Klassespil af Pompey med Pitman i hovedrollen.
Pompey viste alle kvaliteterne som et tophold har i udekampen mod Rochdale. For trods at holdet kom bagud 0-1 på et rigtig flot mål af 38 årige Wilbraham efter blot 4 min, ja så viste Pompey så meget kvalitet at de knap 1.000 medrejsende fans ikke var i tvivl om at målene nok skulle komme.
Manager Kenny Jackett havde lavet to ændringer, vores anfører og sidste sæsons topscorer Bret Pitman var igen i start XI, og Jack Whatmough returnerede ligeså i centerforsvaret.
Det tidlige føringsmål til Rochdale var det som hjemmeholdet ledte efter, og det var en klassescoring fra en 25 meter.
Pompey tog herefter taktstokken og vores back Nathan Thompson sparkede på overliggeren, det var første advarsel til hjemmeholdet.
Udligningen var et klassemål, og Rochdale må spørge sig selv hvordan Pompey fik den udligning på plads!
Pitman fik fat i bolden og med tre mand om sig inde i straffesparksfeltet, får han vendt rundt og finder Jamal Lowe der er tæt dækket af to mand, og vupti stod den 1-1. Klassemål der viser hvor skarpe Pompey er foran kassen.
Før pausen var det igen Pitman der finder Lowe midt foran mål, men her viste wingen ikke samme skarphed som ved første mål.
Efter pausen havde Rochdale en god periode og kom frem til flere muligheder, men dog uden den rigtige store mulighed.
I stedet var det Pitman der igen viste kvalitet, et godt Pompeyangreb blev afsluttet fra Pitman efter indlæg fra kanten, og mellem to forsvarer viser han igen sin skarphed og vupti 1-2 føring.
Afgørelsen kom 10 min før tid, et hjørne endte i en duel hvor Matt Clarke ender med at få bolden retur, og efter en tunnel fra vores midterforsvarer, kanonerer han den i kassen til 1-3.
Høj klasse af Pompey at vende at komme bagud og vende til en sikker sejr. Pompey ryger dermed tilbage på førstepladsen med 24 point efter 10 kampe og stadig ubesejret!
Pompey assistent manager Joe Gallen:
“We’re in a results business and to collect three points away from home is certainly pleasing.
“You always get a tough game up here and I remember it was toing and froing when we played Rochdale last season.
“So it’s great that we’ve been able to extend our unbeaten run and it was a good reaction to falling behind.
“We might have wobbled a bit at that point, but we didn’t and instead came back strongly to dominate the first half. We were unlucky not to be winning at half-time.
“It’s going to give us confidence and being top of the table is nice, although it doesn’t really mean anything at this stage.”
Rochdale manager Keith Hill
“The difference between the two sides is that they made better decisions on the pitch than us,” said the Gaffer in his post-match interview.
“I thought we played some nice stuff at times but I’m disappointed with the result.
“You’ve got to respect the opponent and sometimes you can’t stop them. If they’re better than you, sometimes it’s very difficult. But there wasn’t a lack of energy, work-rate, endeavour or honesty, I just feel as though they were probably better than us in every department, and there’s no shame in that.
“I’m disappointed but I’ll stick to the task in hand, and that’s to try and breath a little bit of life and confidence into the players and take it into Tuesday [against Bristol Rovers]. The players don’t need to be reminded of how to win games, they just need the confidence to put it into practice, and I’m sure that’ll come.
“We’re 10 games in and have 11 points. We have to convert more points per game ratio – we know that now, we knew that at the beginning of the season and we knew it last season.
Kommentarer fra twitter
If the EFL did run a fantasy game then @RonanCurtis1 of #Pompey would probably be its Mo Salah:
#pompey never felt more like singing the blues, oh Kenny, you’ve got me singing the blues. Blue Army
#Pompey what a squad. Drop/rest one. The other steps up. Can only see promotion with my Blue tinted glasses ( oooh does the shop sell them) pupppu
Still buzzing with the result already a great weekend, something tells me I’m into something good #pompey
I think the only word to describe Matt Clarke’s goal is jizzworthey #Pompey
League One, Crown Oil Arena, 29/9-2018
Rochdale – Portsmouth 1-3 (1-1)
4. min. 1-0 Wilbraham
25. min. 1-1 Jamal Lowe
71. min. 1-2 Bret Pitman
81. min. 1-3 Matt Clarke
Portsmouth (4-2-3-1): MacGillivray; N.Thompson, Whatmough, Clarke, Brown; Close, Naylor; Lowe, Evans (76 B.Thompson), Curtis (89 Wheeler); Pitman (90+2 Hawkins)
Bænken: McGee, Burgess, Haunstrup, Mason, Hawkins, Wheeler, B.Thompson
Gult kort: Jamal Lowe
Tilskuere: 3.796 (966 Pompeyfans)
Under følger videoer og flere bilder fra kampen:
Ronan Curtis
Brett Pitman
Matt Clarke