FA VASE 4TH ROUND : Portishead 0 AFC Stoneham 4.

Portishead Town v AFC Stoneham, FA Vase 4th Round, 11th January

Report by Matt Gillett of Portishead Town

Portishead Town’s historic run in the FA Vase was ended by a very strong AFC Stoneham. Clinical finishing gave the visitors a 4-0 win, the scoreline very harsh on Posset. Three goals behind at the break Posset came close to reducing the deficit in the second half but couldn’t quite make the breakthrough.

In the opening quarter of an hour of the game Portishead dominated possession with Stoneham barely able to get out of their own half. Posset’s crisp passing stretched the visitors defence as fullbacks Hamish Hurst and David Thorne pushed up high. Posset forced a number of corners without being able to create too many clear openings.

After weathering that early pressure Stoneham grew into the game and took the lead after 23 minutes. Posset were unable to clear a ball into the box and Oliver Jenkins curled in. Portishead responded well as Tom Llewellyn arrowed a long pass into Ethan Feltham’s path, his pacey right wing cross grabbed by Stoneham keeper Callum Lee as Owen Punselie arrived on the 6-yard box. Then on 25 minutes Posset keeper Ryan Thatcher saved well at the feet of the impressive Stoneham No10 Owen Fee, with the rebound being skied.

Stoneham doubled their lead after 36 minutes, a high cross from the left poked in by Duarte Martins. Worse on the stroke of half-time as, from a long ball into the box, Mat Bainbridge guided his header into the net for 3-0.

Portishead began the second period well with a number of efforts on goal in the opening minutes. Lee had to deal with shots from Kyle Egan and Punselie, while Feltham saw his effort blocked after Egan had shown great skill to cross. The Posset goal that would have brought them back into the game wouldn’t come though as Stoneham held firm.

The visitors always offered a threat and Thatcher had to save low as Stoneham broke. From the resulting corner the keeper had to be alert to push the ball out from under his crossbar. Portishead pressed but Stoneham were working hard closing in numbers on Feltham, Punselie and Jay Murray as soon as they received the ball. Lee was again called into action to save low from Callum Eastwood. Then on 69 minutes a characteristically bold Feltham effort from distance struck the woodwork.

With Posset throwing players forward Stoneham added another on 78 minutes, Ash Pope shooting powerfully past Thacker for 4-0 and victory for Stoneham. A tough afternoon for Portishead but they can exit the competition with heads held high. A best ever run in the Vase is another measure of the huge and ongoing progress of this club. The character in this side will ensure they bounce back as attention turns back to the league campaign.