HOLYPORT heaped more pressure on rivals Burnham after a 3-2 win in round one of the Hellenic League Floodlit Cup on Tuesday.

Port manager Barry Rake had some strong words for his side before the match at The Gore following a 7-0 defeat at Broadfields United in the FA Vase on Saturday.

The team responded to move into a clear lead inside nine minutes thanks to goals from debutant Michael Davies and Fabian Drifill.

Barry Dunbar pulled a goal back for Burnham but a second Drifill strike meant Holyport were in the driving seat at the half-time interval.

The home team halved the deficit after the break to set up a grandstand finish to the cup tie, but Port were able to hold on for the win and can look forward to a home second round tie against Virginia Water.

Rake told the Observer: “It was a close game that could have gone either way. Our keeper made some fantastic saves towards the end and we managed to get the win.

“We didn’t play well at all on Saturday but we managed to get two goals ahead within 10 minutes. When you go two goals ahead it’s quite a good lead.

“We started well and Burnham came back strong towards the end, but we did well to win because the performance was a lot better than last weekend.

“We got stuck into them before the game because we were not good enough on Saturday and it seemed to help. We were fast out the blocks so that probably had something to do with it.

“Burnham could have equalised late on but our keeper made some fantastic saves.”

Holyport return to action in Division One East with a trip to Wallingford Town this Saturday (3pm), before hosting Virginia Water at Summerleaze next Tuesday (7.45pm).

Rake said: “Wallingford are new to the league and we’ve not played them but they are probably one of the stronger sides looking at their results.

“It will be another tough game against Virginia Water. I’ve never played them before but I imagine they will be a strong side. We will do our best to get something out of it."

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