To mål av Ronan Curtis var ikke nok. Pompey tapte for League Two-klubben Newport etter dårlig forsvar- og keeperspill.
KAMPER: Etter en flott start på sesongen med tre seire og to uavgjort i serien, og seier 3-0 borte mot Cardiff i 1. runde av ligacupen, kom sesongens første tap borte mot League Two-laget Newport i 2. runde av ligacupen. Dette til tross for at Pompey ledet både 1-0 og 2-1, samt hadde flere store målsjanser.
Defensivt var det ikke bra. Spesielt midtforsvaret med Robertson og Mnoga så rustne ut. Keeper Josh Griffiths hadde heller ikke noen stor dag, selv om han ikke kan lastes for noen av målene.
Det positive var spilletid til mange av spillerne som har spilt lite så langt – synd det ikke blir flere runder i ligacupen – og to scoringer fra Ronan Curtis.
Rapporten fra Pompeys offisielle sider
Kommentarer fra kaptein Clark Robertson
«It was nice to get back out on the pitch with the boys after a few weeks out and try to find my rhythm again. The foot is feeling fine and it was always going to be a case of playing between 60 and 70 minutes out there. It was frustrating to get through pre-season and then just feel something in the friendly against Coventry.
My base fitness was always there, though, because I hadn’t missed a session, so I feel I can get back up to speed quickly. We’ve got strength in depth all over the pitch and I know I’ve got a fight on my hands to get back in the team, but I’m more than up for that.”
As a team I didn’t feel like we were really at the races, especially in the second half. We fell below the standards we’d set in the first few weeks of the season. The first 30 minutes or so were really frantic and we started to get some more control after what had been more like a basketball game.
But I don’t think we deserved to go through to the next round and that Newport were the better side out there. So we need to get back to basics when we return to league action at the weekend and try to put things right. We have to be more clinical and also be stronger at the back. We can’t get ahead of ourselves after a good start to the season because there’s a lot of football to go.”
Kommentarer fra manager Danny Cowley
«We’re disappointed because it was a messy performance from us, although credit to Newport, who played at 100 miles per hour. After weathering an early storm we got some real control in the tie and were creating chances at will – we should have been out of sight. But in the second half we didn’t respect the game and didn’t do the things that have allowed us to have the success we’ve seen so far this season.
Three managers have come into our office after matches and said similar things about how we do the basics so well. But we didn’t do that on this occasion. We didn’t defend well enough and if you’re not willing to do the work against the ball, you won’t play in our team.
We made a lot of changes, but I’d expect the side we picked to be able to come here and win the tie or certainly produce a better performance. Defending is an 11-man job and it doesn’t matter what you give the team offensively, you’ll find yourself out of the team if you don’t do that.
Some of the younger players found things difficult, but the senior guys didn’t help them as well as they could have.”
2. runde ligacupen, Rodney Parade, 23 .august 2022:
Newport – Portsmouth 3-2 (1-2)
9. min. 0-1 Ronan Curtis
14. min. 1-1 Evans
25. min. 1-2 Ronan Curtis
49. min. 2-2 Wildig
74. min. 3-2 Waite
Pompey (4-4-2): Griffiths; Swanson (Freeman 33), Mnoga, Robertson (c) (Raggett 68), Ogilvie; Hackett (Dale 68), Mingi, Lowery (Pack 63), Curtis; Scarlett (Jacobs 63), Pigott
Ubenyttede reserver: Oluwayemi, Rafferty, Dockerill, Payce
Gult kort: Raggett, Mingi, Curtis
Tilskuere: 3.866 (911 Pompey-fans)
Ronan Curtis.
Jay Mingi.
Clark Robertson var tilbake som kaptein.
Sesongens første tap.