Royal Navy men suffer bruising defeat in Hampshire Cup second round
The Royal Navy senior men's team have been knocked out of the Hampshire Senior Cup after a resounding 3-0 defeat to Baffins Milton Rovers in Portsmouth.
It was only the second time the senior service has partaken in the Hampshire FA tournament after they played for the first time in 2023, where they made it to the final eight.
The Navy holds great memories at the home of Baffins Milton Rovers, the PMC Stadium, as this is where they won the Portsmouth Senior Cup last season, beating Gosport Borough.
But the Baffins side looked determined to make life less easy for the Navy side the moment the whistle sounded, with several Navy shots on goal not coming to fruition.
It was Baffins who struck first though, with Danny Burroughs hitting the post before collecting the rebound with a header to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
Immediately after, Baffins would score their second goal within the space of a minute with Charlie Bell catching the Navy defence napping.
The Navy had a 2-0 deficit that they needed to make up when they returned for the second half.
But the Baffins continued to make inroads with Charlie Bell offering an assist for Jason Parish to extend their lead to 3-0.
Things would go from bad to worse for the Navy after a challenge by Saul Thorpe on Baffins' Fin Bello saw him handed a red card.
Team captain Dan Kerr was also shown the red card after the tackle, leaving the Navy down to nine men.
At the final whistle, the curtains came down on the Navy men's Hampshire Cup campaign with a 3-0 defeat to the Baffins Milton Rovers, who will now progress to the third round.
Lieutenant Commander Chris James' side will now turn their focus to their campaign in the Portsmouth Senior Cup, with some players set to play in some UK Amed Forces fixtures, including a game against the Irish Defence Force in Belfast on 13 November.
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