CRANBORNE 2 Portland UTD 4

PORTLAND United bounced back from their poor showing against Chickerell United with a comfortable victory over lowly Cranborne on Saturday.

The Blues had been off-colour in their 2-0 defeat on Thursday evening, but responded in the right manner with their 15th Dorset Premier League victory of the season.

Cranborne took a surprise lead only for Alex Halloran to equalise, before Mitch Conning and Rob Maxted asserted the islanders’ supremacy.

The home side then pulled one back but Ashley Smith calmed any lingering nerves 10 minutes from time, as Portland retained seventh place in the standings.

Manager Stuart Heath said: “Everybody was disappointed after Thursday because we let ourselves down with our display. We learned a lot of things and will be for better for it.

“We had a good chat about what went wrong and about the players’ responsibilities. Sometimes you have to go through games like that to become stronger.

“It wasn’t easy to get back out there after saving our worst performance for arguably our biggest game, and our heads could have dropped when we went 1-0 down.

“But we stuck to our task and I knew that if we stayed patient and kept moving the ball around well, we’d get our rewards.

“The game had an end-of-season feel to it but we got the three points and need to make sure we stay motivated, because we have some tough fixtures coming up.”

Heath also paid tribute to the telling contribution from Halloran, adding: “By his own admission, Alex had a poor game on Thursday but he was outstanding against Cranborne.

“He was back to his best and his goal was a reflection of his performance. It was a very good individual effort and one that shows what he’s capable of.”

Portland bossed the opening exchanges but found themselves chasing the game when Nick Beatie netted for the third-bottom home side against the run of play.

The Blues continued to control possession and finally levelled through star man Halloran, who ensured that the match was deadlocked at the break.

Young striker Conning capped another promising display with a goal, before substitute Maxted climbed off the bench and scored with his first touch of the afternoon.

The Cranes halved the arrears via Joe Hawkins, but Smith dispelled any thoughts of a comeback late on.

Portland now have a respite before their next engagement, a trip to Days Park to tackle fifth-placed Swanage Town & Herston on Thursday night (7.45pm).

Blues: Carroll, Cranny, J Charles, Clarke (Skelton 60), Miles, Halloran, McKay, Smith, Churchill (Turrell 60), Conning, Whyton (Maxted 65).