PORTLAND UNITED 0

BAFFINS MILTON ROVERS 1

White 27

PORTLAND United fell 1-0 to Baffins Milton Rovers in a drab affair where the home side failed to muster a shot on target.

The difference between the two sides arrived in the 27th minute when Jamie White fired home the all-important goal to seal the points for the visitors.

The home side also saw Lewis Clarke substituted due to an ankle injury, while Ryan McKechnie was sent off late on for two yellow cards.

It was the Blues’ fourth game in eight days and their third consecutive defeat.

The game got off to a bad start for the islanders, with Clarke turning his ankle after five minutes and was replaced by Robinson Okumu.

After 27 minutes, poor defending from the hosts saw the ball played in, which was then cleared to the edge of the box, where White powered through and smashed past Portland goalkeeper Sean Lillington.

The two sides went in at the break with the home side trailing.

In the second half, the away side had a long-range effort, which was comfortably dealt with by Lillington in the Portland goal.

McKechnie then earned a yellow card for a trip on a Baffins player, before, after 80 minutes, he pushed another opponent off the ball and earned a second yellow card to reduce the home side to 10 men.

The Blues could not find a way back as they fell to defeat, but stay 14th in the table.

Portland interim-manager Gary Bailey said: “It was not a particularly great match, there were very limited chances from both sides.

Bailey admitted it was pretty disappointing to not register a shot on target during the match.

Bailey said: “Some days you get what you deserved and we did not deserve to get anything out of this game. We huffed and puffed but our quality was poor and our energy levels were pretty low.

“They were brighter than us and threatened a little bit but nothing really came of it.”

Referring to Clarke’s injury, Bailey said: “That unsettled the shape of the side, that is not a reflection on Robinson coming on it was just that we were set up to play a certain way with Clarke in the side and it disrupted our plans really.

“We just never really got going.”

On McKechnie’s yellow card, Bailey said: “It did not really affect the game. Late on you do not want to lose players but I do not think it had a dramatic affect on the final outcome.”

Portland: Lillington, Smith, Butcher, Buckler, Zima (Mitchell 80), Doidge, Bessant, Bearwish, McKechnie, Clarke (Okumu 5, Read 80), Whyton

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