MERLEY COBHAM SPORTS 1 PORTLAND UNITED 0

MERLEY ended the Blues’ unblemished start to the season with a late winner.

Portland squandered numerous chances throughout the game at Merley Park and were made to pay for their misses when Dave Weeden struck three minutes from time.

Reigning Dorset Premier League champions Portland got off to a slow start and they were forced into a change early on when captain Lewis Whyton injured an ankle.

But after that, they asserted their dominance and new Blues’ keeper Warren Boyt, who joined the Grove Corner outfit from Weymouth Reserves, didn’t have too much to do.

Ryan McKechnie and Ed Bastick had two of the visitors’ best chances after the break but their profligacy in front of goal would come back to haunt them.

A loose piece of play from a throw-in allowed Merley to attack, and, although Boyt saved the first attempt, Weeden was there to snatch the winner.

Reflecting on his side’s first defeat of the campaign, Blues’ boss Gary Bailey said: “We created enough chances to have won, which was disappointing.

“We didn’t start well but finished the first half on the front foot and probably should have taken the lead with the chances we created.

“Ed Bastick was electric down the flank and he put a number of balls into the box that weren’t put away.

“We were confident at half-time that we could go out and get the result in the second half, and we created chance after chance but our final pass was poor.

“Ryan McKechnie went through one-on-one with the keeper and tried to chip the ball over him but it went over the bar, then Ed had a shot saved by the keeper and that was the story of our afternoon.

“With about three minutes to go we got caught by a long ball over the top, their lad ran on to it and although Warren saved his shot the rebound was tapped in from close range.”

He added: “I felt we deserved at least a point and if we had scored early in the game we would have gone on to win it.

“The result is disappointing but I can’t be overly critical about the performance. We’ve only dropped three points after eight games and I would have been quite happy with that before the season started. We’ll look for a reaction against Shaftesbury on Saturday and hopefully we can bounce back.”

Blues: Boyt, Smith, Whyton (B Doidge 15), Carmichael, Reader, Bessant, Bastick, McKechnie, Price, Clarke, Linaker (May 60). Sub not used: Holland