PORTLAND United manager Gary Bailey feels teenager Tom Bearwish will continue to grow into the Portland shirt after he scored the winning goal in the Blues’ 1-0 victory over Andover Town on Saturday.
The striker came off the bench to head in from a corner and Bailey, who has seen the teen rise up through the youth ranks in recent years has a bright future ahead of him.
Speaking about Bearwish, Bailey said: “He’s a Portland lad and he’s come up through the youth ranks.
“Obviously, he is dual-registered with Eastleigh so his first priority is them.
“We have a good relationship with them, but we have to be careful with him
“He’s only 16 and he’s playing a lot of football.”
He added: “We are mindful and we’re not going to get carried away with him. He’ll get more and more involved as the season progresses.”
The victory ended a four-game winless run in the league for the Blues, and it was also their first clean sheet since mid-August, something that Bailey was pleased to see.
He explained: “Lewis Whyton and Ross Carmichael have a great understanding at the back and that really helped. “We’re also starting to see the best out of Chris Clarke.”
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