BRENDON King hopes Portland can show the same character against Lymington tonight (7.45pm) as they displayed in their 3-2 defeat to Horndean in the Sydenhams Wessex Premier Division on Saturday.

Despite being a man down for 85 minutes, after Ryan McKechnie received a straight red card, the Blues were only undone via a late goal from the Deans.

The Blues face a Lymington side 21 points and 10 places behind the Blues, who could go second with a win this evening.

King said: “We have got to bounce back now, if we show the same character as we did (against Horndean), then we will not be far wrong.

“It will be tough up at their place, they have got some good players.

“We will just have to regroup and look to bounce back.

“The character (against Horndean) was great and we want to carry that through (against Lymington). Losing a man after five minutes and going a goal behind we could have folded but they didn’t.

“If we can take that into (Lymington) then we will not be far away.”

McKechnie will be available, with the suspension for his straight red card not yet due.

Ross Doidge failed a fitness test prior to the match on Saturday, and he will be assessed before Lymington, while Darren Watts and Steven Walker will return.