THE PARK V PORTLAND....

A final run out before it all starts for real on Sunday when the Reserves will play their first ever Charity Cup game ...........

All available players are asked to meet at Bedford Park at 6.10pm
for the friendly against the PARK F.C.
PLAYERS PLEASE NOTE
£10 SIGNING ON FEE'S ARE NOW DUE............

Portland Reserves first ever encounter in the Charity Cup resulted in a 3-1 defeat away to Dell Rangers Reserves,but it had manager Daz Taylor singing the praises of his newly formed charges at the final whistle after the clubs newly formed second string gave Tony Dawson's experienced Dell Rangers side more than a run for their money.
In fact,with a little more composure in front of goal Portland could well have been two or three goals ahead,NOONAN,RILEY,and PARRY all had good opportunities to score before Dell Reserves produced a "sucker punch" that left the visitors trailing at half time by 1-0.

Manager Daz Taylor's encouraging half time team talk kept the
players spirits up,and they started the second period in buoyant mood,but when a DEMPSEY back pass to keeper DODD fell short
the hurried clearance fell at the feet of a Dell player who had the simple task of shooting into an empty net.

Although 2-0 down Portland had created plenty of chances and were never out of the game,TAYLOR and COOPER brought out good saves from Dell keeper BIRCHALL,and PARRY,who was enjoying a fine game on the left flank, fired in a couple of efforts
that had keeper BIRCHALL scrambling across his goal line.

Midway through the second half Rangers scored their third goal
after they split the Portland defence with a neat move,but the players never gave up and got their reward when MORAN converted a penalty that gave his side the goal they had truly deserved...........Daz Taylors charges had given him everything,
and the season looks promising,if they show this commitment week in week out ,then they should be in for a decent season.


TEAM.........DODD,SELLS,DEMPSEY,YEWDALL,MORAN.
GARDNER,COOPER,B.TAYLOR,PARRY
RILEY,NOONAN.Subs J.TAYLOR,PYE,BEESLEY.

The Portland Reserve team squad..............
Goalkeeper ANTHONY DODD................
MARTIN MORAN converts his spot kick past CHRIS BIRCHALL.....

SUNDAY SENIOR CHARITY CUP ..SCARISBRICK HOTEL.....1
PORTLAND...................4
at Bedford Park...29/8/07

The 2007/8 Charity Cup started with a bang for Premiership new boys Portland F.C. with a convincing victory over Scarisbrick Hotel with a fine 4-1 victory.
The star of the show was latest signing BILLY McDOUGALL who put in a solid performance in the heart of the defence along side
ALEX LENNIE who was outstanding in the absence of the injured CRAIG GREEN.

The home side ,who were marshaled from the back by old warhorse DENNIS ALLEN,never looked like recovering from a two goal half time deficit after ALEX LENNIE scored from a dubious
penalty decision and PAUL RIMMER added a second with a neat far post header.

Second half strikes from IAN PARRY and substitute JOE MIDDLETON eased the visitors through to the next stage of the competition where they will meet Pinewoods F.C.who won their first round encounter against Cream F.C by 5 goals to 3..

Brick pulled a goal back to make the score 1-3 and launched plenty of balls into the Portland defence in search of a second goal that would have made to a frantic finish,but with the pace of PARRY,MIDDLETON,and HILL they were always a threat themselves and
put the game to bed when substitute MIDDLETON fired a low shot past the home keeper to give the visitors a well earned victory.

Team...........HARRISON,LENNIE,McDOUGALL,WRIGHT,MORAN.
A.TAYLOR,A.RIMMER,P.RIMMER,HILL.
PARRY,C.TAYLOR.Subs..MIDDLETON,LANGFORD.

Scorers...LENNIE(pen)P.RIMMER,PARRY,MIDDLETON.

The Reserves are in league action on Thurs night 30/8/07 at Portland street against Brown Turner F.C....K.O.6.30pm.

SUN DIV 3 ...BROWN TURNER 3........PORTLAND RESERVES...3

With sundays encouraging charity cup performance still fresh in their minds the Reserves looked good value for their 2-0 half time lead,but a below par second half performance let the hosts of the hook as they battled back to earn a draw with a goal out of nothing in the final five minutes.

A MARTIN MORAN penalty and a STEVE COOPER goal from twenty yards gave the visitors a well earned 2-0 lead and in all fairness the game should have been out of sight by the interval
with NOONAN,PARRY,and AARON TAYLOR all having good scoring oppotunities.

A sloppy start to the second half gave the home side the upper hand and when a BT forward fired in a shot that found the back of the net via the crossbar it was game on.

