Today was a difficult game away at Portishead Town (Rangers) our 3rd cup game of the season was a new challenge as it the first time we arrived at a game without any subs present.

We started well enough, and created many openings, forcing corner after corner. We also had to be aware of the threat on the counter attack, and had Sam to thank a few times with his pace helping out. We took the lead through one of our corners, with the ball being forced home courtesy of an Portishead OG.

After we scored, we didn't keep the pressure up as we would have liked and found ourselves making some mistakes which we don't normally, poor passing, weak challenges, and no competing. We ended the half 1-0 up and were not happy with our overall performance aside, Alfie Welch coming to the rescue in goal many times over.

The 2nd half we asked the team to be more assertive, demand more from each other and play to our potential. We knew it was difficult as we couldn't make any changes to freshen things up. Things got more difficult when we lost Kiran through injury part way through the half. We played the final 25 minutes with 10 players, which was a huge ask of the team and they stood up to the challenge.

We came under more and more pressure, as we had players tiring and suffering with knocks, thankfully we stood firm for long periods. Alfie Welch in goal with a pure masterclass in keeping, you could make a Youtube highlights reel with some of the top draw saves he was making, outstanding.

We had a few chances, and it wouldn't quite sit for us, and unfortunately with 5 minutes remaining we conceeded. Portishead took a throw in from on the pitch and this was missed by the ref, they went to score and make it 1-1. Shire thought there was a chance to win the game in the final minute, when the ref blew for we believed would be a penalty for Shire, with Jake having his shirt pulled over his head, however, the ref awarded Portishead a freekick...

The game finished 1-1, and despite Shire being below our usual standards in the 1st half, they rallyed and gave it their all when we were down to 10 players. They showed great character and determination.

Alfie Welch was MOTM, running out of superlatives to describe just how great his performance was. Perfect goalkeeping throughout.

This draw still leaves us unbeaten after 3 games, and we learnt where we need to improve to get a result next week. COYS.