Sæsonens 4. kamp gav sæsonens 4. sejr, Pompey er kommet flyvende fra start.

Det holdt særdeles hårdt for Pompey, da de ude vandt 1-2 over Bristol Rovers og dermed nu har vundet sæsonens 4 første kampe i League One. Der er tre hold i ræjjerne under Premier League der har fuldt hus, så spændende hvad næste hjemmekamp bringer for Pompey!

Pompey var på ingen måde prangende og hjemmeholdet må have spurgt sig selv, hvordan kunne de tabe denne kamp.

Omvendt, hvad kan det ikke blive til for Pompey, når spillet for alvor begynder at virke!

Pompey manager Kenny Jackett havde ændret formationen, fra 4-4-2 i de første kamp til en 4-3-3, med Oli Hawkins liggende på top og Ronan Curtis og Jamal Lowe på kanterne.

Podcasten Not the top 20, som handler om EFL rækkerne, havde spot på netop Oli Hawkins, hvor de godt kunne se hvorfor han holder sidste sæsons topscorer Brett Pitman ude. Han bliver ikke en super topscorer, men han vinder alt i luften.

Efter en lige åbning af kampen, begyndte hjemmeholdet at tage fat, den evige oppertunistiske angriber Tom Nicholls var med i et fint angreb som Kyle Bennett startede op. Bennett som sidste sæson var hos Pompey var nok meget opsat på at vise sig frem.

Det fine angreb blev afsluttet af Bristil Rovers bedste Liam Sercombe, og både ham selv og fansene må spørge sig selv om hvordan han brændte den mulighed^.

For Pompey begyndte det at brænde på og så ud af ingenting. Et frispark på egen halvdel blev smækket langt op af vores keeper, Oli Hawkins lykkedes at heade den videre til Gareth Evans, som med venstrebenet sparkede første gang til bolden, og så stod den særdeles ufortjent 0-1.

Bristol Rovers fortsatte med at trykke på, men der blev arbejdet for sagen i forsvaret, og Bristol Rovers havde faktisk 22 afslutninger i hele kampen.

Bristol Rovers fortsatte efter pausen med at presse på og Pompey skulle forsøge at udnytte de omstillinger der kom.

Ingen af holdene fik dog scoret om end MacGilivray i Pompeymålet fortsatte med at levere varen der var et par klasseredninger!

Så kom 2 min af kampen der totalt ændrede billedet.

Først fik Bristol Rovers straffe, da vores angriber Curtis tog med hånden. Bristol Rovers udlignede ved indskiftede Lines og nu lignede det en gentagelse af sidste sæson, hvor Pompey ligeså førte 0-1 men tabte 2-1.

Men Lines gik fra helt til skurk, da han blot 2 min senere fik det røde kort.

Det var indskiftede Brett Pitman der var involveret i det røde kort, og som vi skrev i optakten, så var sidste sæsons anfører nok motivereret.

Så gik Pompey fra at være en bokser der hang ude i rebene, til pludselig at øjne muligheden, og Pompey greb chancen og fik scoret til 1-2, da Curtis fik afsluttet fra en bold som Pitman sendte videre.

Bolden kunne dårligt komme over stregen og blev sparket væk, og mange en Bristol Rovers fan har nok spurgt sig selv, hvordan kunne dommeren dømme den bold inde, og mange en Pompeyfan har nok tænkt, tak.

Dermed vandt Pompey en kamp, hvor holdet var på hælene, men 3 point i en kamp hvor Pompey igen ikke spillede godt, men hvor holdet står særdeles godt og hvor holdet er skarpe og kyniske når chancen kommer.

Det er et hold der har potentiale til at hente mange point, og en delt førsteplads med 12 point for 4 kampe, jo tak den tager vi med.

Bristol Rovers manager Darrel Clarke

It was a difficult watch but I hate hard luck stories as well. I am frustrated and disappointed. “I thought the performance was there if I am honest with you but we were certainly not good enough in both boxes.

“Certainly in the play in the second half we were right on the front foot against a team which has started the season well.

«I am terribly disappointed we didn’t get something out of the game.

“I said to the players we need to dust ourselves down but I don’t want to be a hard luck story. We need to be more clinical at times, we have to to be better defensively at times, but I don’t want people feeling sorry for themselves. I am angry, I am disappointed and we need to bounce back on Saturday.

«We have had enough chances to probably win two games and we never took them and the keeper has pulled off a couple of great saves as well. You have got to keep going, keep believing in what you do and how you go about it.

Pompey assistant manager Joe Gallen:

Over the years it has been such a tough fixture here, so to come here and get any points is well played to all our team. ‘I think we had the better of the start of the game, the opening 10 to 15 minutes we were on top but even in the first half they came into it pretty strongly really.

‘Their midfield dominated with Kyle (Bennett) coming off the line and Liam Sercombe coming off the line, we were unable to stop them. ‘However, there weren’t loads of clear-cut chances – apart from Sercombe’s shot just before we scored. ‘In the second half it was wave after wave of attacks at times but we did come through it and showed a lot of guts, character and organisation.’

Kommentarer fra Twitter

As always with #Pompey, I’ll remain cautiously optimistic. 4 wins on the bounce could easily be followed by 4 defeats. Enjoying it at the moment, but let’s see around Christmas where we sit

Gareth Evans is gonna go down as one of Pompey’s greatest! #Pompey

@macgillivray93 Told ya we were pasionate. Do your bit for the TEAM and our support will love you. Pain and hurt from ‘bench sitting’ a distant memory. So a good choice to move to warmer climes! #Pompey

MacGillivray – On another planet Clarke – Best CB in League One B. Thompson – Very impressive Lowe – No words needed Curtis – Had better games, still

One word from tonight’s victory, CHARACTER. If we can spend so long on the back foot, score twice and only concede once we will go far this season. Everyone put in a shift without many spectacular performances (Evans aside). Now looking forward to a massive 5 hours sleep #Pompey

Thoroughly enjoyed that little away day. Wasn’t pretty, no one played particularly well or particularly badly. McGillivray kept us in it. Functional and another win on the road. Great stuff. A pleasure to run into @JakePompeySmith and watch the game with him. Great bloke. #Pompey

«If Lines hadn’t had a madness we’d have won» – Bristol Rovers fans react to Portsmouth loss #Pompey Bristol Live

Curtis: “It’s unbelievable. We’re over the moon and everyone’s buzzing – there’s a really good atmosphere in the dressing room. We’re all prepared to dig in for each other here and that’s what you need if you want to win promotion.” #Pompey

Absolute quality keeper, a big defence that can play a bit, Naylor holding infront,Thompson pulling the strings, rapid wingers, Evans making great runs from midfield,Hawkins a nuisance and Pitman quality up top – we look a really hard team to play against, looks promising #Pompey

Legaue One, Memorial Stadium, 21. august 2018 

Bristol Rovers – Portsmouth 1-2 (0-1)

32. min. 0-1 Gareth Evans

76. min. 1-1 Lines

78. min. Lines (rødt kort)

87. min. 1-2 Ronan Curtis

Portsmouth (4-3-3): Macgilivray; Walkes, Whatmough, Clarke, Brown; B.Thompson, Evans ©, Naylor; Lowe, Hawkins (77 Pitman), Curtis (Haunstrup)

Bænken: McGee, Haunstrup, Pitman, Burgess, Close, Wheeler, Chaplin

Gule kort: Ben Thompson

Tilskuere: 9.073 (1.137 Pompeyfans)

Under følger videoer og flere bilder fra kampen:

Matchvinneren.