McDowell, Bradbury and May on target for Blues
Pompey Academy ended their Youth Alliance League campaign with a 3-1 victory over Newport at Furze Lane.
They took the lead midway through the first half when Sam Woodward found Kyle McDowell and the left-back cut inside before slotting the ball home.
But the Blues back-line then failed to deal with a diagonal ball and the visitors punished them with an equaliser.
Pompey restored their advantage after the interval, however, with Harvey Bradbury converting Calvin Davies’ cross.
Newport’s hopes of getting something from the game were dealt a further blow when they were reduced to 10 men.
And the hosts made their numerical advantage count, as Adam May (above) smashed home their third goal after a ball into the box had only been partially cleared.
Academy coach Mikey Harris said: “It was a very good all-round performance from the lads and I was pleased with what I saw.
“We scored some impressive goals, although I’m not sure Kyle knew what to do when he found the target – we have a hard time getting him to shoot in training!
“He’s a talented defender, but we’ve been working on him being a bit more positive going forward and it’s pleasing to see that pay off.
“It was disappointing to concede before half-time and at the break we spoke about being a bit less direct and sticking to our usual principles.
“Harvey then scored a bullet header and despite us dominating possession, the game started to become a bit niggly.
“Their player was sent off for a second booking and that allowed us to take complete control, with Adam wrapping up a positive result.
“Now we just have to wait and see whether we’ve managed to sneak into the qualification places for the top tier of the Merit League.”
Pompey: Bass; Davies, Widdrington, Saidy (Theobald 81), McDowell; May, Scutt; Smith (Chandler 65), Bedford, Woodward; Bradbury (Mayes 74)
Academy duo Kaleem Haitham and Brandon Joseph-Buadi made their first appearances for Wimborne Town at the weekend after joining the Southern League outfit on loan.
And the latter scored on his debut to help secure a 2-0 victory away to Larkhall Atheltic.