PAGHAM 1

PORTLAND UNITED 1

PORTLAND United saw their winning run ended at Pagham as the Blues fought back for a 1-1 draw in the Wessex League Premier Division.

Portland were looking to book a seventh straight victory but must now settle for going seven games unbeaten.

Karol Skoczen put the Lions 1-0 up after just seven minutes when he capitalised on defensive hesitancy from a long ball to lob keeper Harrison Bruton.

Portland then piled forward and were unlucky not to equalise in the first half as Brin Doyle and Ryan McKechnie were denied by home stopper Lewis Boughton’s superb double save.

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Boughton produced a majestic stop to tip a long-range Doyle strike to safety in the 19th minute and Lance Wilson worked the keeper again shortly afterwards.

Pagham fired over Bruton’s bar in response but Bailey Rowe had Portland’s next big chance only to pull a shot wide when clean through.

The Lions did have an excellent opening for 2-0 before the break but Bruton got down low to make an important save and Pagham drilled the rebound over.

Portland were nearly caught napping in the first minute of the second half but luckily Bruton was alert to a one-on-one situation and repelled the Lions again.

He reaped the rewards for his saves when Connor Callow pounced on a loose ball inside the area from Jack Delves’ corner to score his first goal for the Blues on 56 minutes.

Big chances came and went for both sides as Pagham wasted a free header and Doyle blasted wide.

Pagham, needing a win in their bid to escape the bottom two, threw everything at Portland as Bruton palmed clear a 20-yard shot and the Lions then had a goal disallowed for a foul.

However, Portland held firm to secure the point, taking them into 11th place.

Speaking to Echosport, boss Kyle Critchell said: “It was a very respectable point. Pagham played really well and put us under a lot of pressure.

“It was a difficult fight and some of the lads really stood up to that. They should be really proud of coming away with a point.

“It’s probably a game in the past where they probably would’ve ended up losing.”

Portland face a tight turnaround with another long trip to rock-bottom Alresford Town on Saturday (3pm).

Critchell said: “If you look at their recent results, they’re always in tight games and they drew with Brockenhurst so they’re going to be in buoyant mood.

“It’s going to be a huge test but it’s a game we want to win and we’re excited to keep our unbeaten run going.

“Then we go into two really big fixtures (Bemerton and Horndean) with sides that are flying and scoring a lot of goals. That will really test us to see where we are and where our standards are.”

Liam Sayers (knee) is a doubt after suffering an injury at Pagham.

Blues: Bruton, Harvey, Delves, Williams, Bessant, Callow, Doyle, McKechnie (Cleaver 85), Wilson (Holloway 46), Rowe (Scott 70), Sayers. Subs not used: Lucas, Critchell.

Portland have been named Wessex League team of the month after winning all five games in March.

Meanwhile, Portland’s fixture at Horndean has been switched to Tuesday, April 25 (7.45pm).