Sholing head coach Mick Marsh perfectly summed up Saturday’s absorbing 3-2 win over Gosport Borough in the Zamaretto South & West.

“It had everything a local derby should have – feistiness, guts and commitment,” he said.

Add to that some cliffhanging suspense as Gosport fought back from 3-0 down to force Sholing into their toughest 45 minutes of an unbeaten league campaign and it bore all the hallmarks of a south coast classic.

For Borough it was their sixth defeat on the bounce in league and cup, but even Marsh admitted that Alex Pike’s men deserved to take something away from Portsmouth Road.

Having conceded twice in three minutes midway through the first half and again on the stroke of half-time, there appeared to be no way back for Borough as they trudged forlornly towards the dressing room.

But Pike’s decision to rough things up with the introduction of frontline battering ram James Taylor jolted Sholing out of their comfort zone at the start of the second half.

Full story in today's Daily Echo - plus a full round-up of non-league action.