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Ex-EFL player stuns after scoring 28 goals in 18 league and cup starts for ninth tier club so far

Ex-EFL player Brett Pitman stuns after scoring 28 goals in 18 league and cup starts for ninth tier club so far this season.

Fans of English football were left surprised when they heard earlier this year that he had dropped down the leagues, signing for AFC Portchester.

It was a huge deal for the club, so much so that he has helped the club to 1st place in the Wessex League Premier Division, 40 points from 14 games, 8 points of clear of second place who have a game in hand.

AFC Portchester have also won 13, drawn 1, lost 0, scored 52, conceded 16 and got a goal difference of +36.

Pitman followed up the previous Saturday’s hat-trick with four goals in an 8-1 thrashing of Wessex League Premier Division strugglers Alresford.

Having also netted in the 5-0 midweek league win over Bournemouth Poppies, that made it eight goals in as many days for Pitman.

The 34-year-old has now scored 28 league and cup goals in only 18 starts for the Royals. Of those, 14 have come in his last six matches.

‘Brett probably should have had eight,’ said Royals boss Dave Carter.

‘We stepped it up after their goal,’ Carter added. ‘We started moving the ball a bit quicker. Our quality shone through – we ended up looking like we would score every time we attacked.

‘It’s not all about Brett – a lot of the other lads are playing well. A lot of Brett’s goals are put on a plate for him, but what he does do is score goals at important times.

‘He’s never going to run in behind defences, his movement in the box is brilliant – that’s what he does. His movement to pull away from defenders is fantastic.’

He is seven goals clear as the Wessex League Premier Division’s leading scorer in terms of league goals only.

In second is Bemerton’s Reece Rusher who scored his 15th of the season against Horndean from the penalty spot at the weekend.

If Pitman goes on at his current scoring rate, and played in all 38 league games this season, he would end up with 60 goals.

That would set a new league record, which currently stands at the 55 goals Andy Forbes netted for Winchester City in 2003/04 according to Portsmouth The News.

Pitman has spoke about why he made the decision to drop into non league.

‘I love playing, the Saturdays for me were never the problem at Bristol Rovers and Swindon, it was the travelling during the week, it was killing me,’ the former Ipswich and Bristol City forward told The News.

‘I live in Poole, doing it three times a week and staying in a hotel a couple of nights, it becomes hard work, I’m sure anybody that travels would say the same.

‘It was two hours in a car, then I’d to get out and train with the club, which wasn’t great for my body. It was getting repetitive and a bit annoying.

‘It didn’t affect my performances so much, but cannot be good for your body. Obviously I’m getting older, so you pick up a few more injuries as such, and it was definitely taking a toll on me. I was finding it harder.

‘Although I wasn’t overly-successful at Bristol Rovers, I actually enjoyed my time there and met some really good people who I still speak to quite regularly. It was just the travelling I found hard.

‘I wanted something local so I could start focusing on my next step – coaching – with Bournemouth giving me a job.

‘The one thing I was adamant about, though, was retirement wasn’t an option, I never even contemplated it. I wanted to carry on at whatever level I could, I still feel I’ve a lot to give.

‘Initially I dropped into non league with Eastleigh, but didn’t really enjoy that. We were training full-time, so that didn’t really enable me to coach, while I couldn’t understand why I wasn’t playing to be completely honest, but that’s not down to me.

‘Then Portchester came along, which allows me to be at home, it enables me to coach during the day, then train at night and play on a Saturday. It ticked all the boxes.

‘Admittedly, it’s not what I’m used to, I’ve had a career playing in front of big crowds, but I wasn’t ready to stop, I still have a passion for the game.

‘Now I’m at Portchester and absolutely love it, there hasn’t been one moment where I’ve thought “What am I doing at this level?”, not one. I’ve loved it.

‘The lads are a great bunch, the manager, the assistant, the coaches, everyone has been absolutely unbelievable with me.

‘I still want to win, I still want to score goals, that hasn’t changed, it never will – and I’m loving my football at Portchester.’

Pitman adds: ‘I didn’t have that many offers after leaving Eastleigh because I never really contacted anyone about it, I was kind of just seeing what happened.

‘I know Olly Searle, a big Pompey fan who I’ve played golf with and also appeared alongside in a couple of charity games with his brother Charlie. He plays for Portchester and had a part in me joining.

‘That’s how the manager got in contact with me – and he made a real effort to sell it to me.

‘Dave (Carter) didn’t just do it over the phone, but drove from Portsmouth to Bournemouth to meet me in person, which impressed me, and I thought “Do you know what, why not?”. They showed willing and made me an offer pretty quickly.

‘It felt right, it allowed me to do what I wanted coaching-wise, while I could continue playing football. It has been absolutely the right decision.

‘As a footballer growing older, you naturally lose things about your game, but you don’t lose your ability to finish.

‘I was never quick anyway, so wasn’t going to lose that. I never relied on pace, I relied on being one step ahead of what the defender was thinking, that’s how I had success, I never really ran away from anybody.

‘But you never lose the knack of where to be in the box – you just lose the ability to do things as quickly as you once did.

‘At Portchester this season we’ve played against some teams that are well-organised with really good players, and, on the flip side, we’ve met some poor teams with the scoreline reflecting how comfortable we’ve been in the game. I guess that’s the same at any level.

‘Of course I’ve found matches easier than what I’m used to, I’m playing at a level a lot lower, but it never stops being a challenge. If you score three you can score four, if you score two you have to score three, there is always a challenge.

‘Admittedly, there’s games which have been really challenging for a whole number of different reasons, such as the pitch, the facilities, almost the randomness of some teams who aren’t organised. All offer different obstacles.

‘There’s also a slightly different mentality, these boys work during the day and then train at night. I’d like to think that if you asked any of them, they will tell you I have bought into that scenario, I just want to be seen as one of the lads.

‘We train on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, depending on whether there’s a midweek game, and I get to as many sessions as I can, although I do coach at Bournemouth some Thursday nights.

‘But, first and foremost, coming to Portchester was about enjoying my football, scoring some goals, enjoying the whole experience, and hopefully having a successful season.

‘The aim is to win something. We expect to be challenging for the league and are currently top, so that’s going well, but there’s plenty of the season left.

‘Whether I’m playing golf with my mates on a Wednesday afternoon or a football match, I want to win. You never lose that as a professional – and I’d say 99 per cent of professionals are the same.

‘They want to win, they don’t want to be beaten on anything – and I want to win trophies with Portchester.’

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