AFC Portchester v Fareham Town | Page 7

PETE STILES RESERVE TEAM MANAGERS NOTES The Reserves fine unbeaten start to the season continues having won every league and cup game with the exception of a very creditable 2-2 draw away at Dorchester. There have been many changes with players coming and going with quite a few making appearances for the first team, George Wells the latest to step up. Encouragingly a lot of 16 to 17 year olds have been performing well, such as Lewis Watch, Dale Mason, Jamie Clark and also the latest new boy, Tom Cain, who has been showing he has the attributes to become a very good player. I am hopeful that we will be seeing the emergence of a few more players from our youth team under the guidance of new boss Micky Birmingham, someone I’m looking forward to working with and I wish him every success. The club seem to be in a good position with players moving from youth to reserves and then to the first team. This is the way it should be unlike many other clubs. With all the movement going on, some players can get frustrated that nothing seems to be happening and then all of the sudden; they are on the move up rather than out the door. Overall, it has been very encouraging in the reserves to see great performances from many players. Another player I think does deserve a mention is Jake Pepple. We have not always seen eye to eye, but he is a player who has been through our youth system and this season he has really stepped up and has shown great attitude and a willingness to improve, and is currently the Wyvern League’s leading goal scorer with some 11 goals, a couple ahead Curt Robbins, who himself had led the league’s scoring charts for the previous two seasons. These two are already proving a handful for anyone in our league. Remember to look at our website and see when we are playing and come down and watch the lads, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. Enjoy today’s game. Pete WWW.AFCPORTCHESTER.CO.UK 7