Gunners beaten in historic 125th anniversary friendly against Portsmouth

The Royal Artillery have been beaten 3-2 by Portsmouth Academy in Gosport as part of a special friendly celebrating the Hampshire side's 125th anniversary.

Harry Beckley scored twice to give the Artillery a 2-0 half-time lead, but a strong second-half showing saw Portsmouth's youngsters come back to win.

The Artillery were chosen as Portsmouth's opponents due to their role in the formation of the Football League club.

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In the late 1890s, the Royal Artillery had a Portsmouth-based side that were playing at Burnaby Road - which is now home to Royal Navy rugby league and will host the opening matches of the 2023 Inter Services which are Army v Navy live on the Forces News YouTube channel on Friday.

Their popularity, including match attendances of more than 1,000 fans, convinced people that Portsmouth deserved their own team, and so the football club were formed in April 1898.