Baffins were on ‘a hiding to nothing’
Danny Thompson thought it was ‘strange’ Horndean fielded their youth team against a strong Baffins XI in Wednesday’s Portsmouth Senior Cup semi-final.
The caretaker Rovers boss said it showed ‘a lack of respect’ for his club in what was a big occasion with the potential carrot of a Fratton Park final at stake.
‘I found it a bit strange, but that’s what they (Horndean) wanted to do,’ Thompson said.
‘We certainly wouldn’t have done that at Baffins.
‘You’re asking a bunch of kids to play a team of fully-grown men in a cup semi-final.
‘By all means blood two or three maybe, but you don’t put your under-18s team out.
‘We were on a hiding to nothing. Everyone expected us to win, and if we’d have lost we’d have got hammered.’
Baffins won with a first half brace from ex-Horndean striker Miles Everett and a 71st minute third from sub Rudi Blankson.
It was Blankson’s seventh goal of the season - and all of them have come as a sub. He had previously netted four against Portland and a brace in the Wessex League Cup defeat at Newport IoW.
‘I just asked the team to go out and dictate play, which they did,’ said Thompson.
‘We could have had six or seven - 3-0 flattered them a bit.
‘It was a game we needed, having not played for five weeks.
‘You can run all day on the training ground, but it’s not the same as a competitive 90 minutes.’
Baffins will now face either holders Moneyfields or Fareham Town in the final.
Rovers will be bidding for their third PSC win - having lifted the silverware in 2014 (beating Moneyfields in the final) and again two years later.