IAN WHITEHEAD'S comeback after a lengthy lay of through injury
was greeted with loud cheers when the half time substitute scored with a far post header to give his side a 3-1 lead that should have sealed all three points,but no sooner had he scored when the unfortunate BOB TAYLOR pocked the ball home into his own net and gave BROWN TURNER a glimmer of hope.

With only five minutes remaining a BT player sent in a cross come shot from the left wing that keeper DODD could only watch as the ball sailed high into the top corner of the net for a truly freak equalizer

The game ended 3-3 and probably a fair result with neither side worthy of all three points.


Team............DODD,MORAN,YEWDALL,B.TAYLOR,GARDNER.
A.TAYLOR,C.TAYLOR,COOPER,J.TAYLOR.
NOONAN,PARRY.Subs..DEMPSEY(Gardner)WHITEHEAD(A.Taylor)RILEY(J.Taylor)LANGFORD,BEESLEY.

Scorers....MORAN(Pen)WHITEHEAD,COOPER.

SUN PREMIRSHIP .....PORTLAND 1 PINEWOODS 2
2006 Premiership Champions Pinewoods F.C. walked away from Bedford Park with all three points leaving a bemused Portland F.C. to look back on a game that will surely go down in District League history as a game that might well appear on the BBC's Crimewatch U.K. programme.........because beleive me,this was a "robbery" that took place within two minutes,and ended with the the culprits escaping back up the Formby By-pass!!!

The game kicked off with Pinewoods on the attack,and a poor clearance from keeper HARRISON fell at the feet of a visiting player who shot and brought out a save from HARRISON that was scrambled away to safety...

Portland settled,and a fine drive from CRAIG TAYLOR brought out a good save from the visitors keeper and kept the home side on the attack for the majority of the half in which all eleven players were giving Champions Pinewoods a run for their money with some delightful football..........

Pinewoods showed why they are champions with some neat one touch football that enabled them to attack the home defence,but with McDOUGALL and LENNIE solid at the heart of the defence a way through was impossible,and with both PAUL and ANDY RIMMER commanding in front of the back four in a formidable midfield alongside MIDDLETON and HILL the home side
enjoyed plenty of the first half play that could well have brought about the opening goal when striker CRAIG TAYLOR was unlucky to see his effort canon back of the crossbar......
HALF-TIME..O-O.

With Pinewoods having the advantage of the stiff breeze at their backs for the second period Portland went with a five man midfield dropping CRAIG TAYLOR alongside PAUL and ANDY RIMMER in the centre of the park and leaving the hard working TOM SWIFT to "go it alone" up front and keep the visitors centre
backs busy with his pacey runs..........The change in formation
worked a treat as the home side dominated for the rest of the second period........Both CRAIG TAYLOR and JOE MIDDLETON hit the crossbar in the second half,JOE MIDDLETON then had a shot cleared off the line and a wonder strike from a free kick by AARON TAYLOR brought out a brilliant save from the visiting keeper.

Portland kept up the pressure and it payed of midway through the half when RICHARD HILL powered in a header from a corner to give his side a well earned lead......Although Pinewoods were seeing plenty of the ball themselves they never tested keeper HARRISON with any real effort on goal and made things easy for a resilient Portland defence with high balls into the area that the ex Southport keeper gobbled up with ease........

With the clock running down Portland where in control and on their way to three valuable points,but with the game well into injury time disaster struck ........a long ball into the home defence was deflected into his own net by the head of ANDY RIMMER,and straight from the kick off Pinewoods won back the ball and with it fed their centre forward who calmly sloted past keeper HARRISON for a winning goal that over the ninety minutes never looked possible The referee's whistle brought ecstatic scenes from the visitors who had succeded in the football equivalent of HIGHWAY ROBBERY !! and a scoreline of 2-1 in their favour...........

The devastated home side got changed and drowned their sorrows in the Portland pub............honestly,you just had to be there to witness it...........unbelievable!!!
Team......HARRISON,PARRY,LENNIE,McDOUGALL,A.TAYLOR
MIDDLETON,P.RIMMER,A.RIMMER,HILL.
SWIFT,C.TAYLOR.Subs C.GREEN.LANGFORD.
Scorer.......RICHARD HILL.
The RESERVES made it four points from two games with a good win away to CAF'E DART F.C.............the second strings scorers were JOSH TAYLOR,STEVE COOPER and ROSS NOONAN.

Even Dick Turpin wore a mask

:

Originally Posted by All Rounder

Even Dick Turpin wore a mask

Now Glenn,you were there to witness it,i hope your report is accurate!! ...........................i still can't believe it!

Originally Posted by Birk Daley

:

Now Glenn,you were there to witness it,i hope your report is accurate!! ...........................i still can't believe it!

Very similar indeed

Due to a few pre-season injuries and players work commitments
the club are looking for any strikers with District League experience who have yet to sign for a club.........If you are of a decent standard and are looking to play on a sunday morning you can contact one of the clubs officials on the following numbers..........

