Veterans' League

PORTLAND TOWN 0 WAREHAM RANGERS 1

PORTLAND were beaten by current Veterans’ League champions Wareham Rangers at the billiardsboutique.com bowl in their first fixture of the new season.

The islanders took the game to Wareham during the early stages.

Frontman Paul Cole created chance after chance for himself but his efforts were either tame or went wide.

Cole’s strike partners, Alex Counter and Mickey Jolliffe, also had opportunities to put their side in front but, as with Cole, they left their shooting boots in the changing rooms.

Wareham offered very little in the way of an attacking force with just the long ball over the top as their only tactic, which the hosts’ wellmarshalled midfield of Anthony Desmond, Colin Rice and man of the match Dave Adkins easily dealt with.

The latter going closest to scoring on the half hour with a delightful chip from 30 yards that caught the wind and eventually went just over the bar.

Wareham continued with the long ball and, after a succession of offsides, broke though with just four minutes left on the clock of the first half to take the lead.

The second half was like the Alamo for Wareham with Town parked in the visitors’ box for almost the whole 45.

More efforts rained in on the Wareham goal that seemed to be living a charmed life. Cole hit a post while efforts from Counter and Jolliffe seemed easier to score. But it remained 1-0 to the champions.

After the game, island boss Andy Barber said: “I’m gutted with the result. But the performance was outstanding.

If that’s the best this league has to offer this season we have nothing to fear from anyone.”

“The lads were superb and played all the football. It’s not easy against a team that plays the long ball for virtually 90 minutes and the law of averages would suggest they would get their chance.”

Portland: Orchard, Chester, Birch, Whisselle, Morris, Desmond (Hunt 80), Rice (Raza 45), Adkins, Counter, Jolliffe (Forty 75), Cole Billiardsboutique.com Man of the Match: Dave Adkins