CHERRIES were denied victory by Dan Butler’s late belter as an experienced Portsmouth side snatched a 2-2 draw in today's Development League clash at Hamworthy Club.

Pompey, who fielded first-teamers Michael Poke, Alex Wynter, Jack Whatmough and Nigel Atangana, had the better of the first half and took a 32nd-minute lead when Poole Town loanee Jack Maloney teed up Ben Close.

Cherries kept plugging away and an incisive break down the left ended with Harrison Gilkes and Joe Quigley forcing a fine double save from Poke before Ben Whitfield netted the rebound three minutes before half-time.

In an open start to the second half, Bradley Tarbuck and Whatmough wasted presentable chances for the visitors before Harry Cornick’s mesmeric run and shot drew a fingertip save from Poke.

Cherries grabbed a foothold in the game and took the lead on 66 minutes when Aly Coulibay’s slick one-two with Whitfield ended with the Senegalese midfielder rounding Poke to score.

But Pompey were not done and with two minutes to play, left-back Butler stepped up to fire home an unstoppable swerving free kick which cannoned in off the far post.

Cherries might have claimed all three points at the death but youth-team striker Sam Surridge, on as a second-half substitute, thumped over from a corner in stoppage time.

Development boss Stephen Purches declared himself pleased with Cherries’ display but admitted to a pang of regret over Pompey’s late equaliser.

Purches told the Daily Echo: “You come up against very different teams each week in this league and Portsmouth have put together a decent, experienced side.

“From our point of view it was a great challenge and parts of our play were good but others could have been better.

“Ideally, you want to implement your style of play but at times you have to adapt that to try and move the opposition round a bit.

“We had a little chat at half-time about how to build on the good things we did first half and went on to create some really good chances. On another day we might have killed off the game.

“But after that it was about making sure we dealt with the last 10 minutes.

“From the players’ point of view, they will have that a lot of times in their careers and results hinge on how you manage the game. Hopefully they will learn from it and deal with that situation better in future.”

Purches revealed that striker Josh O'Hanlon remains sidelined with a knee trouble, while Josh Carmichael has had surgery on a collarbone injury.

Purches added that Sam Matthews (ankle) and Brandon Goodship (knee) were making "good progress" in their respective quests for fitness.

Cherries: Holmes, Muleba, Buckley, McCarthy, Butcher, Coulibaly (Walsh, 68), Cornick (Harfield, 85), Worthington, Quigley (Surridge, 73), Whitfield, Gilkes. Unused subs: Lee, O'Flaherty (g/k).