Braishfield FC 1 - 4 AFC Shirley

Injury hit Braishfield suffered a second successive 1-4 home defeat at the hands of one of the Southampton Premier Division title favourites.

They went into this tough-looking fixture against inform newcomers AFC Shirley without several key players due to an ever-growing injury list. Despite this, they made a bright start and almost took a second-minute lead when Dan Hansford struck the post, but soon suffered their first setback when Henry Rule was forced to prematurely retire. Play was then pretty even with both teams creating chances, but on 35 minutes luckless Braishfield suffered a second setback when the ever-dependable Jack Solloway limped off injured and had to be replaced by veteran club secretary Lee Whitelock. Finally, just before the interval, Shirley broke the deadlock with a well-worked goal.

The visitors started the second half strongly and soon doubled their advantage, but despite their predicament, Braishfield refused to give in and showed good spirit and a well-taken free kick from Jacob Phirachi gave them hope. However, it pretty much summed up their luck when a softly awarded penalty saw Shirley score a third goal, quickly followed by a fourth goal that came after a corner had been incorrectly awarded, much to the delight of the loud vocal away supporters. However, the expected collapse never followed as Braishfield showed great spirit to hold out for the remaining 20 minutes without conceding again.

However, there was better news in Junior 2 for the Second XI against Comrades Reserves. They travelled over to West End with a much-changed side but turned in a dominant display to record an excellent 3-0 victory, thanks to a brace from Tom Grant and a solo effort from Curtis Palmer-Russell.  

Tomorrow afternoon both sides are again in action. The 1st XI travels to Comrades in the Senior League Cup, whilst the 2nd XI hosts Solent Sports Hamble.