WOODEN ON TARGET AS THE BORO HIT BACK
DAN WOODEN struck in the 78th minute of this blockbuster match to give all three points to the Boro.
The game got off to a fierce start and the Welsh side took the lead after 14 minutes.
Noah Smerdon marched through Gosport’s defence, unleashing a shot that forced Toby Steward to push it out into the danger zone. The ball fell to the feet of Tom Handley who struck a thunderbolt into the top corner.
With a minute left of the first half, Frazer Thomas was in the thick of the action once again. Just outside of the Gosport box, Thomas lashed a shot inches wide which should have seen the lead doubled going into the second half.
Like many other performances this season, Gosport tend to be a second half side.
This was shaping up to be the same case as three minutes into the second half Will Fuller had to pull off a wonder save.
Bradley Tarbuck’s deep cross found Rafael Ramos in the centre of the box. The Portuguese fired an effort towards the upper corner with Fuller flying to his right and deflecting it out for a corner.
Although Gosport couldn’t do anything with the corner, in the 58th minute they found their equaliser.
It was a similar scenario to the previous chance, this time Tarbuck’s cross met Ramos at the edge of the box with the striker firing home to get his eighth goal of the season.
Gosport weren’t done yet. With 12 minutes left to play, they secured their second. Ramos placed an inch-perfect pass matching up to the run of prolific striker Wooden. The veteran tapped it home to send the 768 fans in attendance wild.
Merthyr did have some half chances, but unfortunately for the visitors they struggled to string together any serious efforts as it finished 2-1.
Gosport managers Pat Suraci and Joe Lea were delighted with the performance.
“It was a really pleasing performance against a top side. We also want to give a special mention to the fans who were excellent during the game.”
STAR MAN: Rafael Ramos (Gosport) ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★