Bristol Road, take me home, to the place I belong!

With great fanfare and many special guests, Portishead Town returned to their redeveloped ground with a new 4G pitch.

And after all the formalities, they got down to business with a dominant display and a 3-0 win against Ilfracombe Town.

Unchanged from last week’s FA Vase victory, Posset took control from the start in what would be a tough afternoon for the visitors.

With midfielders Mitch Osmond and Kyle Egan at the heart of so many moves, Posset zipped the ball around the new surface.

Jay Murray, in a free role behind the strikers, was cropping up all over the attack.

Posset had already threatened when, in a good team move, they scored in the 13th minute.

Owen Punselie, released by Ethan Feltham, hit the ball across goal for Feltham to side-foot home.

Only a minute later, the overlapping Hamish Hurst was almost in after a weaving run by Murray.

With Posset snapping away at Ilfracombe every time they had the ball, the visitors found it hard to get any meaningful possession.

The only surprise was that Portishead didn’t extend their lead before half-time.

Feltham came close on several occasions, shooting just over from a tight angle and drawing a couple of saves from Ilfracombe’s keeper.

Immediately after the break, Ilfracombe finally managed to get on the attack, Hurst putting in a well-timed block to prevent a break into the Posset area.

Hurst then managed to get forward to put in a cross, after a good link-up between Tom Llewelyn and Egan, which Feltham headed just wide.

The No.9 wasn’t to be denied for long though, and in the 53rd minute, Feltham was put through, slotting a second after his initial shot was parried.

Then Punselie nearly got on the scoresheet, releasing Murray on the right, then meeting his cross with a strong header against the foot of the post.

It fell to Osmond to get the third on 58 minutes when he intercepted an Ilfracombe pass and, spotting the keeper off his line, curled in a glorious effort from well outside the box on the left.

Portishead’s high-octane pass and move continued to carve out openings even whilst they made a number of substitutions.

At the same time, the home defence continued to snuff out any hint of danger.

On the strength of this display, the new 4G surface is thoroughly conducive to Posset’s pacey attacking style.

With 16 of their remaining 23 league games to be played at Bristol Road, it bodes well for the rest of the season in what remains a very competitive division.