutes to beat them at Westleigh Park, while they only lost at Blackfield & Langley last weekend to a stoppage time winner.

‘They’re scrapping for their lives,’ said Thompson. ‘It will be just as tough a game as Wednesday.’