Image: Michelle Carr.
Match Report: Dave Ring
Portland United U18s 2–5 Hamble Club U18s
FA Youth Cup – Preliminary Round
Wednesday 2nd September 2026 (7:45pm)
Camp & Satherley Stadium
Attendance: 140
Portland United Under 18s saw their FA Youth Cup journey come to an end on Wednesday evening as they were beaten 5–2 by Hamble Club U18s at the Camp & Satherley Stadium.
Despite the final scoreline, there was plenty of character shown by the young Blues, particularly in the second half when they refused to let a difficult evening get away from them and pushed Hamble all the way to the final whistle.
Hamble made the most of playing with the strong wind behind them during the opening 45 minutes and took control of the contest early on.
The visitors opened the scoring after just eight minutes when Baker produced an excellent strike from around 30 yards, giving the Portland goalkeeper little chance.
Hamble doubled their advantage on 20 minutes. Following a Portland corner, Calderwood brought the ball down with an outstanding touch before picking out Chalkley, who dinked the ball over the advancing goalkeeper.
The visitors continued to threaten and added a third in the 35th minute when Luckhurst played Chalkley through, allowing him to slot the ball underneath the Portland keeper.
Portland were finding it difficult to play their normal game against the conditions, and Hamble added a fourth just before the interval. Calderwood broke down the wing before crossing for Chalkley, who slid the ball home.
At half-time, Portland faced a huge challenge at 0–4 down, but the young Blues came out after the restart determined to give their supporters something to cheer about.
Unfortunately, Hamble extended their advantage almost immediately after the restart. On 46 minutes, pressure on the Portland goalkeeper resulted in a pass being intercepted by Drummond, who turned the ball into the net to make it 5–0.
Rather than surrender, however, Portland responded with their best spell of the match.
The Blues began to put Hamble under sustained pressure and finally got their reward on 61 minutes. A dangerous ball was swung into the box and Wareing rose highest at the back post to power a header beyond the Hamble goalkeeper, who managed to get a hand to the effort but could not keep it out.
Portland had found a way back into the game and, just six minutes later, they struck again.
On 67 minutes, the Blues won a corner and Moles was on hand to finish the move and make it 5–2.
Suddenly, Portland were playing with confidence and belief. The young Blues were applying the pressure, pinning Hamble back in their own half and asking questions of the visitors’ defence.
With 13 minutes remaining, Portland were still pushing forward in search of another goal and continued to compete right through to the final whistle.
Ultimately, the damage had been done during a difficult first half, with Hamble taking full advantage of the conditions and establishing a commanding lead.
For Portland United U18s, though, the FA Youth Cup campaign ends with the disappointment of defeat but also the encouragement of a spirited second-half performance. Going five goals behind could easily have resulted in the game petering out, but the young Blues showed plenty of fight to score twice, take the game to Hamble and finish the contest strongly.
The FA Youth Cup may be over for another season, but there will be plenty for this young Portland side to take from the experience as they continue their development and look ahead to the rest of their campaign.
