CLICHÉS are as ubiquitous as goals in football but in Portland United’s case, adapting one of the game’s most famous sums up their past year.

There can be no doubt that the Blues have just contested a season of two halves, judging by their stonking finish to the 2022/23 Wessex League Premier Division campaign.

Portland in August began in the midst of boss Franklyn Clarke and assistant Sam Poole’s third season with the club.

Although the pair had overseen only one full season at the helm, hopes were high of an improvement in fortunes after a 15th-placed finish in 2021/22.

READ MORE: Portland United to prioritise young players in summer

However, they went winless in the first month and were dumped out of both the FA Cup and League Cup, picking up a solitary draw at Hamble.

They had to wait until the first week of September to beat Alresford Town 4-2 for their first victory of the season.

It sparked a six-game unbeaten run including four victories and ignited hopes of a resurgence.

Once more though, a worrying downturn in form, featuring a 4-2 FA Vase loss to Cribbs, eroded some of the good work that had been done.

The decline coincided with Poole leaving the club in mid-October and patchy results continued until the end of the year when Shaftesbury knocked the Blues out of the Senior Cup on penalties.

Portland then stunned the Rockies by grabbing an unlikely draw after fighting back from a 3-0 deficit in what proved to be their final match for a month, owing to poor winter weather.

During that time, Clarke had made up his mind to leave the club and did so after the 5-2 loss to Bemerton in mid-January.

Mark ‘Reggie’ Carter was the chosen interim manager and he led the Blues to a highly impressive 1-0 win at Moneyfields in their next game, George Stuttle scoring a blockbuster from 30 yards.

The victory was Portland’s first on the road and preceded Kyle Critchell’s arrival as the club’s new manager, along with assistant Jamie Symes.

They immediately made the Camp & Satherley Stadium a fortress, going unbeaten at home in seven games and securing six victories in the process.

Away form was still a problem but, fired up by a superlative eight-game unbeaten run, the Blues beat Fareham and Alresford on their travels, sandwiching a memorable stoppage-time comeback to beat US Portsmouth 3-2.

Although two losses at big-hitters Bemerton and champions Horndean ended the season, Portland made huge strides with their young group to finish 11th.

The acid test now for Critchell and Symes will be how far they can build on that success next season.

Critchell has already earmarked his player dealings to err on the younger side, in line with Portland’s vision.

And the consensus is that with the right amount of quality in all areas of the pitch, Portland should be aiming for a top-half spot in 2023/24.