Image: Dave Wagner
Match Report: Dave Ring
Millbrook 1–2 Portland United
Saturday 28th February 2026, 3:00pm
Test Park Sports Ground,
Attendance, 58
Under clear skies at Test Park Sports Ground, after a week of grim forecasts and a precautionary pitch inspection, Portland United made sure the sunshine was matched by a bright result as they edged Millbrook 2–1 in a fiercely contested encounter in front of 58 spectators.
Both sides approached the game with determination and real purpose, and from the first whistle it was clear there would be little time or space afforded anywhere on the pitch. Challenges were wholehearted, midfield was a battleground, and neither goalkeeper was afforded a quiet afternoon. Portland, however, carried the greater cutting edge, and their persistence was rewarded at the perfect moment.
Just before the break, with half-time looming, Jamie Cleaver struck a vital blow. A sharp attacking move opened Millbrook up, and Cleaver kept his composure to fire the Blues into the lead. It was a goal that shifted the mood decisively, sending Portland into the interval with momentum firmly in their favour.
Millbrook emerged after the restart determined to respond, but it was the visitors who struck again. Twenty minutes into the second half, Archie Woolford doubled the advantage with a clinical finish that underlined Portland’s growing authority in the contest. At 2–0, the Blues looked in control, and the management team acted quickly to keep things fresh. On the hour mark, Ben Morris replaced Patrick Jenkins and Hayden Scott came on for Jack Delves, injecting renewed energy into the midfield and wide areas. As the game stretched, Remus Nixon was introduced for Greg Borthwick after 70 minutes to reinforce the forward line and maintain the pressing intensity.
Millbrook refused to surrender and threw everything forward in the closing stages, eventually pulling a goal back late on to set up a tense finale. Portland responded with composure rather than panic. Euan Joyce replaced goalscorer Woolford on 85 minutes to shore things up, and in the dying moments Jamie Symes came on for Josh Williams as the Blues managed the clock with maturity and discipline.
The final whistle confirmed a hard-earned 2–1 victory, earned through resilience, organisation and quality in the key moments. The result keeps Portland United third in the play-off places, just three points behind second-placed Hamble Club, who have played a game more. With the run-in gathering pace, the Blues are firmly in the hunt and showing no signs of letting up.
Full time, Millbrook 1–2 Portland United.
Millbrook: Walder, Cole, Batley, Fuller (C), Nolan, Clarke, Russel, Kelly, Parker, Drake, Puleo.
Substitutes: Ball, Hill, Biddleston, White, Connelly.
Portland United: Smalley, Coombs, Stuttle, Cleaver, Gadsby, Corbridge, Jenkins, Williams (C), Borthwick, Delves, Woolford.
Substitutes: Scott, Symes, Morris, Joyce, Nixon.
