Baffins Milton Rovers

Baffins Milton Rovers v Shaftesbury

What can you do? Yet another game postponed on Tuesday night at Portland United. It was sunny mid afternoon and then driving home rainfall. Another night out cancelled and it’s getting a bit tiring. Moneyfields won 4-1 vs Cowes Sports. So I think Glen and his lads will be buying some polish soon!

This game will now be Thursday April 18th. The game at Laverstock & Ford scheduled for Thursday April 11th has been moved (date TBA) to fit in their game ironically against Baffins Milton Rovers.

There is not really much that the Velocity Wessex League can do about this. Thursday has to be used. Perhaps walk to the shops and leave the car at home. Save the planet!

For many of us that help our clubs it’s  not feasible and it’s happening all over the league. Sadly the match report will be somewhat diluted. There’s only so much leave people can take and Portland United away bites the dust for me anyway 😢.

It’s not just our problem either. Danny Thompson’s side face a trip to Sherborne Town on Thursday night before facing ourselves on Saturday. No doubt Thompson will have to use the ‘It is what it is’ line like all gaffers tend to. Though a trip further than here on a Thursday night is not ideal and gaffers just have to repeat themselves and say “There’s a job to do. We better get on with it”.

However his side are a contender for the play offs and could well be the dark horse in the race coming back from mid table and lay waste to the play offs!

At the start of the season it looked like the current top four and Baffins would be the fifth. They arrived at Shaftesbury early season in a game Thompson alluded they dominated. To some degree they did yet we took our chances to win 3-1. Continual postponements have littered their season where as ourselves and AFC Stoneham had 3G/4G pitches to avoid such backlogs.

Certainly the cost of promotion is one that will increase greatly. Hence why it’s important to build the club first. Secondly it’s key not to be desperate and prepare for the promised land that certainly ain’t milk and honey.

I cite Exmouth Town as a club like us and they look like they might just stay up. Seats and turnstiles, walls built etc all had to be installed at Southern Road. We are fortunate our facilities are pretty much there and we have a ground that often gets complimented for it’s facilities and yes it’s architecture.

Like a lot of clubs we need more support as we are not a football town. Our attendances have increased this season. For sure Brett Pitman has been a draw, as has the 3G surface when other games have been decimated by the weather.

Baffins Milton Rovers sit in 6th place with 54 points from 30 games played. They have recently responded with a 3-1 win at Hamble Club, 8-0 win over Blackfield & Langley and a 3-2 win over Fareham Town after defeats to AFC Portchester and Moneyfields.

They have two games in hand at the time of writing on Brockenhurst in 5th place, though if they win at the GMS Windows Arena against Sherborne Town on Thursday they will leapfrog Brockenhurst into 5th place. They have on paper winnable games ahead. So we will need to be right at it on Saturday (weather permitting of course) 🌧️ 🙏.

Danny Thompson vs Jim Milligan – both managers are winners and focused on winning games of football. Milligan has five on the spin and Thompson three (possibly four at time of writing).

It should be an interesting olde time down in those dugouts!

⭐ Shaftesbury  – We agreed on Saturday from behind the barriers that Liam Farrugia has become a real ace in the pack in recent games and is playing well, showing discipline and really looking the real deal as Milligan moulds his team.

⭐ Baffins Milton Rovers – Obviously Kelvin Robinson and Tyrhys Lukonyomoi have been the top scorers. Charlie Oakwell and Danny Burroughs (formerly United Services Portsmouth) have had good games against us in the past.

Shaftesbury –

🎯 Marksmen – Brett Pitman 53, Cameron Beard 14, Callum Sweeney 9, Asa Philips 6, Greg Peel 6, Louis Kellaway 4, Ben Satterley 2

*Players still at club

Baffins Milton Rovers –

🎯 Marksmen – Kelvin Robinson 15, Tyrhys Lukonyomoi 14, Danny Burroughs 7, Miles Everett 7, Charlie Oakwell 5, Lee Seokjae 5, Thomas Pattison 4, Harvey Welham 4, Calum Benfield 3, Max Hurst 3 *(not including Thursday 4th April)

Last season at the PMC Stadium- 23/03/23 Baffins Milton Rovers 1 (Robinson) Shaftesbury 0

Attendance – 98.

📸Baffins Milton Rovers in action at Hamble Club recently. Gaffer Danny Thompson and the Rovers preparing for a game at the PMC Stadium.

📸 Photos – courtesy of Neil Hardcastle (Baffins Milton Rovers). Many thanks to Neil for these pictures.