A Pompey side made up of youth and experience were just two minutes away from victory at Dorchester Town last night before a mix-up between David James and Callum Reynolds presented the home side with an easy equaliser.

Ronayne Marsh-Brown made the most of the easiest of opportunities to tuck in the equaliser.

And although it appeared rough justice on Pompey, had they made more of their creativity earlier on – when Sean Davis was in the thick of things – then Marsh-Brown's late strike would have counted for nothing more than a consolation.

Nevertheless, credit must go to Magpies manager Shaun Brookes for totally rebuilding a side who struggled at Blue Square South level last season – and on this showing at least, could do far better this time around.

Indeed, having done extremely well to keep Pompey to just a single-goal advantage, Dorchester wasted a glorious chance to win the match, only for Roy O'Brien to fire wide of James' goal from point-blank range just moments before the referee ended what was an absorbing tussle.

Many Blues fans helped swell the crowd at the neat and tidy Jewson Stadium to a figure not far short of 1,000 and with the sunshine beating down, Pompey went in search of an early goal.

The nearest they came, though, was a couple of blistering drives that Richard Hughes flashed the wrong side of a post from distance.

Not surprisingly, Linvoy Primus looked short of match practice but he still managed to come through 65 minutes before being substituted in favour of England youth international James Hurst, who joined Pompey from West Brom at the tail end of last season.

Alongside the experienced Djimi Traore, Hurst looked the part, as did Martin Cranie and Reynolds in the heart of Pompey's defence – though the latter's inexperience showed when he allowed Marsh-Brown to get between him and James to roll in an equaliser.

Davis gave a classy performance, engineering many fine moves from midfield and even getting back to head the ball off the line with James beaten – before joining in an attack at the other end and striking a post.

Just when it seemed the match would end up scoreless, Pompey finally broke the deadlock midway through the second half with a goal that many around the ground thought had been snapped up by academy youngster Paris Cowan-Hall.

It was, in fact, an own goal after a Dorchester defender turned the ball in with his head.

Loan striker Ben Sahar from Chelsea struggled to get into the match, likewise Danijel Subotic who took his place from the substitutes' bench after the interval to link up with trialist Tassa Hussain and Mvuemba, both of whom worked hard.

'It was a tough workout for the lads which is just what they needed at this early stage of pre-season,' said Pompey coach Paul Groves.

'What particularly pleased me was the effort of my senior players who looked after the youngsters in the side.

'For me that says much about the character of the players I work with day in and day out.

'As such, the performance is far more important than the result.'
Dorchester boss Shaun Brookes saw things very much the same way, though
was disappointed not to see his side snatch a late winner.

'Harry Redknapp sent a very experienced side here and presented us with a tough workout,' said Brookes.

'And after beating Weymouth last week, we can hold our heads high as we have now held Pompey in a match that could have gone either way.

'What delighted me was the attitude of my players who could have nicked a result in the end.

'Goals win matches and both sides had chances to win it. So perhaps a draw against the FA Cup holders will be a major boost to our confidence.'

Dorchester Town: Macintaggart, Jermyn, Smeeton, Bowles, Walker, Clay, Watts, Hill, Mudge, Puckett, Nicholson, Ody, Marsh-Brown, O'Brien, Liburd, Mitchell, Osei, Forbes, Moss, Allen, Crittenden.
Pompey: James, Hughes, Subotic, Davis, Traore, Primus, Mvuemba, O'Brien (GK), Cranie, Blackman, Hurst, Cowan-Hall, Krumah, Pack, Reynolds, Sahar, Hussain.