An evening with Brett Pitman in the Wessex League

Friday night’s offering takes me to Folland Sports, a Wessex League Division One side, who are entertaining higher league opposition in the form of AFC Portchester.

Humorously, despite both sides being situated in Hampshire, they have Italian nicknames, with the hosts, Folland, dubbed Aviones for their aviation history, whilst Portchester’s orange home kits are the reason behind their shorthand, Aranciones.

Both clubs have an Italian flair to their nicknames

The away side have created a stir in the local non-league scene with some big-name signings this summer, with the ninth-tier outfit encouraging players from the seventh-tier to drop down to the Wessex Premier in order to aid their title bid.

However, there is no bigger name than former Cherries striker Brett Pitman, who agreed to become player-coach at the Wicor Recreation Ground following his release from now League One Bristol Rovers.

For Daily Echo readers and long-term Cherries fans, Pitman needs no introduction.

Across two spells at the Vitality Stadium, Pitman plundered 101 goals in 298 appearances, helping Cherries avoid becoming a non-league club as part of the famed Great Escape in 2009.

He then returned from a two-and-a-half-year sojourn with Bristol City to send Cherries to the Championship, and then two seasons later, he scored 13 goals as Eddie Howe’s side reached the Premier League.

That is where Pitman’s Cherries story ended, departing Dorset for Ipswich Town, the furthest north he has played.

Two years later he had returned to the south coast, joining Portchester’s Football League neighbours Portsmouth, where he played just shy of a century of games for Pompey.

He was still as prolific as ever, banging home 42 goals in 99 games, captaining Pompey to their first Wembley win since FA Cup victory in 2008.

85,021 watched on as Pitman and current Cherries attacker Jamal Lowe scored in a shootout win over Sunderland in the 2019 EFL Trophy final under the famous arch.

In contrast, at Folland Park, the official attendance is listed as 95, and whilst the atmosphere pales in comparison to a full Wembley, there is a healthy buzz in the air.

That might be because a fete at the adjacent police college has speakers blaring out musical performances live, with the sound somehow bleeding over the ground’s own Tannoy.

The players emerge from the bowls club changing rooms, stroll over the cricket pitch, and into the ground itself via a gate next to the turnstiles.

Pitman starts up top, alongside non-league journeyman Liam Robinson, who himself is also in his early 30s.

As the higher tier side, Portchester predictably start stronger, moving the ball forward when possible and fashioning early chances.

Always a handful for defenders, Pitman is frequently peeling off his man at the back post, causing the right-back to enlist the services of his brother on the wing to help keep the striker at bay.

The pair chat away in their native language in a bid to gain the upper hand, but Pitman still finds it too easy to slip through with attacking runs.

There might be the perception that Pitman has dropped five divisions to become a flat track bully, standing up top and demanding the ball so he can boost his already impressive goal numbers.

It quickly becomes apparent that he is more than prepared to put the hard yards in, dropping deep to create space and receive the ball.

Whilst off of it, he is quickly pointing out minute details to teammates, feeding them information.

After the game I asked him if that was the coaching half of his role coming to the fore, but he insisted that he had always been talkative on the pitch.

“Not necessarily,” he begins. “I do that whoever I'm playing for.

“You always pass advice on, or talk to people - just communicate through the game.

“Obviously if I can help anybody I will do, but I'm here to play first and foremost, and try and get the team up as high as we can in the league and try and get promoted.”

Pitman’s desire to play is more than evident - it is the coaching element piquing the interest of many.

When Portchester announced their capture of Pitman, they announced that he was about to begin studying for his UEFA A licence, the second-highest qualification a coach can achieve.

As such, Pitman’s coaching journey had to have started some time ago for him to now be nearing completing his qualifications.

He reveals to me that it first started whilst with Cherries.

“To be honest I started my coaching badges probably about eight years ago,” he restarts.

“I finished my UEFA B (licence) when I left Portsmouth, and then done bits and pieces from there - I've just started my UEFA A (licence).”

On the pitch he is more than capable of doing the business, as Folland find out just six minutes into the game.

Lurking just inside the box as a corner is whipped in, Pitman ghosts past his marker to arrive at the back post, placing the ball home.

I am not sure if he has ever scored a goal in front of a plane statue before, but there is a first for everything.

Pitman finds space in the box to open scores

As it is pre-season, celebrations are muted, and quickly the game is restarted.

The match itself is not played at great pace, but there are more chances for the away side.

Pitman tries his luck from the edge of the area, blasting the ball over the bar and into the hedges behind the goal.

