KYLE Critchell heralded an evening full of positives as Portland United got their pre-season campaign off and running with a 5-1 win over Sturminster Newton United.

Portland went 3-0 up by half-time as Jamie Symes, Pat Jenkins and George Stuttle all scored.

Aaron Lane-Leney pulled one back with a smart finish early in the second half but a Greg Borthwick penalty and a late goal for Crit Clarke handed the Blues a healthy winning margin.

Speaking to Echosport following the friendly, Critchell said: “You can tell in the first half we were fairly sloppy at times, that’s going to happen.

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“On the whole, we’ve worked really hard at creating more possession and I think we did that.

“There are obviously going to be games we can’t do that but for a first fixture I’ve really enjoyed watching it.

“The players put a lot of effort into it and it was a competitive game.”

Portland were clinical in front of goal, pouncing on any mistake the Cherries made.

“Very good signs,” Critchell said. “We have to sharpen up, we know that, but in terms of scoring five goals in your first pre-season friendly I’m really happy with that.

“There was some real talent out there. We’re creating a really good ethos at this club. We’ve got an environment (that) so many youngsters are coming into.

“A big shout out to Darren (Husher) and James (Coat), they’re under-18 lads, I thought they were fantastic.

“That is our squad. We’re strong and we’ll look to promote from within.

“I appreciate in the local area it’s really difficult for Weymouth and Dorchester to promote from within because the gaps are so big.

“The jump from 23s to first team is massive. We’re a little bit more fortunate with regards to our side in the DPL and the Wessex Prem. The gaps are smaller.

“It allows us to do things like we did (Wednesday) and long-term it puts us in a really good position locally to try and attract the best youngsters.”

Critchell also referenced the impact of new recruits Freddie Beale and Pat Jenkins.

He said: “I chased both all through pre-season. If you’d have spoken to them, they’d be bored of my voice!

“I’m very excited for the pair of them. I think Freddie is a fantastic young man.

“You constantly hear it’s about size and you need to be big. Actually, no. You need to give them a platform to go and succeed. I think he’ll do that.

“Patrick is the opposite end of the scale. He’s massive. He’s also young with great potential.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do but for a first pre-season game I thought it was fantastic.”

Portland next travel to Bridport for their second summer friendly on Saturday (2pm).