Winchester 1st XI 6-0 Gillingham 1st XI 

Winchester once again made relatively light work of relegation-threatened opposition as they comfortably despatched their Dorset opponents.

Despite availability issues which allowed the selection of three U15 players, it took less than five minutes for Winchester to take the lead as Kieran Malloy fed Ben Hibberd who rattled home with a reverse strike. It was soon 2-0 as roles were reversed with Hibberd feeding Malloy on the penalty spot who showed great skill and control in spinning away from his markers and slipping under the keeper. Forced into pre-match positional changes, Adam Major was moved from his centre back position to a forward role and this paid back as he picked up on a long Hibberd ball, drove into the "D" and whistled it into the far corner. Major then made it 4-0 just before the break, benefitting from a goal mouth melee which saw the ball roll to him unmarked at the far post for an easy tap-in. 

Winchester were showing some quality passing moves and retaining possession for long periods, masterminded by skipper Mark Maunsell in midfield, but utilising the emerging talents of youngsters Bertie Lander, Rory Jack and Tom Nolan as they build experience for Winchester's next 1st XI generation. Slightly older than them, but still very much a junior product, Finn Lacey was making his 1st XI league debut in goal and, after a first half where he had had no touch, he was brought into play in the second with a magnificent double save as Gillingham, to their credit, started to threaten the Winchester goal. In one incident Matt Kenyon cleared off the line after a Gillingham goal seemed certain.

Having survived the Gillingham resurgence, Winchester put the game absolutely to bed with a fifth goal, breaking out of defence as Jacks cleared to Maunsell who slipped to Hibberd having drawn the defence and keeper for a straightforward finish. Winchester's final goal came from defender Nick Clarke who deflected a Hibberd penalty corner high into the net.