[1] On 21 November 1885, Freemantle played a team from St. Mary's Young Men's Association on the "backfield" of the County Ground in Northlands Road, where the Hampshire Bowling Club was later established.

Dollin only remained with the Saints until the end of the season, before knee injuries caused him to revert to amateur status, rejoining Freemantle.

The match, played at the County Ground on 11 March, generated great excitement in the town and produced a crowd of over 6,000 and gate receipts of £122.

The Bournemouth Guardian reported: "the attendance completely upset all ideas as to the accommodation that would be required, and the magnificent spectacle of between 6,000 and 7,000 excited individuals massed together round the field of play ... was one that Hampshire and indeed none of the counties south of the Thames and this side of London has ever witnessed at an Association football match."

According to the local press, "A great day it is in the history of Freemantle, to be sure, to have an English Cup tie played on their own midden, and with the Southampton St. Mary's men too".

[12] Sixty seats in the grandstand were reserved for the price of two shillings (10 pence) and a platform was built around the pitch to accommodate the extra spectators, with the ground being raised at one end to make it more level.

[12] The Saints showed their superiority with a 5–1 victory, with goals from Jack Farrell (2), Alf Littlehales and Willie Naughton, all of whom had joined the club from Stoke, and Joe Turner, another summer recruit from Staffordshire.

[14] This earned them a test match against Northfleet who had finished ninth in the eleven team First Division, in which Southampton St. Mary's were champions for the first time.

[15] After the game, Northfleet lodged a protest concerning the legality of one of Freemantle's player's, Phillips, who played most of his football with Royal Artillery Portsmouth.

The committee ruled that Freemantle be deducted two points, dropping them to fourth and that both sides involved in the test match should remain in their original divisions.

[15] The decision to nullify their First Division status threw Freemantle into a state of crisis, with both the club secretary and treasurer resigning.

[4] As the Saints were still tenants at the County Cricket Ground, at the cost of £200 per season, while Freemantle were paying £28 to the Atherley Estate, which was met by a donation from Chamberlayne, the proposal was seriously considered by St. Mary's.

Another goalkeeper, Irish international Matt Reilly played on loan at Freemantle[19] in 1896 before helping Portsmouth to the Southern League title in 1901–02.