Moneyfields inflict a fifth straight home Wessex League loss on US Portsmouth in Portsea Island derby

US are languishing fourth from bottom after suffering five successive home Premier Division defeats.

A 3-0 defeat to Moneys - where Quirke was assistant manager last season - means they have scored just four times in those five losses, while conceding 14.

Asked if the league table concerns him, Quirke replied: ‘No, it doesn’t.

‘The table would concern me if our performances were matching our results, but we’re not performing like a team 17th in the table, we’re performing in excess of that.

‘We just need to cut out stupid mistakes and take some of our chances.’

A 3-0 defeat to Moneys would indicate a comfortable defeat, but Quirke said: ‘For large periods, we were the better side. It was lapses of concentration that really done us.

‘I was really, really pleased with the performance, but obviously disappointed with the result.

‘We had our fair share of chances, we probably had more chances than them, but they just didn’t drop for us.

‘I have been a bit critical of the players at times, saying we only played well in the first half or the second half, but this was pretty much a 90-minute performance, apart from a couple of lapses (in concentration).

Chad Cornwell, playing on the left of an attacking three behind central striker Steve Hutchings, opened the scoring in only the third minute. ‘We hesitated,’ rued Quirke. ‘T was a really disappointing goal, if I’m honest.’

SEE MORE: 25 photos from the US Portsmouth v Moneyfields derby

Quirke was forced into an early goal when striker Kelvin Mathe went off with a hamstring injury, to be replaced by Brandon Jewell.

Moneys boss Turnbull included eight former US players in his starting XI, including seven who were part of the squad that reached the FA Vase semi-final two seasons ago.

The only ones who weren’t ex-US were defender Jack Lee, Hutchings and Cornwell.

James Franklyn started despite having come off at Pagham a week earlier with a recurrence of the groin injury that forced him to miss the final few months of last season.

He lasted until the second half, whereupon he was replaced by former Pompey youth hopeful Charlie Bell.

Bell had only signed on two days earlier - making Moneys his third club in as many weeks after leaving Bognor and having a very short spell at Horsham.

There was also a debut for left-back Eric-Georges Dellaud, dual signed from Chichester City, who replaced Josh Hazell in the second half.

It was another second half sub, though, who was involved in Moneys’ last two goals.

Jack Chandler, who replaced Harry Birmingham at right-back, delivered a corner that Tom Cain toe-poked in at the near post.

Chandler then completed the scoring with a goal he enthusiastically celebrated. ‘Jack enjoyed his celebrations,’ said Turnbull. ‘The US bench had been giving him stick about his pace.’

Turnbull added: ‘We weren’t brilliant, a six and a half or seven out of 10, a B plus, a could do better.

‘But I have said to the players that I want achievement over effort for the next couple of weeks.

‘We need to get some results on the board, and we’ve made a start by getting three points at Pagham and three points at US.

‘I’m told we had looked a bit nervy in the second half at Pagham, but I didn’t feel that yesterday, I thought we still played with some freedom.’

As Quirke mentioned, US had chances. Midfielder Danny Burroughs, recently of Moneys. fired over after good work from Lamin Jatta while Dylan Kramer saved well from Harvey Aston at 2-0. Jewell later saw a header rebound off the bar.

Turnbull said: ‘They had a couple of chances that could have made it a bit different, but it’s all ifs, buts and maybes. We had other chances too - Chad was clean through one on one at 1-0 but the keeper (Charlie Shepherd) saved.’

Both sides have Tuesday Wessex away trips - Moneys off to Christchurch (their 14th successive away fixture in league and cup action this term) and US making the even longer journey to north Dorset to face Shaftesbury.