Marquis!!!
Han kunne ikke gøre for det. Så meget skal understreges i forbindelse med det uheldige selvmål som angriberen satte i nettet dybt inde i overtiden, og som kostede to dyrebare points. Forud for kampen var der ellers lagt op til, at spydspidsen skulle i spil og løfte niveauet, hvis vi skulle have points med fra kampen. Det må man sige at han gjorde. At så vi faldt på de sædvanlige defensive skavanker er en anden snak som må have givet Cowley brødrene rynker i panden, og det er noget som der skal rettes op på, hvis vi skal have fuldt udbytte af de to resterende kampe af den ordinære sæson. Mindre kan sandsynligvis ikke gøre det efter at pointdelingen i Lancashire ganske vist var nok til en momentan sjetteplads, men udelukkende fordi at Charlton tirsdag aften ligeledes måtte nøjes med det ene point. London-klubben har til gengæld en kamp i baghånden, og vinder de den er vores videre skæbne ikke længere i egne hænder.
James Bolton gled ind i startelleveren på bekostning af Ryan Williams, i hvad der var den eneste ændring fra selvsamme mod Bristol Rovers. Kampens forløb betød, at der denne gang blev brug for samtlige fem indskiftere, og det inkluderede Paul Downing, der altså måtte helt hen til 44. spillerunde før han kom på banen for første gang i denne sæson!
Den officielle kamprapport
Et hurtigt liga-overblik
Som tidligere nævnt smed Charlton heldigvis også to points, hvilket skete i form af 2-2 hjemme på The Valley mod Crewe Alexandra. Var det resultat godt var det til gengæld nul hjælp at hente hos Blackpool, der vandt med 1-0 hos Sunderland. Lincoln City vandt med de samme cifre hos Shrewsbury, og er nu sikre på play-offs. Det er Sunderland grundet det nylige formdyk stadig ikke, og de måtte se sig overhalet i tabellen af netop Lincoln. I bunden endte nedrykningsduellen mellem AFC Wimbledon og Rochdale 3-3, hvilket reelt reddede førstnævnte og sendte sidstnævnte i League Two. The Wombles har med to kampe igen seks points ned til både Rochdale og Northampton Town, men deres måldifference er en del bedre end de to konkurrenters, så det skal gå meget galt før de ender med at trække det korteste strå. Et point mod os i den kommende kamp vil dermed definitivt sikre dem, og det skal vi være opmærksomme på kommende lørdag.
Kommentarer fra head coach Danny Cowley
“It’s pretty heart-breaking and a difficult game to summarise after we fought back from 2-0 down to get into the lead. But we’ve given a cheap, unnecessary free-kick away and then haven’t been able to defend our box – which we couldn’t do all night. To concede such a soft goal is a tough one to take. There were a couple of gilt-edged opportunities when it was 0-0 that we were unable to convert, although the massive news for us is that John is back in the goals. We conceded what was a brilliant first effort for them and you have to give credit to John Coleman and his staff because they find terrific players with very little resources. They’ve got some of the best in this league and I thought Colby Bishop and Dion Charles up front were huge. But the second goal we let in is unacceptable for us and the 10 minutes before half-time simply weren’t good enough for Portsmouth Football Club. We got the players in and spoke the truth, then came out and showed character, grit, resilience and fight. There were three goals for us, but if you want to be a good team then you have to see it out – and we couldn’t.”
Hvad John Marquis havde at sige efter kampen
“I haven’t scored for a few games and thought I’d got the winner, but then there’s an own-goal I can do nothing about. It was a bit sickening for it to end like that and heart-breaking for everyone because we’ve worked so hard. The first emotion is disappointment, although after the way we played in the first half, there was a lot of character after the break. There were some honest words spoken by the manager and Nicky and they were probably tough to take. He wanted a reaction and I think he got that. We kept plugging away at a well-drilled unit like Accrington – a place that’s always difficult to visit. After giving away two very poor goals and making it an uphill battle, we turned it round, but ultimately have to settle for a draw. We had to dig in at times and show desire and heart – that’s something to take into our remaining games. There are 180 minutes of football left for us this season and so we have to just keep going until the end.”
League One, Wham Stadium, 27. april 2021
Accrington Stanley – Portsmouth 3-3 (2-0)
15. minut: 1-0 Colby Bishop
43. minut: 2-0 Cameron Burgess
49. minut: 2-1 John Marquis
54. minut: 2-2 Ryan Williams
90. minut: 2-3 John Marquis
90. minut: 3-3 John Marquis (selvmål)
Opstillingen (3-4-1-2): MacGillivray; Bolton (Williams ‘46), Raggett, Nicolaisen; Johnson (Downing ‘61), Close (Cannon ‘46), Naylor (anfører), Harness (White ‘84); Byers (Daniels ‘68); Marquis, Curtis
På bænken: Ward, Stanley, Williams, Daniels, Downing, Cannon og White
Advarsler: Curtis og Cannon
Tilskuere: ingen
Post-match interview med Danny Cowley
Kampens højdepunkter
Danny Cowley fortviler ved kampslutt.