AFC STONEHAM 4

PORTLAND UNITED 0

PORTLAND United were dumped out of the FA Vase first qualifying round after a disappointing 4-0 defeat at AFC Stoneham.

The Blues have now conceded four goals in each of their past four games and were unusually quiet in front of goal all afternoon.

Two shots from Ben Morris were their only chances of note in the first half before the Purples dominated the second.

Stoneham grasped control of the game as Portland failed to deal with set-pieces.

Regulation balls into the box troubled the Blues as Mat Bainbridge and Will Wiseman punished lacklustre marking.

Portland gave away a penalty for 3-0 as Duarte Martins converted and the Purples’ number seven was on hand from another set-play to make it 4-0, wrapping up the £550 prize money and sealing a home tie in the next round with Blackfield & Langley.

READ MORE: Bournemouth Poppies 4-1 Portland United - match report

Speaking to Echosport, fuming Portland boss Franklyn Clarke did not hold back in his assessment of the Blues’ performance.

He said: “We went out second half, conceded about 55 (minutes). We just have players who don’t know how to respond to going 1-0 down and think the game’s done.

“Then you go 2-0 down and they think the game’s definitely done.

“When you’re 2-0 down, all it takes is one goal from us and the momentum swings and before you know it you get an equaliser.

“But at the minute, it seems that once we concede one it’s panic stations. This was an issue last season as well.

“I can put on whatever coaching session I want. I can do any team talk, tactics I want.

“What I can’t give the players is desire, mentality. I can’t coach that. You’ve either got it or you haven’t. At the moment, we’re lacking it.”

Clarke added: “We didn’t have a recognised striker. Greg (Borthwick) is injured and Joel Hewitt is away so we had to play with Macca (Ryan McKechnie) up front, which is not ideal because we need him in midfield where he’s best.

“But they were the better team. They deserved to win, not by four goals, but when you defend set-pieces the way we defend set-pieces and when we allow runners to run off, you should expect four.

“When people are getting across you, that’s passion, determination, desire and heart. I can’t coach that. I’m not afraid to change.

“I’ll bring people in who do have it.

“That’s the fourth game in a row where we’ve conceded four. The players need to look at themselves.”

*Team line-up TBC