ANDOVER NEW STREET 0

PORTLAND UNITED 5

PORTLAND United manager Gary Bailey was left in dream land after his side clinched the Wessex League Division One title with three games to spare as his side thrashed Andover New Street 5-0 on Saturday.
A hat-trick from Alex Godfrey and goals from Carl McClements and Lewis Whyton helped the Blues to the crown at the first time of asking.
The visitors capped off a memorable week as they won four games in seven days as well as winning the league and clinching promotion.
After a hectic week, Bailey was extremely proud of his players’ effort that has seen them win the league.
He said: “There is huge relief and pride with what this squad has achieved. To secure back-to-back promotions and secure the league, it’s more than we could ever have wished.
“It is fantastic for the club, everyone has worked so hard, the players have been terrific.
“Today was tough after the games we’ve played this week but they came through it.”
Understandably, the hectic schedule meant that the Blues started slowly but they soon found their stride and were ahead in the 20th minute.
Good play from Ryan McKechnie and Alex Halloran allowed Godfrey the chance to score and he made no mistake with a composed finish.
Bailey added: “We struggled in the first half and the goal should have settled us down. There was always a bit of tension about us.”
However after the break, and some encouragement from the manager they doubled their lead five minutes after the interval.
From a Halloran corner, Whyton had a free header and he powered it into the net to double the Blues’ lead.
The pressure lifted from the side and they started to play with more freedom.
Godfrey added his second of the game with a volley in the 65th minute before finishing off his hat-trick two minutes later.
McClements then got in on the act to score the third goal in a four-minute salvo from the visitors.
With the game won, the island side played the rest of the clash out in relative comfort, notching up another clean sheet – something which pleased the manager.
“It was nice to get another one (clean sheet) today and our defence all season has been fantastic,” he explained.
“We could have scored more but I’ll take 5-0, thank you very much!”
Portland: Lillington, Smith,Whyton, Carmichael, Bessant, Doidge (Camp, 67), Halloran, McKechnie, Godfrey (Mutch, 80), Linaker (Morris, 60), McClements
Subs not used: None