Rangers beat FC 3-2 but the Port team didn't go down without a fight. FC scored twice in the final 15 minutes of the match but couldn't get that equalising goal.

Prodigal son Sam Wilson scored a cracking free kick in his first game back after a serious leg injury and Aaron Grose slotted a penalty as FC came to life late in the match.

Grose almost bagged a free kick of his own but his curler hit the bar and went out.

FC struggled to get into the game, but Wilson's goal seemed to fire up the side. The pressure soon swung towards Rangers as FC grew in stature.

Wilson came back on after a year and a half away from the game. He broke a leg badly against Kempsey Saints and then again when preparing to make his return.

When he put in a beauty of a free kick, it lifted his team immensely.

"He deserves a lot of credit for that," his father and FC coach Tony Wilson said.

"It's funny what one kick can do."

The team lost but Wilson still looked forward to the rest of the season.

"I think we took loads of confidence out of that," he said. Wilson said his team ran out of time in its comeback.

"Five more minutes and we would have got a point there," he said.

A COUPLE of controversial early goals set the scene for "one of those days" for Port United on Saturday.

United went down 4-0 to last season's Football Mid North Coast Premier League grand final opponent, Wallis Lake, at Boronia Park.

Jake Avery gave away a penalty when he was struck on the shoulder in the box, before the referee ruled a ball had crossed the line after a corner for United to be 2-0 down.

Walsh questioned that decision, saying United defender Brad Spokes dived forward off the line to clear the ball away, so it couldn't have been a goal.

United pushed in the second half but couldn't find the net. Lake scored another couple of goals to complete the rout.

Walsh was pleased with "everything bar the result", but even that didn't displease him too much.

"On paper it looks bad, but it wasn't that bad," he said.

"They took their opportunities and we didn't."

Walsh said his team had plenty of chances in the Lake box, but the last pass went awry or the Lake keeper made a crucial save.

It wasn't for lack of trying. There's no real difference between a 2-0 and 6-0 scoreline, so United went out hard.

"We had no option to be aggressive after going down two goals," Walsh said.

"I was happy with how the guys played, it was just one of those days."

A horrible tackle left Brendan Prince with a leg injury and in doubt for this weekend's away match against Macleay Valley Rangers.

Walsh said that game would be a tough ask given his team's run of recent results.

Rangers are coming off a victory over Port FC on Saturday.

"Obviously they're playing well," Walsh said of the Kempsey-based team.

"We'd better start winning matches or we'll be fighting for the wooden spoon."