10 Men Claim Late Victory - Portland United vs. Blackfield And Langley

There were over 250 inside The Weyline Stadium for this Vase tie

I had Monday off and so I decided I could travel a bit further this weekend and so I visited a ground I've had my eye on for a long time. The ground in question was The Weyline Stadium home of Portland United who were hosting Blackfield and Langley in the second round of The FA Vase. It promised to be a great match with the two sides being third and second in the league respectively with just three points separating them. Portland have won consecutive promotions to get to where they are in The Wessex Premier Division and have made a very good start at this level. The two sides meet earlier in the season at The Weyline for a league which Blackfield and Langley won two one back in August.

Kick off in the second round of The Vase

The Portland forward is able to get the better of his man in the opening stages but no one can get the vital touch on his drilled ball across the six yard box. They come close again as a cross to the back post finds the man in space and he puts his header just wide of the upright. Portland are well on top and the Blackfield keeper has to make a great save after the left winger beats his man and unleashes a powerful shot. The Blackfield keeper is then grateful for his defence when they block a close range effort on the goal line. Blackfield's first clear cut attack comes as a drilled cross is punched away by the Portland keeper. In the closing stages of the half, the Blackfield player is giving a second yellow following an incident with a Portland player.

The Blackfield keeper punches away under pressure

Blackfield have a couple of sights of goal early in the second half, the best coming after a quick break which ends in a great low save by the Portland keeper. It is however Portland who take the lead. The goal comes at the end of a great move and the forward runs into the area and beats the keeper at his near post. The lead doesn't last for long however. The midfielder is robbed on the half way line and as the Blackfield attacker closes in on goal he is fouled and the referee awards the penalty. The Blackfield player makes no mistake from the spot to level the scores. The ten men believe they can get the win and the Portland keeper makes a decent spot to keep out another Blackfield effort. They do get the late winner as the man is found in space and he lashes the ball in to put Blackfield into the lead. Portland frantically push for an equaliser and the Blackfield keeper is able to tip over a dipping effort. Then from the resulting corner, he claims a deflected shot and this proves to be the final action of the match.

Portland attack the clubhouse end in the second half

The closest railway station to Portland is Weymouth and trains from Waterloo take just over two and half hours. A short walk from the station to The Kings Statue and you can take the number one bus to just past Grove Road. I got off the bus at the bottom of the hill to try and look at the castle and this may have been a mistake as the walk up was punishing to say the least. Half way up the hill are The Britannia  and The Royal Portland Arms which both have a good selection of beers. Once I got to the top of the hill I visited The New Inn which had a decent selection of ales and craft beers. The clubhouse the the ground offers elevated views of the pitch and there was a beer festival on for my visit which was a bonus. The people at the club are extremely friendly and went well out of their way to make sure I enjoyed my visit. The island in general has a lot of stunning views and I didn't see everything on the island. It is possible to do this trip in one day but I elected to spend the night in Weymouth and if you opt for this option, The Hotel Rex is perfect for this.

Another view of the stand