BLACKFIELD & Langley's new striker Carl Walshe has started as he means to go on.

The 24-year-old Irishman scored with his first touch for the Sydenhams Premier leaders in Tuesday’s 4-0 League Cup win over Romsey Town.

Walshe has arrived at Gang Warily with a decent pedigree. He played for Shelbourne and Drogheda United in the League of Ireland and had a spell with Portsmouth as a youngster.

He signed for Pompey in 2009 before being released three years later and returning to his native Ireland via non-League stints with Frome Town (loan) and Bognor Regis Town.

Explaining Walshe’s arrival at Blackfield, co-assistant boss Chris Farrell said: “He’s a friend of Lewis Tallack (B&L full-back, also ex-Portsmouth).

“He was at Pompey for a while, returned to Ireland and then came back here, got himself a job, got a couple of promotions and football went further down the agenda.

“He did okay on Tuesday considering he hadn’t played for the best part of a year.

“Carl scored with his first touch and it was a good team goal too. We moved the ball through midfield and Kane Daysh played him through.”

Blackfield dropped their first points of a so-far sparkling campaign in a 1-1 draw against Hamble Club last weekend, ending an awesome run of 11 straight league wins.

They can expect another stiff test on Saturday (3pm) away to fifth-placed Lymington Town, whose unbeaten league start has been halted by back-to-back defeats against Andover Town and Sholing.

“I’ve watched Lymington twice, against Horndean and against Hamworthy in the FA Vase, and Sam House, a player we tried to sign last season, scored a hat-trick against Hamworthy,” said Farrell.

“It’s going to be tough, but we won’t go there to put ten men behind the ball. We’ll go there to try and win. If we play well, we’ve got a chance.”