Portishead Town 7 Falmouth Town 0
Match Report by Matt Gillett / 14th March
Southern League Division One South
A magnificent seven as Portishead Town hammered Falmouth Town with a sumptuous display of attacking football. In a performance of tempo, vision and verve but for the woodwork, heroic goalkeeping and a number of near misses, they could easily have doubled the 7-0 margin.
Setting up again in a 4-2-3-1 Portishead tore into the opposition. Just 4 minutes in, after Mitch Osmond won a crunching tackle, Jack Thorne shook the crossbar. On 11 minutes Jay Murray, sublime ball skills all afternoon, brought a stretching save from Falmouth’s keeper. Two minutes later Tom Llewellyn shot just over.
Falmouth couldn’t contain Posset’s interplay. The offside flag chalked off Murray’s 20th minute finish. After another shuddering Osmond challenge, Kyle Egan tricked his way into the box bringing another save. As Portishead created angles across the front-line, Aron Robbins’ measured 27th minute pass released Thorne who poked home for 1-0. After 30 minutes Thorne broke right and crossed, the keeper somehow clawed away Egan’s close range effort.
Posset purred through the gears as Owen Humphries drew another save, then in the 38th minute from Jamie Adams’ cross Murray headed against the bar after another great passage of play. In first-half added time Humphries showed great footwork to come in from the left, exchanged passes with Thorne, then curled gloriously into the net.
Defenders Adams, Robbins, Hamish Hurst and Ollie Woodhouse snuffed out any isolated threat, keeper Jakob Glover rarely called upon, as Posset rang up the season’s thirteenth clean sheet. Portishead extended their lead on 51 minutes: Osmond to Egan, he found Thorne whose effort was saved. Thorne managed to get possession to Humphries who claimed his second goal. Then Egan played a 55th minute free-kick to Osmond, edge of the box, and he powered in for 4-0.
From another sweeping attack Murray back-heeled to Llewellyn, from his cross Humphries came close. Then Murray had another attempt tipped over after Egan’s assist. Just to make life a bit harder, Falmouth went a man down after a second yellow card.
Portishead introduced substitutes Mason Winter, Lucas Vowles, Matt Britton, Jaden Neale and Dean Griffiths. Britton’s 80th minute long ball found Robbins and from his cross Griffiths headed against the bar. Neale picked the ball up and crossed for Griffiths to convert. Then on 84 minutes Robbins sweeping cross–field pass set Neale away on the right, he drove forward and hammered home for 6-0. Playmaker Egan, pivotal in so many moves, picked up a richly deserved 88th minute goal, swopping passes with Llewellyn from a corner and rounding off the scoring at 7-0.
The sides meet again in Falmouth on Tuesday. Despite their dominance here Posset will prepare for, and expect, another tough challenge.
Ben Shepherd
Hugo Richards