Horndean bid for a double in front of bumper cup final crowd
Horndean aim to complete a league and cup double in front of a record Portsmouth Senior Cup final crowd at Fratton Park.
Remarkably, over 2,000 tickets have been sold for the showpiece occasion tonight which pits the Deans against their Wessex League Premier rivals Fareham Town.
Horndean are bidding to add the silverware they last won in 2011 to the Wessex League trophy they lifted last month for the first time in their history.
As for Fareham, they are looking to win the club’s first silverware for 30 years - since lifting the Hampshire Senior Cup, during their Southern League days, at The Dell in 1993.
Deans boss Michael Birmingham will field the same squad that defeated AFC Portchester 2-0 in the semifinal on May 2.
The likes of Liam Kimber, Ethan Gee, James Crane and goalkeeper Ellis Grant - all of whom have made single figure starts for the club in 2022/23 - all started against the Royals.
The entire Horndean squad return to England last night, having enjoyed a celebratory few days holiday in Benidorm.
Birmingham will take a back seat at Fratton Park, with two of his backroom staff - Ollie Bennett and Darren Robson - taking the team, as they did in the semi.
‘That’s my little way of saying ‘thank you’, said Birmingham, who along with assistant Jason Mann will still be in the dugout.
Horndean finished the Wessex League as the leading scorers across the 16 step 5 divisions, with 126 goals.
They also boasted the third best defensive record, only conceding 21 goals. In only four games did they concede more than one goal.
Ironically, cup final opponents Fareham were the only team to score more than three goals in a league game against the Deans - during a 4-3 win at Cams Alders in January.
Horndean have beaten US Portsmouth Reserves (8-0), Moneyfields (2-1) and Portchester to reach the final.
Fareham defeated US Portsmouth (3-1) and Baffins reserves (2-0) before two penalty shoot-out wins after goalless draws - at home to holders Gosport Borough and lower division Fleetlands.
Birmingham added: ‘It’s a nice added bonus - we’ve done what we set out to do which was to win the Wessex.
‘What an unbelievable achievement. Fair play to Bemerton, Stoneham and Portchy, going into the last games any of four teams could have won it. We won it by three points, four if you include a better goal difference - that’s phenomenal.’
Regarding the cup final, he added: ‘Fareham are a very good side with a great fanbase, and rightly so – they’re a massive club at this level. Let’s hope they can find a good buyer and the sleeping giant awakes.’
The Creeksiders were recently put up for sale by owners the Ralls Group, who have been in charge since spring 2001.
*Horndean have been placed in the Isthmian League South East division for 2023/24. That will see them make trips across the border into Sussex to face Chichester City, Lancing, Three Bridges, Littlehampton and Broadbridge Heath.