Portmore United FC lost a hard-fought battle, 1-0, to five-time Norwegian premiership champions Lillestrom SK yesterday, as they continued their 10-day preseason tour of Norway.

Last year's Digicel Premier League runners-up seemed to be suffering from fatigue owing to a schedule that saw them having breakfast at 7 a.m. before travelling three hours by bus from their base in Trysil to Lillestrom, some 10 miles outside of Oslo, for a mid-day game.

Portmore seemed unsettled for most of the first half and this resulted in the home side going ahead in the 20th minute, after a powerful strike by Nigerian forward Edwin Eziyodawe was parried by goalkeeper Dwayne Kerr into the path of an onrushing Magnus Myklebust. The big Norwegian striker then made no mistake in burying the gift into the back of the net.

In what was a creditable recovery, Portmore began to press after going down by putting together long periods of possession. However, they were unable to mount any serious challenges to the Lillestrom defensive unit and they went into half-time with the scoreline unchanged.

Substitutions

Portmore started the second half with an unchanged line-up but by the 60th minute made substitutions in the midfield and among the forwards in an attempt to get on the scoresheet.

The introduction of the likes of Cornelius Henry, Michael Binns, Damion Harwood, Ricardo Cousins and Tremaine Stewart breathed new life into the Portmore attack, which saw them getting several chances to score. Guest players, Rivoli's Devon Hodges, Tivoli's Roland Dean, Kemeel Wolfe and Harwood, in particular, could all have easily put the St Catherine-based side ahead. However, they were given a valuable lesson in professional application as the sturdy Lillestrom defensive unit calmly repelled their most promising advances.

Portmore continue their tour with several practice sessions over the next few days with a rest day on Sunday, before playing another Norwegian first division team next Wednesday. The team then returns home the following day.

Portmore opened their tour on Wednesday with a 3-1 win over first division side Nybergsund IL-Trysil.

Portmore United: Dwayne Kerr, Eric Vernan, Adrian Reid, Sheldon Battiste (André Darby 82'), Mario Swaby (Tremaine Stewart 75'), Damion Williams (Michael Binns 63'), Kevin Deerr (Ricardo Cousins 75'), Kemeel Wolfe (Tyrone Sawyers 58'), Bryan Bayliss (Cornelius Henry 60'), Devon Hodges (Damian Harwood 70'), Roland Dean (Gary McIntosh 70')

Lillestrom SK: Otto Fredrikson, Karim Essediri, Steinar Pedersen, Frode Kippe, Martin Siege, John Anders Bjorkoy, Khaled Mouelhi, Nosa Igiebor, Mathis Bolly, Magnus Myklebust, Edwin Eziyodawe.