New Milton Town come from behind to beat Bemerton Heath and seal quarter-final

Hampshire FA Senior Invitation Cup

Bemerton Heath Harlequins FC 2
New Milton Town FC 3

NEW Milton Town recovered from a disastrous start to beat Bemerton Heath Harlequins 3-2 to qualify for the Hampshire FA Senior Invitation Cup quarter-final.

New Milton found themselves two goals down within 35 minutes. However, a penalty on the stroke of half-time inspired the visitors, who scored two second-half goals to hand manager Shaun Hale his first taste of defeat as manager of Bemerton.

The home side started well and deservedly broke the deadlock when Kane O'Keefe headed in after 25 minutes.

Bemerton doubled their advantage 10 minutes later when Danny Young found the back of the net.

It looked like Bemerton were on course for an easy victory at this stage, but a Morgan Turner penalty just before the break reinvigorated New Milton's belief.

Sydenhams Wessex Division One side New Milton came out positively in the second half, and their approach paid dividends with further strikes from Chris Long and Aaron Scott.

After their comeback victory, manager Paul Turner said: "We travelled to the match knowing we needed a win to qualify through to the main cup. Being two goals down after 20 minutes required all our belief and trust in each other to turn it around, which we did with a fantastic second-half performance.

"I think we saw the real start of our evolution as a newly formed squad and what it truly means to be a part of this team. It's now clear what it takes to wear the New Milton jersey."

The win sealed second place in Group Three and qualified New Milton for a Hampshire FA Senior Invitation Cup quarter-final away against Southern Premier League side Hartley Wintney on Saturday.

Turner continued: "We relish the opportunity to compete with Hartley Wintney, who play two divisions above us."