PORTLAND United boss Simon Browne felt the Blues made Sholing “pay” for missed opportunities after a late comeback earned them a 2-1 win in their Sydenhams Wessex League Premier match at Grove Corner.

A penalty from Ryan McKechnie and a Lewis Clarke strike, both coming in the space of two minutes, overcame a fourth-minute opener from Daniel Mason to give Portland their first home triumph since the opening day of the season.

Browne told Echosport following the victory that Sholing’s situation had mirrored that of his team’s on several occasions this campaign.

He said: “I said (at half-time) there’s been plenty of games this season where we’ve been in Sholing’s position but haven’t killed sides off. We made Sholing pay.

“Credit to our guys, we were much more solid defensively. If we keep doing that there’s always a chance we can get something at the other end.

“Hopefully the lads will have learnt something from that. They will understand that if we stay in the game as long as possible that can happen.”

Browne believed his side “dug in” after a half in which the Boatmen were “all over” the Blues.

He said: “We dug in and got something out of the game that earlier in the season we might not have done. First half they were all over us to be honest.

“I wanted us to start bright and put them under a little bit of pressure by squeezing the play a little bit, but they did exactly that to us.

“They scored with a ball whipped in to the far post. It wasn’t a great goal to concede. They probably deserved to be ahead, but they didn’t apply the killer touch.”

But Browne was pleased with Portland’s second-half response, adding that Sholing looked “shell-shocked”.

He said: “Second half we started much the better. They were still a threat going forward. They had a couple of half chances where they could have put the game to bed but didn’t.

“When it’s 1-0 you’ve always got a chance to get back into the game.

“With 20 minutes to go we decided to chuck Lewis (Whyton) on up front and play three up top.

“We got a penalty within five or six minutes of him coming on. Their right-back handled it and Ryan stepped up to score. They were a little bit shell-shocked to be honest.

“All of a sudden they were looking at getting a point or not even that. Then a ball down the left caused a bit of panic and Lewis struck the ball home.

“We rearranged things and Lewis went to play at the back and we had a 5-4-1 formation and made sure we saw the game out.”

Blues: Lillington, Smith, Bessant, S Buckler, Holland (Payne 46), Doidge, McKechnie, Mitchell (Whyton 70), Halloran, Godfrey, Clarke. Subs not used: Diaz, Hibbs