DAZ...........07938790675...Reserves
MALC.........07960943118..1ST Team
MIGGY........07763763034..1ST Team

The club have two teams in the District League with players from the age of 16 to 35 years of age........feel free to call

Thurs 6th Sep...

Three more points for the Reserves keeps their unbeaten run in tact,and although this was probably their poorest performance so far,DAZ TAYLORS newly formed second string did what was needed and took all three points to stay unbeaten in the league
after their first three games.

A poor first half,with neither side taking control,was brought to life when 17 year old JOSH TAYLOR latched on to a smart pass from BOB TAYLOR and scored a goal for the second game in a row.

A thunderous shot from a Dunes striker that hit the bar was the nearest that the home side got to scoring in a half that was littered with mistakes from both sides.

Manager TAYLOR sent on substitute CARL FRAZER for the start of the second half and the debutant was soon into action with a fine snap shot that tested the home keeper.
Striker IAN WHITEHEAD took up a deeper position for the second period and allowed ROSS NOONAN to push futher forward

Midway through the half FRAZER tucked away a neat finish to give his side a two goal cushion,but soon after Dunes centre half
moved forward with the ball and unleashed a thunderbolt from 25 yards that keeper ANTHONY DODD could only watch as it flew past him into the net.

At 2-1 the home side rallied and put the visitors defence under
pressure,but they held tight and were marshalled well by CHRIS YEWDALL in the Portland rearguard...a late challenge on substitute IAN BEESLEY in the penalty area resulted in referee DAVE TAYLOR pointing to the spot,and when full back MARTIN MORAN tucked away his third spot kick of the season the game was as good as over and three more points in the bag.

Team........DODD,MORAN,DEMPSEY,YEWDALL,GARDNER.
RILEY,COOPER,B.TAYLOR,J.TAYLOR.
WHITEHEAD,NOONAN.
Subs...FRAZER(Riley)ADAM(Cooper)BEESLEY(J.Taylor)
Scorers....J.Taylor,Frazer,Moran(pen)

17 year old JOSH TAYLOR who has made a decent start to the season with two goals in two games.

No report today? Is that because Dell stuffed you Birk?

Originally Posted by Rafa Benitez

No report today? Is that because Dell stuffed you Birk?

Wouldn't call it stuffed

Portland arrived at Meols Park full of optimism after last weeks encouraging performance against Champions Pinewoods,but they say that two games are never the same and this performance proved it,especially in the second half when the visitors "gifted" the home side victory when three basic defending mistakes turned the game around and with it all three points.

For the second week running Portland had to field a scratch side
with injuries still hampering manager DAVE MIDDLETONS team selection,Dell Rangers also had problems with several early morning cry-offs and had to name manager ALAN McKENZIE amongst their substitutes.

The first half was something of a cat and mouse affair with both sides seeking to control the game and get a foothold in the middle of the park.
First blood went to the visitors when teenage striker JOE MIDDLETON found the back of the net with a superb glancing header that beat the keeper at his near post.
HALF-TIME 0-1

At the interval the players were reminded that games in this league will require concentration for the whole ninety,most teams in the Premiership have their share of good experienced players,so commitment and effort is a must for the whole game if you are to get the rewards............the words of wisdom at half time fell on deaf ears as Portlands second half display was to be their downfall with several players taking their foot of the gas and some dreadfull defending allowing Dell to up the tempo
and take a 3-1 commanding lead.

Portland where given a lifeline when RICHARD HILL clawed a goal back after good work on the right flank from TOM SWIFT,
but Dell Rangers hit back and when BILLY McDOUGALL got caught in possesion with the ball and the home side scored again and sealed the match with a 4-2 scoreline.

Portland have the chance to put things right on Wednesday when they entertain Pinewoods F.C. in the Charity Cup at Bedford Park k.o 6.15pm...............if the lads can cut out the silly mistakes,and concentrate for ninety minutes then we could be in for another close game with the Premieship Champions.

Team v Dell........
DODD,PARRY,McDOUGALL,LENNIE,A.TAYLOR.
LANGFORD,A.RIMMER,P.RIMMER,HILL.
SWIFT,MIDDLETON.
No Substitutes available....

The Reserves kept their unbeaten run going with a 4-2 home victory over Wyke Cop Albion Res at Portland Street......
After trailing 1-2 with only ten minutes remaining DAZ TAYLORS charges through everything at the visitors and came out on top
with goals from ROSS NOONAN(2) IAN WHITEHEAD,and RICHIE PYE.

The reserves are at home to DUNES F.C. on thursday night and if results go their way they could find themselves in pole position
this week-end.............well done so far!