Non-league side Havant & Waterlooville get unexpected opportunity to be thrashed by Real Betis

Havant had a Bet-ter offer

Havant & Waterlooville were last night handed a surprise clash against La Liga side Real Betis. The non-league outfit were soundly beaten 7-0 by the Spanish club, but their players were probably just happy to get the chance to take on Betis.

The unlikely fixture was cobbled together at short notice. Betis had been due to play Championship side Portsmouth, but Pompey were left stranded in North Carolina at the end of their trip to the USA after a catering truck crashed into their plane.

The Conference South club took up the fixture at short notice to ensure that the Spaniards didn’t miss a match in their pre-season schedule.

Director Trevor Brock said: “I think we knew they were going to be good but I don’t think we knew how good they were going to be.

“They have just won the equivalent of the Championship – they basically brought their whole squad here.

“This team was something else, we did the best we could.”

Havant & Waterlooville will resume their planned schedule with a friendly against Gosport Borough tomorrow.