Instantly the crowd fling sarcastic jeers towards the ex-professional, and Pitman responds with a smile, more than happy to play the role of pantomime villain.

That is not to say he does not have his supporters in the ground – the Portchester faithful have already taken a liking to their new star.

They have brought a Jersey flag to represent Pitman’s Channel Island roots, and they chant about their ‘Jersey Royal’ – a convenient pun, considering that Portchester’s other nickname is the Royals.

It is now 18 years after Pitman swapped Jersey for England, moving to Cherries at the age of 16.

Still based in Bournemouth, Pitman always wanted to play football for as long as possible.

Asked if he envisioned to still be playing football on the south coast nearly two decades after he first arrived, Pitman replies: “Well, certainly you hope so!

“It's a big commitment to move, tough moving away from your family at a young age, but that's what I wanted to do.

“Luckily I've managed to have a half decent career and I enjoy living in the area.”

Now 34, Pitman finished last campaign on loan at National League Eastleigh, his first taste of non-league.

During an interview with Cherries’ official podcast, he labelled the experience as an “eye-opener”, but full-time Eastleigh, in a league mainly populated by professional teams, still feels miles away from the semi-professional and amateur clubs that play in the Wessex League’s two tiers.

His loan spell started prior to the arrival of former Cherries teammate and manager Lee Bradbury as Eastleigh boss, but he largely came off the bench during his time at the Silverlake Stadium.

Whilst Pitman believes he could still play at a higher level – he scored four goals for Bristol Rovers in League Two in 18 appearances, four vital strikes considering Rovers only earnt promotion via goals scored - that Eastleigh experience highlighted to him that he was at his happiest when he was playing football.

Portchester presented him with an intriguing opportunity, and although other non-league clubs expressed an interest, Pitman had given his word to the Wessex Prem outfit.

“It was a balance,” he mentioned. “Portchester came to me and put on something that I like the sound of, and obviously it gives me opportunity to do, my coaching.

“In all honesty, I probably could play at a higher level, but it wasn't really about the level for me.

“It was about enjoying it because I didn't really overly enjoy my time at Eastleigh. Like you said, I didn't play very much, which was a shame.

“That was probably why I didn't enjoy it as much.

“Portchester were really the first to offer me anything, and then word gets out and I had a few phone calls. But I’m the type of person, once I give my word to somebody I don’t really go back on it.

“Portchester were on the front foot if you like, and I’m pleased with my decision.”

In the match itself, Folland have worked hard to make a game of it, asking more questions of the Portchester defence.

The exertion levels from both sides has increased, and the friendly reaches its next flashpoint with an over eager challenge from number nine, Krysty Sullivan-Rose.

He catches his man quite late, leading to uproar from the Royals’ bench.

Pitman is first on the scene to issue Sullivan-Rose with a telling-off, remonstrating with the match official.

In truths, if it had not been a pre-season friendly, Sullivan-Rose could have quite easily been given his marching orders.

Instead, he remains on the pitch, allowing him to find an equaliser for the home side – courtesy of a massive deflection.

Subbed off at the break, he asks me if I managed to get a snap of the goal. Although relatively useless with a camera, I did manage to capture the initial effort.

Confusingly, although Sullivan-Rose has come off the pitch wearing the number nine, there are now two different players wearing that number, with the further quirk that they are both playing in defence.

That is non-league, especially in pre-season. The action itself is currently being played on a shortened pitch, with the white lines pushed back as one of the goalmouths has been re-seeded. You can still see the faint outline of last season’s boundaries.

Not that puts off Pitman, who remains on the pitch for the second-half.

He helps his side regain their lead, flicking the ball on to Ashton Leigh, who finds the awaiting Robinson in the box with an accurate cross.

Both sides made sweeping changes at the break, including both goalkeepers being swapped out.

As such the game ebbs and flows, slowing down at times.

It sparks back to life when Pitman collides with a Folland defender, leading to a bit of argy-bargy afterwards.

This may be a pre-season friendly, but no one can say Pitman does not care. He receives a yellow card for his troubles, but that will not be his final action of the game.

A tangling of legs in the Folland box sees a dubiously awarded penalty, and as soon as the referee has whistled to give it, Pitman has the ball in his hands.

Luckily, I finally work out how to get the flash on the camera to work, whilst Pitman has no difficulty blasting the ball home.

He is subbed off after his second goal, and considering that this was his third game for the Aranciones in six days, he deserves his rest.

In those three games, he has scored five goals – not a bad start to life in non-league.