Wessex League leaders AFC Portchester set for defensive changes due to suspensions

That’s because Sam Pearce and Connor Bailey are both suspended after their red cards in last weekend’s abandoned game against Hamble.

Though the result does not stand due to the floodlight failure - Hamble were winning 2-0 at the time when the lights failed around the 70-minute mark - the dismissals certainly do.

Because it was Pearce’s second red card of the season, having previously been dismissed against Baffins in the Wessex League Cup, he now starts a four-match suspension. Bailey, though, will miss just the Christchurch fixture.

Boss Dave Carter is also due to assess some injuries at training tonight in the wake of Tuesday’s 3-0 Wessex win at Cowes Sports.

George Barker, James Cowan and Harrison Brook were all taken off injured on a night where the Royals stretched their Premier Division lead to 11 points.

Barker was subbed off at half-time as a precaution, after reporting a tight hamstring, while Cowan suffered a recurrence of a rib injury shortly after the restart. Brook was taken off late on with a hamstring injury.

Elsewhere, Marley Ridge completed the fixture despite a swollen ankle.

Depending on the severity, or otherwise, of those injuries, he could decide to either recall some players out on loan or attempt to bring in new signings.

Portchester led on Tuesday at half-time through a Ridge goal, yet had to play the end of the first half and the beginning of the second a man down due to Pearce being sent to the sin bin.

Midfielder Jake Raine was also withdrawn at the interval, having already been booked.

Cowes were reduced to 10 men around the hour mark when Eli Ahmed was sent off, with home boss Max Draper booked for protesting. And the Yachtsmen played with nine for 10 minutes when John McKie was sin binned.

Cowes were back to 10 men, though, when Scott Jones doubled the lead with an acrobatic scissors kick from Liam Robinson’s cross.

Ashton Leigh, on as a sub for Brook and pushed up front, completed unbeaten Portchester’s 19th win in 21 league games in stoppage time.

Leigh, in his first game back following a dislocated knee, therefore had the honour of scoring the Royals’ 100th competitive goal of the 202223 season - 75 of which have come in league action, more than any club in the top 10 tiers of English football (five more than Wrexham, who have played six more games).

Carter hailed the century of goals as ‘fantastic’ but was just as pleased with a clean sheet - only the Royals’ seventh shut-out in 21 games this term.

‘A clean sheet was important,’ he claimed. ‘We’ve conceded too many goals this season. Yeah, we’re scoring lots but we can’t be winning 4-2 or 3-2 all the time.’

Carter described the trip to the midweek Isle of Wight as a ‘potential banana skin’ - and for good reason.

On November 6 2021 he saw Portchester suffer a surprise 2-1 Wessex loss at Cowes, a result that left the Royals with 19 points from their opening 15 league games.

Since that day, Portchester have only suffered four Premier losses in 44 matches - to Bashley (twice), Moneyfields and Hamworthy.