PORT Glasgow’s poor run of form continued on Saturday with yet another home defeat, this time at the hands of Forth Wanderers.

It continued a dismal sequence of results for the Parklea men, in particular on their home turf where they have now suffered four losses out of five home fixtures played as their season reaches the half-way stage.

This match followed an all too familiar pattern, with Port Glasgow opening brightly enough but then losing an early goal and ending up conceding more later on as they tried to chase the game.

With just 20 seconds on the clock Steven McAfee tested Wanderers keeper Paul McKane with a drive from outside the box which the stopper did well to parry round the post for a corner.

Forth were already playing a dangerous offside trap, but it was beaten by Scott Nugent after four minutes, allowing the striker through on goal, but his shot flashed wide of the post.

But it was the visitors who took the lead with virtually their first foray up front, when a low shot from Chris Lennon eluded Port keeper Bryan Tucker and nestled in the net.

McAfee was thwarted again by the visiting keeper shortly afterwards, when a fierce shot from long range was touched over the bar.

Veteran midfielder James Dick was the first name to go into referee Alan Grainger’s book on 20 minutes.

It was the first of no fewer than 10 bookings the whistler dished out during an occasionally ill-tempered match, but it was to prove particularly costly for the former professional, as he picked up another yellow card midway through the second half and was sent off.

Meanwhile, Forth’s Lennon was causing no end of bother to the Port defence.

A shot on 36 minutes came back off the post, and just a minute later he ought to have put his side two up when allowed a clear run on Tucker, but sent his shot wide of the post.

Port Glasgow’s hopes of taking anything from the game looked remote when Forth hit them with a quick-fire double strike within the first nine minutes of the second half getting under way.

Lennon outpaced the home defence before crossing for Brown to net with a simple tap-in on 50 minutes. Then four minutes later a neat passing interchange ended with Jamie Lindsay scoring with a low shot past Tucker.

You wouldn’t have given much for the Port’s chances of getting anything from the game at that point, but Nugent gave them a glimmer of hope when he scored with a header from an Alan Jamieson cross on 62 minutes.

And the normally deadly striker had a golden opportunity to net again a few minutes later, but with only keeper McKane to beat the front-man lobbed the ball goal-wards, only to watch on in despair as it missed the target and hit the side netting.

Suddenly, Forth were reeling under the pressure, and their manager was ordered from the dug-out after one too many comments made to referee Grainger in the wake of Dick’s red card.

And it really was game on when Wanderers centre-half Jordan Smith headed into his own net to reduce the Port’s deficit to just one with seven minutes remaining.

The siege on the Forth defence continued, with sub Andrew Ellis coming close near the end but taking one too touch too many and losing the opportunity.

Then in stoppage time his fellow substitute Graham Black was bundled over in the box by Forth’s Brown, but the referee didn’t have a clear enough view of the incident through a ruck of players to justify giving the spot-kick.

But still the Port pushed forward, and in the dying seconds Brendan Sharpe had a clear view of goal but skied his shot over the bar and the final whistle then sounded, much to the visitors’ relief at having survived the late siege on their goal.

Port manager Craig Brown said: ‘’We created bags of chances in that second half and should have taken at least a point from the game.

‘’But there seems to be a lack of confidence in the team at the moment, and when we got our first goal that confidence came back, but we couldn’t quite get the equaliser. Over the piece the referee had a decent game, but our penalty claim at the end was a stonewaller, and lately these are the kind of decisions we just haven’t been getting.’’ PORT GLASGOW: Tucker, Grana, Coyle, Gordon, McClement, Gault, Kearns (Ellis 61), Sharpe, Nugent, McAfee (Black 55), McCormick (Jamieson 55). Sub not used: Docherty.

Port Glasgow Juniors are sponsored by Regents Vehicle Sales, Greenock, and MAC HSL Ltd.