PORTLAND United boss Brendon King warned of a challenging afternoon should the Blues fail to be “at the races” against Bashley in their Sydenhams Wessex Premier Division clash tomorrow (3pm).

King’s men have scored 17 goals in their past two league games against Amesbury and Bournemouth Poppies, but last weekend exited the FA Vase first round following a 2-0 defeat at Exmouth Town.

But the Blues have the chance to leapfrog ninth-placed Bash should they secure victory at the Weyline Stadium.

Kind told Echosport: “We’ve got a tough game. Bashley on their day are capable of beating anybody, they’ve got some good players, they’re normally organised and are another team that works really

hard.

“They don’t give you much time on the ball. If you’re not at the races, you’re not getting anything out of it. It’s a really important game for us this week.”

King was less than enamoured with Exmouth’s pitch last weekend and the Portland manager is relishing a return to the Blues’ renowned home turf.

He said: “We seem to play a bit better because we know what we can do at home – we’ve got a good surface.

“On the flip side sometimes when you go away from home you don’t get that luxury of playing on decent surfaces. You’ve got to be prepared to mix it up.

“But we’ll be able to get it down and play a little bit more of the football we do want to play.”

Striker Bailey Rowe returns after scoring in the British Virgin Islands’ 4-3 loss to Bonaire in midweek, while Alex Godfrey (groin) will undergo a late fitness test.

Centre-back Sam Buckler still awaits a scan on his troublesome groin injury.