Fleetlands continue stunning home Wessex League winning run

Goals from top scorer Jamie Wrapson and former Moneyfields striker George Gregory saw the Coptermen come from behind last night to beat Andover Town 2-1 at Powder Monkey Park.

Fleetlands suffered a 1-0 defeat to Totton & Eling in their first Division 1 home game last August, following on from their summer promotion from the Hampshire Premier League.

But since then they haven’t dropped a point, recording 10 successive home league wins in a row.

Now up to seventh, Fleetlands are 14 points adrift of the play-off zone - but do have four games in hand on fifth-placed Downton and eight of their last 13 league matches are at home.

Director of Football Dean Inman told The News: ‘It’s something to aim for.

‘But if we don’t make the play-offs, we just want to finish as high as we can.’

Fleetlands’ introduction to Wessex life was torrid - they lost their opening four league matches of 2022/23, conceding four goals in three of them.

But boss Dan Greenwood has now overseen 14 league wins in 21 fixtures, a superb effort for a newly-promoted side.

Fleetlands are also through to the semi-finals of the Portsmouth Senior Cup. There they will face one of three Wessex Premier clubs - AFC Portchester, Horndean or Fareham Town.

Inman knows who he wants to play in the last four. ‘We’d love a home game, we’d get a decent crowd whoever we play. Nothing against Horndean or Portchester, but it would be great to play Fareham, they’re only a few minutes away. But whoever we get we’ll enjoy it.’

The Coptermen squad is the classic mix of experienced heads and younger faces.

The likes of ex-Baffins pair Callum Dart and Dale Mason, as well as Gregory, have extensive Wessex Premier experience.

They have been complemented by new signings such as goalkeeper Ollie Carroll and defender Jack Farrier, both from Chichester City, and young midfielder Zac Brownlie, who has played first team football for both Horndean and Baffins.

Fleetlands will soon be erecting a 50-seat grandstand, having recently played a home game under floodlights for the first time.

‘These are exciting times,’ said Inman. ‘The committee wants to keep moving the club forward. We want to get into the Wessex Prem, we don’t just want to stop at Wessex 1.

‘It would be great to have another Portsmouth area club in the Wessex Prem.’

Among the spectators at Fleetlands last night was the club’s former manager Danny Thompson – his Baffins side take on Andover Town in the semi-finals of the Wessex League Cup later this month.