Seven minutes from time, Jags rightback Emerson Araya stormed up the wing and crossed the ball. Port Hill failed to clear the danger and the ball fell to Josling, who had been operating on the left. He took a touch and hit the ball on the half-volley with his right foot, curling it in at the top right corner of the goal.
Before that, Thistle had hit the crossbar and created “quite a few” chances, particularly in the first half, Blair said.
Thistle had played a 4-3-3 system, with Mark Baple in goal, Araya at rightback and Kuba Jerabek on the left, with Daniel Venema and Ander Batarrita controlling things well in the middle of the defence.
Ema Martos and skipper Nick Land held the midfield ground, with Land cutting out a lot of the Port Hill passes and Martos detailed to drop back when Port Hill looked to play the ball long, so that Batarrita could fall back to cover.
Tomek Frooms was given freedom to work across the midfield, changing the angle of attack and keeping the Port Hill defence guessing.
Up front, Davie Ure led the attack, with Ventre on the right and Justo Rodriguez on the left. Rodriguez made good use of his pace and ability to beat his man, and the trio combined to trouble the Port Hill defence throughout.
“It was a good team performance,” Blair said.
“We ran them into the ground by shifting the ball quickly.
“Port Hill are a very physical side. To combat that, we basically played two-touch football. It seemed to work and we created lots of chances.
“Our mantra since the United loss (3-1) has been to take each game as it comes. Now we can focus on the next game.”
Blair said 17 of Thistle's Argentinian supporters travelled to the game and made plenty of drum-, loudspeaker- and foghorn-generated noise.
“It felt like we had a 12th man,” he said.
Port Hill have 30 points from 12 games, with two to go — away to Taradale and home to Maycenvale.
Gisborne Vehicle Testing Thistle are second, on 27 points from 11 games. They have three home games in a row to finish the league — against Maycenvale on Saturday, Napier City Rovers Seconds the following week and their postponed fixture against Heavy Equipment Services Gisborne United, which looks as if it will be played on September 12. Local rivals meet in the last game of the season with a possibility of the title resting on the result . . . you couldn't script it better.
United are third but have little chance of winning the title. They have 21 points from 11 games. Still to come are fixtures away to Hastings Western Rangers, home to Taradale and away to Gisborne Thistle.
The Challenge Cup will be on the line in the home game against Taradale.
United got back to winning ways with a 6-1 defeat of Napier City Rovers Seconds at Harry Barker Reserve on Saturday.
Midfielder Josh Harris got United off to a great start, scoring in the eighth and 13th minutes. His first goal came from a half-clearance that reached him 15 metres out. He met it with a first-time shot low into the corner of the goal. His second was a volley from 20 metres.
When centreback Dane Thompson rose at the far post to head home Malcolm Marfell's inswinging corner from the right in the 24th minute, the result was no longer in doubt.
Napier City Rovers were young, skilful and willing but they lacked United's experience, size and power.
Striker Josh Adams collected a ball down the middle in the 35th minute and slotted it past the keeper to bring up the halftime score . . . 4-0.
In the 55th minute, Stu Cranswick — again backing up after playing the curtain-raiser for United's Eastern League 1 team — broke away down the right and shot. Napier keeper Heath Caldwell flung out an arm to parry it but Cranswick put away the rebound . . . 5-0, and Cranswick was subbed by Steven Husband five minutes later.
Napier scored in the 58th minute when rightback Jacques Markram sent in a speculator that floated in at the back post . . . 5-1.
United right-flank midfielder Campbell Hall scored his first Pacific Premiership goal for United when, in the 78th minute, he completed the scoring. He took it well, too, receiving the ball on the left, beating a defender on the outside and dinking the ball over the advancing keeper.
Referee Chris Niven booked United players Cranswick and Hall in the first half, both for foul tackles, and centreback Dane Thompson late in the second, for pulling back striker Stu Wilson just outside the penalty area.
He also booked Napier players Markram and Isaac Milley in the first half.
United coach Corey Adams said the early goals by Josh Harris gave the team a good start.
He was also pleased that Jarom Brouwer was able to do several weeks of his police college work from home, and he hoped to have him available for the last three games of the season.
“Our key players stepped up today,” he said.
Indeed, centreback Thompson, holding midfielder Kieran Venema, central midfielders Brouwer and Harris, and strikers Josh Adams and Cranswick were a formidable “spine” around which the rest of the team rallied.
Napier coach Malcolm Wilson said United were older, stronger and quicker.
“We played some nice football,” he said.
“We could easily have thrown the towel in, but we didn't.”
They were without five of their regular young players, which meant most of those who were normally on the subs' bench got a start.
Among Napier's best were central midfielders Tai Barham and Isaac Milley, and defenders Roimata Karika and Harry Pike.
Old hands Willie Stanger at the back and Stu Wilson up front were steadying influences, and Wilson was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet when he drew the yellow-card foul from Thompson with the best turn of the day.
