Southampton barber Adam Wilde crushed Sholing’s Hampshire Senior Cup dreams with a stunning free-kick as Gosport Borough were crowned champions of the county competition with a 3-0 win in the final at Fratton Park tonight.

The barbershop owner netted on 59 minutes to double the Conference South side’s advantage after Justin Bennett had given Alex Pike’s side the lead with just eight minutes gone from the penalty spot.

Ex-Saint Matt Paterson made it 3-0 late-on when he tidily slotted home after turning in the box on an evening that marked ex-Eastleigh and Wessex League star Andy Forbes’s last game before retirement.

The Boatmen, who operate two leagues below in the Southern League South & West, were far from out of their depth in the battle between last term’s FA Vase winners and FA Trophy finalists Borough.

However, although far from the glamour of Wembley at Fratton, it was Gosport who exorcised their Trophy demons to collect the Senior Cup for the first time in 27 years and leave the Boatmen without any silverware after a transitional season.

It was the softest of penalties that saw Sholing trail 1-0 at the break after TJ Cuthbertson had been judged to have fouled Borough skipper Sam Pearce with just eight minutes gone.

It was definitely a harsh blow for the Boatmen, who had come to Portsmouth with the intention of attacking.

An indication of that came on six minutes when Nick Watts flashed a shot well wide of the left post after a bursting run.

But, fairly or unfairly, Sholing found themselves chasing the game before it even really got going, as prolific striker Bennett dispatched the spot-kick neatly into bottom right of the goal past the diving Matt Brown.

The Southampton-outfit weren’t downhearted, however, and soon gathered themselves, as a long ball from deep on the right from Cuthbertson was well controlled by Barry Mason in the box soon after conceding.

The attacker nicked in a pass under pressure to his brother Byron, who couldn’t quite apply the killer touch as Gosport goalkeeper Nathan Ashmore smothered.

FA Vase goalscoring hero Marvin McLean was next to threaten as he turned Pearce in the box and fired low, only for Ashmore to be alert once more, saving low at his feet.

McLean was causing havoc again after some delightful build-up play deep in Borough territory resulted in the winger hitting powerfully into the top right, with only Pearce’s brave reaction diving header steering it away from the net.

Sholing’s best chance, however, came via Alex Sawyer as he pulled Ashmore into a spectacular save from a rasping right-footed half-volley from 25-yards out, after the ball came out from a Kevin Brewster corner.

There was no real indication that these two sides play two levels apart.

Borough, though, did have a number of chances to double their lead in an end-to-end half.

Danny Smith had the ball in the net, turning in a Wilde free-kick from close-range only for the goal to be ruled-out for offside.

Steve Ramsey also went close with a deflected effort in the box while Wilde could only hit the roof of the net with a chip after Brett Poate’s delicious back-spun pass over the Sholing backline into the area.

Wilde then cracked an effort from the edge of the box, only for it to zip past the right-hand post.

It was a comparably dull second-period until Wilde set it alight with a stunning free-kick that all but ended Sholing’s hopes.

The Duo barbershop owner stepped-up from more than 25-yards with 59 minutes gone, curling the ball superbly over the Boatmen’s wall. The ball dipped and crept in the smallest of gaps between the post and Brown’s outstretched arm.

Wilde soon exited with a unanimous round of applause soon after as Spanish import Paco Saez replaced him for his last Borough outing before returning home.

The Boatmen responded but showed little of the cutting edge that they displayed in the first 45.

In fact, it was Gosport who went closer to extending the lead as Paterson drove a low effort from the edge of the box, with Brown getting down well to thwart his effort.

Ex-Sholing striker Lee Wort then entered the fray against his former charges, but was kept fairly quiet in comparison to his fruitful days at the Silverlake Arena.

Gosport went close twice to making it three, but Cuthbertson made a superb goal-line clearance as another ex-Boatmen player Mike Carter hit low from the right of the box.

Paterson then missed the target with a low drive past the left post, but finally found his killer touch as he calmly slotted home into the bottom-right on 90 minutes.

Attendance: 988 Sholing: Matt Brown, TJ Cuthbertson, Jack Smith, Pete Castle, Dan Miller, Kevin Brewster (Owen Roundell 79), Nick Watts (Tobi Adekunle 57), Alex Sawyer, Barry Mason (Dan Mason 72), Byron Mason (c), Marvin McLean. Subs (not used): Joe Griggs, Rory Anderson.