Gosport & Fareham 21 - Portsmouth 8

IT is almost becoming a regular feature of the season that the big derby between south-east Hampshire's leading pair, Gosport & Fareham and Portsmouth, should be played on two sets of varying surfaces.

The match in December, regularly on the peninsular, can be a certainty to suit the home side's bulky forwards while the return at Rugby Camp in April will aid the flowing, running style of the Portsmouth backs.

So when Portsmouth coach Ian Chandler pulled back the bedroom curtains on Saturday morning to be confronted with a dank and dreary, drizzly sight, he cannot have been wholly encouraged.

A trip to Gosport Park is never an easy place to visit, but on a muddy pitch against the home side's bulky forwards, their task was to be made even harder.

Portsmouth were further weakened by flanker Gavin Bunker being forced to withdraw after a night club incident at which he is a door security officer rendering him unable to fulfil his place.

And then it was Gosport's turn as fullback Dave Goddard, travelling from Aldershot for the game, was held up on the A3. Chris Manktelow stepped up from the replacements bench and the match was delayed for fifteen minutes while they waited for the Army man.

Once the match got going, Gosport dominated the opening quarter but could not find a way through the stoic Portsmouth defence that halted everything the home side threw at them. They would have been the happier with a blank scoreline at that stage.

However, their resistance was to be broken when some excellent link play between forwards and backs resulted in Andy Vance scooting over the five metres to the line as the referee played advantage for an early off side infringement.

Just when Gosport's gander was up, Portsmouth replied immediately when Matthew Gronow was allowed space to weave his way close to the line and had Anthony Russell on hand to complete the levelling score.

Ben Slatter and Neil Styles swapped penalties in first half injury time and with the score at 8-8, Gosport must have wondered what they would do to shake off the tenacious Portsmouth.

But in the second half, they did just that, denying their free-scoring backs any space - they had paid for that earlier and learned quickly - and taking control of the match.Vance grabbed a second when he got a boot to a through ball from fly-half Jonathan Wood and chased it up, collected and landed a second try, before Ben Slatter furthered the advantage when Portsmouth were off-side. A bit of backchat made the goal considerably easier.

And when Goddard came on and unceremoniously dumped the normally brick-wall like centre Steve Cox in WWE wrestling style to open the gate for a third, Gosport deservedly claimed the points and furthered dented Portsmouth's hopes of joining the promotion push.

"The better side won on the day," said Chandler. "In a tight game with lots of silly mistakes, they made use of the ball they had and we didn't and that you have to do in a game like this."

But he refused to point to the fact that his first-choice prop, lock, back row and fly-half were all on the sidelines watching injured. "It is one of those seasons that football managers bemoan with all the injuries we have had. To be brutally honest, you have to say we have lost it already."

Gosport skipper Simon Burns said: "It was a very good result for us but their forwards played well and battled it out. With the score level at half-time, it looked like it was going to be another of those very close games like last year's 11-11.

"But, for the backs to score all the tries on a day like that was good for us and I am pleased to have come away from this game with the right result as Portsmouth gave us all they had."

With Tunbridge Wells losing to Cobham, Gosport stays third but trail on points difference. With matches still to play against leaders Worthing and the Kent side, the Dolphin Crescent men are in line for an interesting New Year.