WINCHESTER City attracted a big crowd for their first-ever home game at Southern Premier League level, a match against Poole Town which they lost 0-3.

The match last Saturday attracted an attendance of 363 including, bizarrely, a group of Merthyr Town supporters.

What were the Welshmen doing some 100 miles from home? Were they in Winchester to visit the tomb of Jane Austen? Or perhaps to see the statue of King Alfred?

Er, no. The answer is simple. Their coach broke down near Winchester on the way to the match with Gosport Borough. With the cost of taxis to take their whole group to Gosport being prohibitively expensive they decided to take in the Winchester game.

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A report of the match is in the Chronicle sports pages (page 71), by Malcolm Clarke, who also praised “the passion of these Welsh supporters added greatly to the atmosphere at the game”.

The unexpected attendance of dozens of Merthyr fans also had another beneficial spin-off. BBC Radio Solent reported on its Saturday sports show that the Welshmen also drank the bar dry at the Charters Community Stadium.