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Evenlode Road
Millbrook
Southampton
SO16 9RS
Ground Number: 1551
Monday 4th May 2026
AFC Shirley 3-0 Southsea Sports
Hampshire Premier FL Senior
AFC SHIRLEY - A BRIEF HISTORY
AFC Shirley is one of the newest clubs in football, having been formed as recently as 2021. They played Sunday football at first. In their debut season, they finished as runners-up to Hamble Spitfires in the Southampton Sunday League Division 5. That got them promoted to Division 3, where they finished behind Butlocks Heath in 2023. They finally won the Division 2 title in 2024, as well as a couple of league cups in those last two seasons. They made the switch to Saturday football in 2024 and were Southampton Football League champions. This earned them promotion to the Hampshire Premier League - Senior Division at step 7 of the non-league pyramid.
Shirley is a broad district and a former village on the western side of Southampton. It has a population of around 15,000. Shirley's main roles are retail and residential. It is the most important suburban shopping area in the west of the city. Shirley is separated from Highfield by Southampton Common, a large green public space. The place-name Shirley commonly means "bright clearing", from the Old English very similarly pronounced scir (bright) and leah (cleared land in a wood). Mansel Park, where they play, is in nearby Millbrook and was Millbrook's former home before they moved to Test Park.
MY VISIT
The midweek games were really starting to dry up now, what with leagues packing up early for the summer. Though it was just the dregs now, there were still some decent options. This was mainly due to the Bank Holiday, with most of the Tuesday games shifted back to take advantage of the privilege of many being off. I was quite lucky in that respect. Although I had to work, I could get out at 12. This still gave me a wide variety of games and was, in some ways, better than an evening game for getting home after. Three main options would, all being well, allow a meal at a new Wetherspoons and a ground with a decent railed pitch. They were AFC Shirley v Southsea Sports, Henbury & Rockleaze v Tewkesbury Town and Sharpness v Tytherington Rocks. There were also four backups, should we need them.
From our game at Great Bentley, I drove Colin & I home. It showed how my style of groundhopping had changed. When I went to Riverside abck in 2014, I was most disappointed to have travelled all that way on the hop and seen such a basic ground. Whilst Great Bentley was far nicer in terms of clubhouse, it was still a very basic pitch that was packed away after each game, turning back into a village green. I dropped Colin off at 10 and was home 15 minutes later. Rather than do my blog, I got straight into bed and was asleep around 11. It took me a while to get going after less than five hours of sleep, but I got through a busy day at work. I got a better night's sleep on Thursday ahead of another busy Friday. A few drinks were had in the evening, though nothing serious. I opted for a walk instead to clear my head. After an OK night's sleep, I walked down Wycombe with Colin.
It was a pint and breakfast muffin in Wetherspoons with Colin, a pint at the Rose and Crown, chips from a new takeaway and a can from Tesco. Then, half an hour wait to buy two shirts and a hat for £55 in the Wycombe end-of-season sale. Not the biggest bargain, but you take what you can get. The game itself started well, 2-2 within the opening 25 minutes. But then illness in the away end stopped the game for ten minutes and took the sting out of it. I'd lost interest, but the main thing was, the person concerned appeared to be on the mend. There was a great twist at the end as academy player Micah Olabiyi got ahead of the defence and kept a cool head to slot past the keeper for the winner in injury time, on his debut too. I went home via Lidl and Wetherspoons for a pint. I was home at 8.30 and in bed two hours later. After my revisit to Westfield the next day, I drove Colin & I home, getting home around 6.30. I had pasta for dinner and updated my blog for Westfield, as well as started this one. The aim was for a 9 PM bedtime with my early alarm.
In the end, though I did get to bed just after 9, it took me another 90 minutes to drop off. The 3.50 alarm went off, ready for seven hours of purgatory at work. I only used to have to work three bank holidays and would have got time and a half for it. But that all changed thanks to fire and rehire. This was one of the ones I'd have volunteered to do, so it was only the lesser monetary value I was suffering on this occasion. Though the people were fine, it was not nice, with the entirety of the local old folks home and creche emptied into the store on top of the normal customers. A supermarket was not how I'd spend my Bank Holiday, but each to their own. I left promptly at 12 and met Colin. He was on time, very quiet for once and slept for most of the journey. It was a nice journey too, Via Reading and Basingstoke and down the M3. We were at Wetherspoons in Shirley at 1.35. The Bright Water Inn was number 511 for me. I had Chicken Jalfrezi, chips and Monster Ultra Rosa for £8.22. After that, we popped over to Lidl as we'd used their car park. A fudge brownie and some fresh still lemonade were purchased before the ten-minute drive to the ground. I parked in a side road and walked across to the pitch.
Both teams were playing their final games of the season. AFC Shirley were 3rd and had won 17, drawn 3 and lost 9. They'd won their last six, including a 4-1 win over Crofton Saints in their last game. Southsea Sports were in 14th and had won 9, drawn 3 and lost 9. They'd lost their last couple, including a 1-0 loss against Hook in their last game. The first half was quite dull, Shirley having a lot of possession against a resolute Southsea defence. Both sides had chances in the second half, most notably Southsea, who forced the home keeper into a good save from a header on 57 minutes. Finally on 65 minutes, there was a goal. The well-organised visiting defence was finally cracked when substitute Jack Ormison sneaked in to stab home a low cross from within the six-yard box. It was 2-0 on 74 minutes, Craig Hunt's cross going straight in, although there were claims of a foul on the keeper. Another substitute, Alex Kim, got the third in injury time, advancing down the right and shooting across the face of the goal into the bottom left corner. We left straight away, but there was around half an hour's delay on the way back. Firstly on the dip near Winchester on the M3, then on the entirety of the M25 from the M3 to the M40 junctions. Annoying, but nothing unusual for a bank Holiday. I dropped Colin off at 7 and was in at 7.15. Looking on Twitter, it appeared as if Southsea Sports had deliberately flooded the away dressing room. After battling so hard on the pitch, it showed a total lack of class and respect for their hosts.
Stay classy @southseasportfc @HantsLeague pic.twitter.com/aLXfIpfduk
— AFC Shirley (@AfcShirley) May 4, 2026
THE GROUND
MANSEL PARK is a great setup for step 7. The pitch is fully railed, and there is a club building housing dressing rooms and occasional refreshments. The pitch has hard standing on one side. There is also the Saints Pub opposite, but I didn't check it out. Parking is restricted to street parking, and buses run nearby.
