‘There’s a bit of soul searching going on’ – Moneyfields boss Glenn Turnbull after fifth loss in six matches

A Ben Morris header gave Portland a 3-2 home win and condemned the visitors to a fifth league and cup loss in six matches.

Moneys have shipped 18 goals in those games, with their only success in that period a 1-0 Premier Division win against second-bottom Cowes Sports.

After falling behind, goals from Callum Laycock and James Franklyn had put Moneys into a half-time lead.

Liam Sayers levelled on 66 minutes - his second goal of the afternoon - before Morris struck four minutes later.

Having allowed midfielders Danny Burroughs and Rafferty Boyd-Kerr to leave in the past week, Turnbull travelled to Dorset without Callum Glen.

Jordan Pile was then forced off with an injury, meaning sub Lawrence Cooper - normally a left-sided midfielder - had to play in a central role.

‘If you concede three goals in the manner we did you deserve to get beat,’ was Turnbull’s take on the loss.

‘There’s a bit of soul-searching going on at the moment.

‘It’s as tough a time as we’ve ever faced as a management collective.

‘Training is good, but we look tentative when we step on the pitch for games.’

Turnbull added: ‘I’ve taken a bit of criticism on social media - ‘it was a ridiculous decision to let Rafferty go (to join Newport IoW).’

‘But he’s not on a contract, and the kid just wants to play football - what I am supposed to say, ‘no’?

‘We’ve only played five league games and it’s early September; I wouldn’t say the wheels have come off, but they’re wobbling.

‘The reserves are going through a sticky patch, they’ve got a really, really young side at the moment.

‘With the ability in our squad, we should be around the top five. We’re not having a Manchester United sort of bad run, or a Leicester City sort of bad run – we’re somewhere in the middle.’

Unlike their local Wessex League rivals, Moneyfields can offer reserve team football in the Hampshire Premier League. But, says Turnbull, that’s not necessarily helping him to keep players.

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‘It should be a selling point,’ he remarked. ‘Our reserves aren’t in the Wyvern U23 league, they’re in the Hampshire Premier. That should be enough for some players, but it seemingly isn’t.

‘Last year we could have won the Hampshire Premier League. We could have had two separate squads.

‘Right now, that’s not looking like my wisest move (letting a lot of last season’s reserve regulars leave en masse in November). But long term it has to be the right thing for the club in terms of bringing the youth on.’

Signing new players to boost his first-team squad, meanwhile, is easier said than done.

‘I’m meeting a player on Tuesday,’ said Turnbull. ‘But he’ll probably want to start.

‘Money is not necessarily in abundance at the moment, I can’t go offering players £100 a week. And whoever I look to bring in will probably want to start … it’s tough at the moment.

‘Dec (Seiden) was on the bench (at Portland) and was clearly unhappy, and I get that. But we’ve got Laycock, Hutchings, Dec and Franko in the forward positions and we can only really play three of them.

‘I’m looking for a reaction from those that haven’t been playing - Dec, Harry Birmingham, Dylan, Corey (Heath) - when they get their chance.

Birmingham has one more game of a three-match suspension to serve, while goalkeeper Dylan Kramer, signed from Baffins last week, was on the bench for the 180-mile round trip to Portland.