Franklyn’s gr-eight start to the new season
James Franklyn continued his great goalscoring record as US Portsmouth recovered from a shocking start to shatter Follands’ 100 per cent Wessex League Division 1 run.
The attacking midfielder netted twice as US recovered from 0-2 down to win 4-2 at the Victory Stadium.
Franklyne, below, has scored in each of his six league and cup games in 2020/21 and is joint top of the entire Wessex League goal charts, alongside Bashley’s Harry Morgan, with eight.
Folland arrived in Portsmouth having won their first four league games, and stormed into a 2-0 lead inside the opening 14 minutes through James Thomson and Matt Casey.
But Franklyn’s brace levelled the scores before half-time, with Tom Cain heading in a Josh Hazell cross from a short corner move to put the hosts in front.
Sub George Root leapt off the bench to complete US’ victory direct from a free-kick.
It was exactly the result boss Glenn Turnbull required after an injury-time defeat at Alton in midweek.
‘It was important we got three points,’ he stated. ‘We needed to make a bit of a statement, and in the end we did that.
‘It could have been 4-4 after 20 minutes - Pricey (Tom Price) made two outstanding saves one on one and we missed a load of chances.
‘Sweeney (Andrew Todd) missed an open goal and Franko (Franlyn) could have had six or seven.
‘They were so open at the back. I said at half-time if we can stop them scoring again there’s only one team that’s going to win.’
Hopes of giving defenders Harry Birmingham and Elliott Turnbull minutes for the reserves at the weekend was dashed by a postponement.
Both will travel to Fareham for a reserve game on Wednesday, though, along with Jack Chandler, Sonny Harntt-Balkwill, Brodie Spencer, Jay Ripiner and Root.
All will be desperate to impress ahead of next weekend’s big FA Vase clash at AFC Portchester.
USP’s youth team are home tomorrow to Weymouth in the second qualifying round of the FA Youth Cup. Though US trounced Fareham 9-0 on the 3G surface at HMS Temeraire in the previous round, this tie will be played on the main Victory Stadium pitch.
Zak Willett belted his second hat-trick of the Hampshire Premier League season as Paulsgrove narrowed the gap on Senior Division table-toppers Infinity.
The pacy striker struck four times as Grove thrashed Liphook 7-2 at Marsden Road.
Wayne Grant’s men are now two points adrift of Infinity, who drew 0-0 at Locks Heath, with two games in hand. Infinity’s draw, though, means they have established a new HPL record of 32 league games without defeat.
HPL round-up in tomorrow’s edition of The News.