AFC Portchester return to league action this weekend after a break from any matches in the Pitching In Isthmian League’s South Central Division of almost three weeks.
FA Cup, FA Trophy and Hampshire Senior Cup commitments have meant the Royals have not had a league fixture since their 4-0 win over Moneyfields on Bank Holiday Monday, August 25.
They head to Southall this Saturday (kick off 3pm) to take on the side who are currently bottom of the division, with three defeats in their first three league games of the season.
This fixture will see the joint lowest scorers in the division – Southall have only scored one goal in their league campaign to date – go up against the joint second highest scorers in the division. The Royals have netted 11 league goals to date and they sit in ninth place in the South Central table after picking up two wins and two defeats in their four opening league games of the campaign.
Southall have led something of a nomadic existence since they had to move out of their ground in 1992. For the last 33 years the club has had to groundshare with other teams close to home, with their current lodgings at Hayes and Yeading United.
For the Royals this means they will have two trips to The SkyEx Community Stadium in the space of two weeks for league matches – the trip there this Saturday and a return visit on September 27 to play Hayes and Yeading.
While the stadium will become familiar surroundings for the Royals once they complete their double visit, for those fans of a popular streamed television show they will recognise the location too.
The stadium was used in the filming of hit Apple TV show Ted Lasso – the story of an American Football coach who was hired to manage fictional Premier League side AFC Richmond.
Southall are one of the oldest football clubs in England, having been formed in 1871. They joined the Southern League in 1897 and were competing at the same level as the likes of Brentford, Fulham, Watford, Brighton and West Ham until, after turning professional for one season in 1904-05, the club decided to withdraw from that competition due to mounting debts caused by trying to compete at that level.
