143 goals in 122 ninth tier games – and now former Portsmouth striker Brett Pitman has a new non-league challenge
Since the start of the 2022-23 season, he has plundered a staggering 143 goals in 122 games in the ninth tier of English football.
Now, after spells with Wessex League quartet AFC Portchester, Shaftesbury, Baffins and Downton, Brett Pitman has a new non-league challenge.
The 38-year-old former Pompey favourite has signed for Midhurst, who last season finished sixth from bottom of the Southern Combination Premier table – the same level of the football pyramid as the Wessex Premier.
Pitman was officially unveiled on social media yesterday, after The News last week published photos of him playing for Midhurst against Fareham in the club’s opening pre-season friendly at Westleigh Park.
Midhurst are managed by former Gosport, Portchester and Moneyfields midfielder Conor Hoare, who took over in late January after leaving Petersfield when they were sitting second in the Wessex Premier.
The parting of the ways came after Hoare was informed by club officials that the Rams could not afford to win promotion.
His Love Lane departure was subsequently followed by most of the Petersfield first-team.
Last month Midhurst delivered a statement of intent by signing defender Charlie Wassmer, who was a regular for Gosport Borough two rungs up the non-league ladder last season.
Now they have trumped that by announcing Pitman, a player boasting 181 goals in 545 EFL games for Bournemouth, Bristol City, Ipswich, Pompey, Swindon and Bristol Rovers.
Pitman struck a stunning 112 goals in his first two seasons in non-league.
Signing for AFC Portchester after his Bristol Rovers release in 2022, he netted 50 goals – of which 44 came in the Wessex Premier.
Switching to Shaftesbury, he set a new all-time Wessex League seasonal scoring record in 2023-24.
Pitman eclipsed Andy Forbes’ 20-year-old record of 54 goals with a brace on the final day of the regular league season, before also netting in the Rockies’ play-off semi-final and final victories.
Including cups, Pitman netted 62 times that season.
In the summer of 2024 he was back on Portsea Island, linking up with Baffins Milton Rovers. But after 18 goals in 20 league and cup outings, he returned to Shaftesbury. In a season where he played for four clubs, there was also a short return to Portchester and a debut hat-trick, after coming on as a sub, for Dorchester Town.
Returning once again to Portchy, Pitman made five appearances in the opening few months of 2025-26 before joining Wessex Premier Downton. Despite not making his debut until November 1, Pitman still ended the campaign with 31 goals in all competitions for the Robins.