FAREHAM TOWN 2

PORTLAND UNITED 2

PORTLAND United fought back from being two goals down to secure a vital 2-2 draw against Fareham Town.

The Blues started the game brightly, creating two or three good chances in the opening period of the match.

But they were dealt a blow shortly after, when a long ball over the top wasn’t cleared, allowing the hosts’ striker through to put the ball in the back of the net.

The islanders failed to get themselves back into the first half, and found themselves 2-0 down when another ball over the top led to Fareham doubling their lead.

Portland looked stunned as they went in behind at the break, but responded magnificently as Alex Godfrey hit a sweet effort into the top corner of the net to get them back into the game.

This was followed by a fine bit of play as Godfrey found Ryan McKechnie who slotted home to draw the sides level.

Both sides had opportunities to win the game, only for the two goalkeepers to keep their sides in the match.

Despite hitting the crossbar, Portland struggled to take the initiative to win the game in the closing stages, and manager Gary Bailey admitted that the draw was a deserved outcome.

He said: “We’re disappointed because we want to win games but you’ve got to put it into perspective. We haven’t been beaten, Fareham are second or third in the form guide and we’ve dug ourselves out of a hole.

“We were disappointed with our first-half display but felt we had more than enough to get something out of the game.

“Any other week if we hadn’t have been on this winning streak we’d have been saying how good a point that was after being 2-0 down, so it’s a measure of how far we’ve come.”

The result ended the Blues’ winning run, but Bailey is keen to keep things in perspective.

He said: “You can’t detract from 14 wins on the bounce. It was always going to come to an end but that’s football.

“Like I’ve said all along it’s important we don’t get too highs with the highs or too low with the lows. It feels like a low but in the grand scheme of thing it’s a decent point.

“It’s important that we don’t too low about Saturday. I refuse to let that take the shine off the result after how well we’ve done since October.We’ve got to find the positives out of it and move on.”

Blues: Lillington, Doidge (Bessant 80), Whyton, Carmichael, Clarke, Halloran, Buckler, McKechnie, Beasley (Smith 82), Bastick, Godfrey (Clarke 70)