BASHLEY 4

Ross 2, McGrath, Whiteley pen

PORTLAND UNITED 1

S Roche

PORTLAND United were beaten for a third consecutive Sydenhams Wessex Premier Division game as Bashley ran out 4-1 winners at the Recreation Ground.

Defeat had looked unlikely early on as the Blues carved out a succession of chances, Ben Morris curling wide and firing over before Bailey Rowe’s rising drive flew over.

Bashley punished Portland for failing to press the ball in their right-back area the hosts evaded trouble before constructing a flowing move upfield, finished off by a deadly Lewis Ross shot.

Portland’s Jamie Beasley then spent 10 minutes in the sin bin for dissent and Bashley capitalised fully, extending their lead to 2-0 when Ross grabbed his second.

With Beasley still sin-binned, Bashley caught goalkeeper Steve Boore off guard as Harry McGrath launched a long-range shot soon after the restart to lob the Blues’ stopper.

Portland boss Brendon King, furious with Beasley, subbed the winger for Eder Batista on 40 minutes as Bashley preserved their three-goal lead into half-time.

King’s stern words at the break produced the desired effect as Portland worked hard on a boggy pitch and pulled a goal back courtesy of Sol Roche.

Good work by left-back James Cox set Morris free and the winger’s deft through ball allowed Roche to beat keeper Dan Kempson to reduce the arrears.

Portland’s momentum was dented when Shaun Bessant was sin-binned, Bashley lethally using the advantage again when Connor Whiteley slammed home a penalty given when Boore upended Ross.

Speaking to Echosport, King felt a “very, very poor” first-half display had been the catalyst to defeat.

He said: “It was a bad day at the office on a very, very heavy pitch.

“We were very, very poor in the first half – 3-0 down at half-time. To give the boys credit, second half we came back and got a goal.

“We were the better side and missed chances to make it 3-2 which would’ve made the last quarter of an hour a bit interesting.

“Then they went up the other end and Boorey’s given away a penalty, so it’s a little bit disappointing.

“A little bit of ill discipline on our part hasn’t helped, albeit I’ve got to question some of the decisions by the referee which has cost us in a couple of incidents.

“I know about sin-bins but decisions went against us and on Bashley’s side of things it didn’t.

“We were on the back end of that, but that’s no reason why we didn’t play well in the first-half.”

Blues: Boore, E Roche, Symes, Bessant, Cox, Godfrey, Williams, Morris, S Roche (Hereka 80), Rowe (Hutchinson 65), Beasley (Batista 40).

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